Kim Kardashian hoped to buy a piece of family history from the O.J. Simpson estate … asking to purchase her dad’s Bible — but, the estate’s executor says it’s too late to purchase it outside the auction.

Here’s the deal … Malcom LaVergne — executor of the late controversial actor’s estate — tells TMZ Kim Kardashian’s team reached out to him last month after we broke the story that some of O.J.’s personal effects were going up for auction.

Among them … a Holy Bible gifted to Simpson by her father, Robert Kardashian — with a note inscribed by the late Kardashian patriarch scribbled inside.

LaVergne claims the Bible was already under contract and court order to be sold to pay off O.J.’s debt — the civil suit judgment Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman‘s families won when a jury found O.J. liable for their deaths.

ML says he made it clear to Kim’s staff that he would have to be “insane” to take the offer … ’cause he would rack up about that much in attorney’s fees to simply get the proper paperwork to sell the Bible outside the auction.

Plus, LaVergne says he had no desire to risk a lawsuit from Goldin Auctions either … so, he couldn’t sell it even if he wanted to. Malcolm says he eventually told Kim’s side they could bid on it in auction, which opened this week.

As you know … Robert was part of O.J.’s legal “Dream Team” when he was on trial for the murder of his ex-wife and Goldman back in 1994 — alongside Johnnie Cochran, Robert Shapiro, F. Lee Bailey, and Alan Dershowitz, among others.

Robert and O.J.’s relationship became strained after Simpson was acquitted … with Robert reportedly telling Barbara Walters that he had his doubts about Simpson’s innocence because of the DNA evidence in the case.