In this contemporary English version of the New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs, Eugene Peterson strives to convey the earthy truths of the original Greek and Hebrew texts. As he explains in his introduction, there were two levels of language in the Greek-speaking world, "formal" and "informal". The one was for use in official documents, epic poetry, and philosophy, the other for shopping lists and personal letters--the common idiom of everyday speech. "This is the language used throughout the New Testament ... a rough and earthy language that reveals God's presence and action where we least expect it, catching us when we are up to our elbows in the soiled ordinariness of our lives and God is the furthest thing from our minds." It is in the spirit of this "soiled ordinariness" that Eugene Peterson translates John 1:14 (NIV: "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us") to "The word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood." Likewise, in Romans 8:3 where the NIV renders "For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering," The Message reads, "God went for the jugular when he sent his own son.... In his son, Jesus, he personally took on the human condition, entered the disordered mess of struggling humanity in order to set it right once and for all." Peterson offers no pretense of elevated language or intellectualism, only the insistence that God is relevant in 20th-century work-week and weekend lives.
This kind of translation is not a new enterprise, however. Tyndale--the man singularly responsible for our English translations of the Bible--is purported to have said in a dispute with opposing clergy, "If God spare my life, ere many years I will cause a boy that driveth the plow to know more of the Scriptures than thou dost." We're simply glad someone of our own generation chose to do the same. --Benjamin Gebhardt
THE POWER OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. THE PASSION OF THE PSALMS. THE WISDOM OF THE PROVERBS. Many people assume that a book about a holy God should sound elevated, stately, and ceremonial. If this is how you've always viewed the Bible, you're about to make a surprising discovery.
The Message brings the life-changing power of the New Testament, the vibrant passion of the Psalms, and the rich, practical wisdom of Proverbs into easy-to-read modern language that echoes the rhythm and idioms of the original Greek and Hebrew. Written in the same kind of language you'd use to talk with friends, write a letter, or discuss politics, The Message preserves the authentic, earthy flavor and the expressive character of the Bible's best-loved books.
Whether you've been reading the Bible for years or are exploring it for the first time, The Message will startle and surprise you. And it will allow you to experience firsthand the same power and directness that motivated its original readers to change the course of history so many centuries ago.
"The Bible must be readable and relevant in all times, to all peoples. Eugene Peterson's language accomplishes this and more: it makes our Holy Scripture also exciting and strong, sweet, sharp, persuasive, painful, personal, contemporary, kind, dramatic-and available to every reader of this age, this society. His love and skill are new blood in the Eternal Story."-Walter Wangerin, Jr., author of The Book of Dun Cow and Mourning into Dancing
"I thank God for The Message. In it Eugene Peterson gives a fresh and authentic voice to the Scripture. I recommend it highly."-Richard J. Foster, author of Celebration of Discipline
"Time and again I would read a verse and think, 'Oh, that's what it means.' Eugene Peterson has given us the gift of a lifetime."-Rebecca Manley Pippert, author of Out of the Saltshaker and Hope Has Its Reasons
"In this crowded world of Bible versions, Eugene Peterson's blend of accurate scholarship and vivid idiom make this rendering both distinctive and distinguished. The Message catches the logical flow, personal energy, and imaginative overtones of the original very will indeed. It's a landmark and a triumph. Don't miss it!"-J.I. Packer, author of Knowing God and professor of theology, Regent College
