The Message: The New Testament Psalms and Proverbs

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

Product Description
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

When the book was released, calls started coming in...incredible calls! People who would never read a Bible read The Message and made new commitments to walk a life of faith. Others who had experienced stagnation in their walk were renewed and strengthened. Because of this, I began to read the work, and experienced new depths in my Christian experience. In fact, several of the encounters I personally experienced were so powerful and life changing that to this day I can't discuss them without tears. Then, instead of putting my other translations into retirement, I began to study and appreciate them more fully, and I now read the KJV and NJB regularly.

I've shared the above because I've read recent reviews that accuse The Message of being a watered down Gospel, a failed rendering, or a comic book edition of the scripture. Maybe so, but the Holy Spirit uses it to change peoples lives. I know this from listening to hundreds of stories, and experiencing it first hand.

My suggestion is that you read "The Message" and see if the Holy Spirit speaks to you through it. If the Spirit does, continue to read it, if the Spirit doesn't, put the book down and find something else. It's that simple...and there's no need to berate it if it doesn't suit your spiritual temperament.

By the way, I no longer work for NavPress or the Navigators, and I have no book to sell you on Bible translations. Sorry!


The Message gets even better with numbers!   October 15, 2005
C. Martin (Georgia)
60 out of 60 found this review helpful

Since the complete Message Bible was introduced in 2002, I have enjoyed its translation but have often wished for numbered verses. I found that I was unable to use my Message translation in church or in Bible study.
I was thrilled to see the new numbered edition on my store shelf. It is just what I was looking for!
The Message is a wonderful translation because it helps the reader to relate today's events and language with what the Bible is saying. I find often that after I read The Message translation, I am better able to understand and more likely to read again the more complex translations.


Response to Sioux City reader   November 17, 1999
Bradley Morehouse (Cape Girardeau, MO USA)
70 out of 74 found this review helpful

A couple of reviews back a reader from Sioux City asked some questions about the translation of this book. I felt it might be appropriate for me to respond.

I worked for NavPress when this project was proposed and saw it come to fruition. At the time I had access to some of the initial drafts, and also had the opportunity to interact with the editor on a daily basis.

During the planning stages of The Message NavPress was very sensitive to the accuracy of the translation largely because their parent organization (The Navigators) is relatively influential within the evangelical community. Also, while I can't comment on Eugene Peterson's qualifications as a translator (I am unaware of his credentials), I do know that he reads the Bible in its original languages.

An interesting note: when the drafts were circulated around the office many of us were blown away. We simply couldn't put them down. Unfortunately many of the original passages were considered too inflamatory, so they were toned down prior to publication.

Personally speaking, The Message has helped me through some very tough times. Were it not for the voice that spoke to me from its pages, I would have in all likelyhood walked away from the Christian faith bitter and hateful.

Take up and read!


Can't/Won't/Don't Read The Bible??? Try THE MESSAGE...   January 29, 2001
55 out of 58 found this review helpful

Okay, let me just say this now: I LOVE this book and I highly recommend it.I recommend it to people who read The Bible often and have 87 other versions on their shelves. But I also (highly) recommend it to those who never read the Bible and don't know much about it.

Sure, I agree with what a lot of the reviewers are saying, that the Bible is poetry, and Peterson's translation utterly destroys that poetry. Well, okay, I'll go with that. But, look, the King James and the NIV and all the other (closer to original, "poetic") versions of the Bible aren't going anywhere. I'm not about to throw those versions out and neither, probably, is anyone else. The Message, however, gives me a different look at what I already know, (and also at that which I don't yet know!), a fresh perspective, a second glance. It brings scripture down-to-earth for me, and helps me understand. It may sound blasphemous but sometimes the language of the Bible gets in my way.

Sometimes I enjoy just opening my Bible at bedtime and reading whichever Psalm the page falls to. The Message has brought the Psalms (and Proverbs) to life for me. I relate much better, now, to David. It's not beautiful poetry, and I wouldn't trade it for the eloquence of the original, but there are evenings when I can completely understand his crying out, "Take my side, God-- I'm getting stomped on every day. Not a day goes by but somebody beats me up; They make it their duty to beat me up" (Psalm 56). There are times when I, too, would like to yell, "Don't turn a deaf ear when I call you, God! All I get from you is deafening silence!" (Psalm 28.) And, gloriously, there are days when I also understand, "Hallelujah! Thank God! And, why? Because He's good, because his love lasts" (Psalm 106.)

The Message helps me relate to the writers (and characters) of the Bible on a more personal level, which keeps me reading. I'll read from The Message when I can't bear to read any of the other versions.