1John5918
I only recently came across The Message bible at an Anglican mass in England. The gospel reading that day was the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12). My favourite verse 9, "Blessed are the peacemakers" becomes "You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family". This speaks strongly to the current global movement towards gospel nonviolence championed by the Catholic Nonviolence initiative as well as the World Council of Churches and "peace churches" such as the Mennonites and Quakers.
The Message bible is described as "a reading Bible translated from the original Greek and Hebrew Scriptures by scholar, pastor, author, and poet Eugene Peterson. Thoroughly reviewed and approved by twenty biblical scholars, The Message combines the authority of God’s Word with the cadence and energy of conversational English." It's a little uncomfortable to hear familiar texts presented in a different way, but I suspect that is the intention, and it certainly makes one think deeper. I won't be using it as my everyday bible, but it is worth looking at from time to time to get new insights.
Another of my favourite texts is John 1:14. "The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish.” That made me think of the translation "and pitched his tent amongst us", which many scripture scholars suggest is more accurate than "dwelt amongst us".
Another of my favourite passages is Matthew 25:31-46. "I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was homeless and you gave me a room, I was shivering and you gave me clothes, I was sick and you stopped to visit, I was in prison and you came to me... Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me". Here I think it is unfortunate that it misses out the "stranger", which includes far more than the "homeless", including refugees and migrants, but everything is contextual and this bible was published in the USA more than twenty years ago where homelessness might have been considered a more pressing issue than the plight of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants - indeed the USA in those days had government funded programmes to bring and resettle refugees from places such as Sudan.
Maybe this is old news and others are already familiar with this bible which is new to me, but in any case, I think it's well worth a glance.
The Message bible is described as "a reading Bible translated from the original Greek and Hebrew Scriptures by scholar, pastor, author, and poet Eugene Peterson. Thoroughly reviewed and approved by twenty biblical scholars, The Message combines the authority of God’s Word with the cadence and energy of conversational English." It's a little uncomfortable to hear familiar texts presented in a different way, but I suspect that is the intention, and it certainly makes one think deeper. I won't be using it as my everyday bible, but it is worth looking at from time to time to get new insights.
Another of my favourite texts is John 1:14. "The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish.” That made me think of the translation "and pitched his tent amongst us", which many scripture scholars suggest is more accurate than "dwelt amongst us".
Another of my favourite passages is Matthew 25:31-46. "I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was homeless and you gave me a room, I was shivering and you gave me clothes, I was sick and you stopped to visit, I was in prison and you came to me... Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me". Here I think it is unfortunate that it misses out the "stranger", which includes far more than the "homeless", including refugees and migrants, but everything is contextual and this bible was published in the USA more than twenty years ago where homelessness might have been considered a more pressing issue than the plight of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants - indeed the USA in those days had government funded programmes to bring and resettle refugees from places such as Sudan.
Maybe this is old news and others are already familiar with this bible which is new to me, but in any case, I think it's well worth a glance.
2mill4138
The Message is definitely different. I like how things are intentionally paraphrased to make me stop and critically consider what the scripture says. The MSG and NLT are two that I like for casually listening.
3John5918
Not about the Message bible, but about bible translation more generally.
Sudan displacement halts oral Bible translation work (Mission Network News)
Sudan displacement halts oral Bible translation work (Mission Network News)
Sudan’s raging war continues to create waves of displacement... The impact of displacement is felt in every sector in Sudan. For Spoken Worldwide, it means their bible translation work stopped. President/CEO Ed Weaver says their teams left the country. “They all seem to be settled primarily in Uganda, although those refugee camps in Ethiopia, Kenya, Chad, Egypt, so all around Sudan, obviously, it’s been, you know, wherever people are closest to a border they have escaped to.” As they establish a new rhythm, the challenge of being in so many different countries can be daunting... The problem to solve is what it looks like to establish the Spoken Worldwide ministry model in a refugee camp... Resources, leadership, and time are all factors that determine how soon they can be up and running again. Resources…in a space where daily food security is a significant concern, never mind a critical mass of biblical leadership in a refugee camp. “In every case,” says Weaver, “we’re looking at how to re-establish the ministry; we’ve allowed our teams to get their family settled, and get them encouraged and get into a new rhythm, where they can get food and shelter, clothing, and then be able to say, ‘Okay, here’s our mentality; here’s our strategy around how to proceed with ministry.'” The most significant challenge remains the welfare of the families involved with Spoken Worldwide’s Sudanese projects...
