''The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language'' (MSG) is a

paraphrase A paraphrase () or rephrase is the rendering of the same text in different words without losing the meaning of the text itself. More often than not, a paraphrased text can convey its meaning better than the original words. In other words, it is a ...

of the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

in contemporary English. Authored by

Eugene H. Peterson Eugene Hoiland Peterson (November 6, 1932 – October 22, 2018) was an American Presbyterian minister, scholar, theologian, author, and poet. He wrote over 30 books, including the Gold Medallion Book Award–winner ''The Message (Bible), The ...

and published in segments from 1993 to 2002. A Catholic version, ''The Message'' ''– Catholic / Ecumenical Edition'', was published in 2013.

Features

According to the Introduction to the New Testament of ''The Message'', its "contemporary idiom keeps the language of the Message (Bible) current and fresh and understandable". Peterson notes that in the course of the project, he realized this was exactly what he had been doing in his thirty-five years as a pastor, "always looking for an English way to make the biblical text relevant to the conditions of the people".

Translation consultants

The publisher states: "Peterson's work has been thoroughly reviewed by a team of recognized Old and New Testament scholars to ensure that it is accurate and faithful to the original languages." Old Testament team: * Robert L. Hubbard Jr., North Park Theological Seminary (chair) * Richard E. Averbeck, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School * Bryan E. Beyer, Columbia International University * Lamar E. Cooper Sr., Criswell College * Peter E. Enns, Eastern University * Duane A. Garrett, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary * Donald R. Glenn, Dallas Theological Seminary * Paul R. House, Beeson Divinity School, Samford University * V. Philips Long, Regent College *

Tremper Longman Tremper Longman III (born 8 September 1952) is an Old Testament scholar, theologian, professor and author of several books, including 2009 ECPA Christian Book Award winner ''Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry & Writings''. Biograph ...

, Westmont College * John N. Oswalt, Asbury Theological Seminary * Richard L. Pratt Jr., Reformed Theological Seminary, Third Mill Ministries *

John H. Walton John H. Walton (born 1952) is an Old Testament scholar. He is Professor Emeritus at Wheaton College and was a Moody Bible Institute professor previously. He specializes in the Ancient Near Eastern backgrounds of the Old Testament, especially Gen ...

, Wheaton College * Prescott H. Williams Jr., Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary * Marvin R. Wilson, Gordon College New Testament team: * William W. Klein, Denver Seminary (chair) * Darrell L. Bock, Dallas Theological Seminary * Donald A. Hagner, Fuller Theological Seminary * Moises Silva, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary * Rodney A. Whitacre, Trinity School of Ministry

Catholic version

Deuterocanonical book translator: *William Griffin, St. Lawrence Seminary

Comparison to other translations

''The Message'' was translated by Peterson from the original languages. It is a highly

idiomatic An idiom (the quality of it being known as idiomaticness or idiomaticity) is a syntactical, grammatical, or phonological structure peculiar to a language that is actually realized, as opposed to possible but unrealized structures that could have ...

translation, using contemporary slang from the US rather than a more neutral

International English English is the concept of using the English language as a global means of communication similar to an international auxiliary language, and often refers to the movement towards an international standard for the language. Related and someti ...

, and it falls on the extreme dynamic end of the

dynamic and formal equivalence Dynamic equivalence and formal equivalence, in translation and semantics, are the principle approaches to translation, prioritizing respectively the meaning or the literal structure of the source text. The distinction was originally drawn ...

spectrum. Some scholars, like Michael J. Gorman, consider some of Peterson's idiomatic renderings unconventional. The work was awarded the

Evangelical Christian Publishers Association The Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) is an international non-profit trade association whose member companies are involved in the publishing and distribution of Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres ...

Gold Medallion in 2003 for being the title retailers prized.

Psalm 23:1-4

New International Version The New International Version (NIV) is a translation of the Bible into contemporary English. Published by Biblica, the complete NIV was released on October 27, 1978, with a minor revision in 1984 and a major revision in 2011. The NIV relies ...

King James Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version (AV), is an Early Modern English Bible translations, Early Modern English translation of the Christianity, Christian Bible for the Church of England, wh ...

The Living Bible The Living Bible (TLB or LB) is a personal paraphrase, not a translation, of the Bible in English by Kenneth N. Taylor and first published in 1971. Taylor used the American Standard Version of 1901 as his base text. "The Way", an illustrated ...

: The Message:

Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13)

: The Message:

Editions

Old Testament: * The Pentateuch: * The Books of History: * The Wisdom Books: * The Prophets: New Testament: * Youth Edition: * Text Edition: Entire Bible: * With verse markings (The Message Remix): * Without verse markings: * With verse markings (The Message: The Numbered Edition): ; this edition was recognized as an

ECPA Christian Book Award The Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) is an international non-profit trade association whose member companies are involved in the publishing and distribution of Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres ...

winner. * Catholic/Ecumenical Edition: 2013,

Notes

References

External links

Publisher's History & FAQ
(most recently available archived version)
''The Message'' text online

The Message, Catholic version
{{DEFAULTSORT:Message, The 2002 books 2002 in Christianity Bible translations into English