Message

Tellyontellyon said:

I got this book second hand the other day... It's got some Bible verses that you should read every day, and then repeat it and meditate on the words and pray. It's nice.

The verses of the devotional come from the Message Bible.... It seems quite different from other translations, but it does seem to translate the mood or feeling of the verses, rather than a literal meaning, and uses contemporary images and idioms to evoke the emotive meanings of the verses.

I quite like this translation. I'm wondering about getting a copy of the whole Bible as it's an interesting style.

Questions:

+ I'm curious about other peoples experience of the Message Bible?

+ Have you benefited from reading it?

Click to expand...

I've read The Message before and I agree with you on the language of it. It's fairly straightforward. The problem with it is that in basically paraphrasing the original language it introduces the bias of the translator. Rather than "this is what the bible says" it becomes "this is what I believe the bible says".

Tellyontellyon said:

I got this book second hand the other day... It's got some Bible verses that you should read every day, and then repeat it and meditate on the words and pray. It's nice.

The verses of the devotional come from the Message Bible.... It seems quite different from other translations, but it does seem to translate the mood or feeling of the verses, rather than a literal meaning, and uses contemporary images and idioms to evoke the emotive meanings of the verses.

I quite like this translation. I'm wondering about getting a copy of the whole Bible as it's an interesting style.

Questions:

+ I'm curious about other peoples experience of the Message Bible?

+ Have you benefited from reading it?

Click to expand...

By the way, you can read it online here:

Read the The Message Bible Free Online

Tellyontellyon said:

I got this book second hand the other day... It's got some Bible verses that you should read every day, and then repeat it and meditate on the words and pray. It's nice.

The verses of the devotional come from the Message Bible.... It seems quite different from other translations, but it does seem to translate the mood or feeling of the verses, rather than a literal meaning, and uses contemporary images and idioms to evoke the emotive meanings of the verses.

I quite like this translation. I'm wondering about getting a copy of the whole Bible as it's an interesting style.

Questions:

+ I'm curious about other peoples experience of the Message Bible?

+ Have you benefited from reading it?

Click to expand...

1. It is not a translation it is a paraphrase.
2. It was written by one single individual rather than a group of scholars and linguists.
3. I think it has some very good devotional thoughts in it - but don't bet your soul on "every detail" in it. Don't use it to "prove" something.

It's popular in some ministry circles in my area that work with people in rescue missions or prisons where literacy or education is not high. I would agree translations of some verses are quite free flowing, but Jude has been doing good work using it for 20 years (he must not have begun with it since it was written in 2002, but it was in use when I attended Credo around 2015)

Credo helps addicts recover their lives, renew their spirits

Tellyontellyon said:

I got this book second hand the other day... It's got some Bible verses that you should read every day, and then repeat it and meditate on the words and pray. It's nice.

The verses of the devotional come from the Message Bible.... It seems quite different from other translations, but it does seem to translate the mood or feeling of the verses, rather than a literal meaning, and uses contemporary images and idioms to evoke the emotive meanings of the verses.

I quite like this translation. I'm wondering about getting a copy of the whole Bible as it's an interesting style.

Questions:

+ I'm curious about other peoples experience of the Message Bible?

+ Have you benefited from reading it?

Click to expand...

The last time I checked out The Message only the New Testament and the Psalms were available, it was interesting because it lacked the usual reference numbers (the division of books into chapters and verses). Which made it interesting.

And I think interesting is the best way to describe it. I certainly wouldn't recommend it as a Bible translation, though it can be an interesting way to read alongside other translations. I've even seen my own Lutheran church (we usually use the New Revised Standard Version) on occasion choose to use a portion of The Message because it can be helpful to get a fresh look at a familiar passage of Scripture.

So, I guess that's where I stand. I wouldn't encourage it to be used on its own, but rather alongside other translations; I generally prefer (and recommend) the NRSV and/or ESV for more serious reading of the Bible.

-CryptoLutheran

Tellyontellyon said:

The verses of the devotional come from the Message Bible.... It seems quite different from other translations, but it does seem to translate the mood or feeling of the verses, rather than a literal meaning, and uses contemporary images and idioms to evoke the emotive meanings of the verses.

Click to expand...

That would be because it's not a real translation, but rather a paraphrase.

Tellyontellyon said:

I quite like this translation. I'm wondering about getting a copy of the whole Bible as it's an interesting style.

Click to expand...

Go ahead; though where there are actual discrepancies between it and a good translation, it's a better idea to go with the translation.

Tellyontellyon said:

+ I'm curious about other peoples experience of the Message Bible?

Click to expand...

I've heard some very edifying things out of it. I've seen nuances in passages cranked up to 11 from it, which misses the mark. I get wanting to bring out those nuances, but I'm going to put it this way: If there's a scan of a painting, where the artist carefully blended the colors and shades, and then you take that scanned image and then crank up the contrast on it, it's easy to get to the point where you're losing some of what the artist intended to convey. This has been my experience with some of the passages quoted from The Message.

Tellyontellyon said:

+ Have you benefited from reading it?

Click to expand...

Some quotes from it have been nice, but nothing really earth-shaking for me. I'd been memorizing out of my NIV for years before The Message got popular, so the NIV beat it to the punch.