The Message

The New Testament Psalms and Proverbs in Contemporary Language

On the inside cover of the book Eugene Peterson writes "The Message is a contemporary rendering of the Bible from the original languages, crafted to present its tone, rhythm, events, and ideas in everyday language.

The Message contains all of the New Testament books along with Psalms and Proverbs from the Old Testament. The books are written in numbered chapters but the verses are not numbered.

I've not finished the book yet I'm currently read chapters in between reading other books. It has been very interesting reading since at times I forget that I'm actually reading Bible scripture. The way that it is written is very story oriented and in our language of today. Since The Message was translated from the original language it really makes me wonder how the original scripture sounded to the readers of the first century.

After growing up with the Kings James version of the Bible having a hard time understanding what in the world it meant The Message is the complete opposite. It uses the same language and words that I would use.

Reading the scripture and letters in the first century must have been a lot more interesting than I had ever imagined. Surely these stories captivated the people.

Even though I like reading the message I still won't throw away my NIV Bible. For me, each version has a place. I think it would for you as well.