TXT questions
I’m getting some good practical questions about reading the Bible so I thought this would be a good place to post an answer or 2. I’m loving this conversation so feel free to submit questions of your own.
Yesterday someone asked me about different Bible Translations and specifically about one called “The Message.” Here was my answer:
Basically “The Message” is a paraphrase of the Bible instead of a translation. It simply means the person doing it (Eugene Peterson – A highly respected Christian thinker) made an effort to capture the meaning/spirit of the text, but did not make an effort to translate it word by word or even phrase by phrase from the original Greek language.
For that reason, I think it is a great resource to hear the bible in a fresh way, but I wouldn’t use it if I was trying to do intense study on a passage or theological concept. Hope that makes sense!
Typically I use the NIV for my reading and for teaching. Here is a chart that has almost every English Translation: