Review: The Message//Remix by Eugene Peterson
10/21/2004 14:19 Filed in: Faith & Reason
I didn't originally intend this to be so much a review of The Message itself, but rather this new edition of it. However, sometimes what I write tends to go in a direction other than what I originally planned. So, here's a little bit of both.
For the uninitiated, The Message is a paraphrase of the Bible by Eugene Peterson. What do I mean by paraphrase? Well, Peterson didn't try to do a word for word translation. Rather, he attempted to put the Scriptures in his own words with a flair for contemporary language. And, in my opinion, he did a very good job. You may be familiar with Kenneth Taylor's original Living Bible published in the early 1970's. That was a paraphrase, too, but this is so much better. When Taylor paraphrased the Bible, he didn't know the original languages. He took the 1901 American Standard Version and simply put it into his own words. What makes The Message different is that Peterson knows his biblical languages. He sat down with the Greek and Hebrew and created a paraphrase that is masterful in style and form. Truly comparable only to J. B. Phillips own British paraphrase a few decades ago, Peterson's version is clever, stylistic and begs to be read aloud. I enjoy systematically reading through different versions of the Bible, and reading through The Message has taken me longer than any previous copy of the Scriptures. I think it's because I get caught up in the wording. I become more reflective, and find myself reading and rereading passages. I call out to Kathy and say, "Listen to this" and read it to her.
I never recommend a paraphrase to be used as a sole Bible for study. I personally use the New American Standard Bible referenced against the Greek New Testament when I do serious study of the Bible. However, think of a paraphrase such as The Message as an aid, a Bible tool for insight into the meaning of the text. The obvious danger with a paraphrase is that as a person attempts to put the Bible into his own words, he will rely much more on personal interpretation. And, Like Taylor's and Phillips' previous works, paraphrases tend to be done by one person. The value of a true translation lies in the checks and balances of a committee that works together on the final product. I've read some negative critiques of Peterson's work, including some questions about the way a particular verse reads or what seems to be unnecessary insertions into a verse, but I think overall these concerns are minor. I tend to judge any version of the Bible, whether paraphrase or functional equivalent by what the translator(s) were attempting to do. The introduction to The Message states that "The idea is to make it readable--to put those ancient words that their users spoke and wrote into words that you speak and write every day." In regard to that, I believe that Peterson accomplished his purpose.
The Message has now been in complete form for a couple of years. However, it was initially released in portions. I picked up the New Testament in either 1993 or 1994. I remember taking it a number of times to an advanced masters level Greek class "Selected Passages from the New Testament" at Southern Seminary. I remember my professor, who will remain nameless, hated it. In particular, he hated Peterson's phrasings in Galatians. That's ironic because it was Peterson's paraphrases of Galatians from the Greek class he taught himself that first gained him notice and led to NavPress asking him to translate the whole Bible. But if my professor hated it, that's okay. Peterson wasn't writing for professors. He was writing for the regular guy on the street. The same way a missionary might translate the Bible to fit a foreign culture, Peterson seemed to be translating to reach the average American person at the turn of the 21st Century.
I've used The Message on and off for ten years now, usually either for devotional purposes or for public readings. I read selected passages from 2 Timothy when I gave my friend, Jason Snyder, his ordination charge. I've used it occasionally in my Bible study class on Sunday mornings to allow participants to hear familiar passages with "a different ear." I use it frequently with my students at Whitefield Academy , especially when assigning longer passages of the Bible. When I read a passage from The Message (in a loud and clear voice with lots of drama and annunciation), they soon figure out it's too difficult to follow along in their translations. So they put them down and look up to watch me. As I look at their faces, these teenagers seem to look like little children listening to Bible stories. Isn't that how we're supposed to approach God anyway, like little children?
When the entire Bible was released a couple of years ago, I gave away my portions to a friend and bought a hardback copy of the whole thing. That's what I've used over the past couple of years (in addition to a software copy of the text that I have in Accordance ). Then, the other day, I was going to speak in a chapel service at Whitefield and I wanted to use The Message as the version to speak from. Maybe I'm just funny this way, but when I use a Bible in front of a group, I like it to look like a Bible, not a book. You know what I mean... I want a leather cover (or something that looks like leather anyway), all floppy so that it hangs correctly in my right hand.
So I decided to see what leather editions of The Message were now available. That's how I came across The Message//Remix which evidently was released about a year ago. It comes in both a hardback printed cover edition and a funky blue alligator bonded leather edition . I got the funky blue one.
How is The Message//Remix different from previous editions? Well, it fixed the one thing that frustrated folks who regularly use it--they added verse numbers! Yes, I understand why the original edition (which is still being published) does not have verse numbers. The biblical writers did not include chapter and number divisions in the original works. We have added these to make referencing particular passages easier. Peterson wanted people not to get bogged down the by unnatural interruption caused by verse references. He wanted us to read it as it was meant to be read in one continuous train of thought. Yet, it was often frustrating not to have the references included, especially when using The Message in conjunction with other translations. But the little known secret is that verse numbers have existed for a while in software editions where they are absolutely necessary. In this new edition, the publisher compromised and took a cue from the New English Bible and put the verse references out in the margins rather than interrupting the text with them.
Like the original edition , The Message//Remix keeps a one-column format which I prefer in a Bible. Book introductions have been revised from the original ones written by Peterson. They tend to be a bit shorter, but still just as powerful. I still like how Peterson introduces Ecclesiastes: "Unlike the animals, who seem quite content to simply be themselves, we humans are always looking for ways to be more than or other than what we find ourselves to be. We explore the countryside for excitement, search our souls for meaning, shop the world for pleasure. We try this. Then we try that. The usual fields of endeavor are money, sex, power, adventure, and knowledge."
The Introduction has new information as well, or at least a new layout--a remix--of the information about the paraphrase found in the original edition. But it's in a a more reader-friendly format. There is a section called "Listening to the Remix" that asks the question, "Why does a two thousand-year-old book still matter?" This part of the introduction seeks to distinguish the Bible from other literature such as Romeo and Juliet, Uncle Tom's Cabin, and Catcher in the Rye. There is a section that asks "Who is Eugene Peterson? Most Bibles don't have a person's name on them. So who is Eugune Peterson and why does he get his name on the front page of this particular Bible?" The best part of the introduction, in my opinion though lies in an essay called "Read. Think. Pray. Live" which truly describes how the Christian should incorporate God's Word into his or her life. I've seen the essay starting to show up a few other places outside this Bible lately, too. I don't know where it appeared first--here or somewhere else.
Finally--and some of you may find this silly--this Bible feels good in the hand. This is very subjective, and I don't know if you will even get what I'm saying. I'm just eyeballing here, but it measures about 7 1/2" X 5" and 1 1/2" thick. That's really one of my favorite sizes for a book. If you look at a library shelf of books from fifty years ago or more, lots of books were this size--hand size, I call it. It fits in your hand well. The cover is limp so it hangs (at the least the leather edition) like a Bible is supposed to. When I was a kid, I had a Bible this size and when I was scared at night in bed, I would hold close to my chest. This Bible would fit that task, if I were so inclined today...
Here's a brief sample of selected passages from The Message itself. I recommend this version as a supplemental study aid and I recommend this Remix edition of it.
For the uninitiated, The Message is a paraphrase of the Bible by Eugene Peterson. What do I mean by paraphrase? Well, Peterson didn't try to do a word for word translation. Rather, he attempted to put the Scriptures in his own words with a flair for contemporary language. And, in my opinion, he did a very good job. You may be familiar with Kenneth Taylor's original Living Bible published in the early 1970's. That was a paraphrase, too, but this is so much better. When Taylor paraphrased the Bible, he didn't know the original languages. He took the 1901 American Standard Version and simply put it into his own words. What makes The Message different is that Peterson knows his biblical languages. He sat down with the Greek and Hebrew and created a paraphrase that is masterful in style and form. Truly comparable only to J. B. Phillips own British paraphrase a few decades ago, Peterson's version is clever, stylistic and begs to be read aloud. I enjoy systematically reading through different versions of the Bible, and reading through The Message has taken me longer than any previous copy of the Scriptures. I think it's because I get caught up in the wording. I become more reflective, and find myself reading and rereading passages. I call out to Kathy and say, "Listen to this" and read it to her.
I never recommend a paraphrase to be used as a sole Bible for study. I personally use the New American Standard Bible referenced against the Greek New Testament when I do serious study of the Bible. However, think of a paraphrase such as The Message as an aid, a Bible tool for insight into the meaning of the text. The obvious danger with a paraphrase is that as a person attempts to put the Bible into his own words, he will rely much more on personal interpretation. And, Like Taylor's and Phillips' previous works, paraphrases tend to be done by one person. The value of a true translation lies in the checks and balances of a committee that works together on the final product. I've read some negative critiques of Peterson's work, including some questions about the way a particular verse reads or what seems to be unnecessary insertions into a verse, but I think overall these concerns are minor. I tend to judge any version of the Bible, whether paraphrase or functional equivalent by what the translator(s) were attempting to do. The introduction to The Message states that "The idea is to make it readable--to put those ancient words that their users spoke and wrote into words that you speak and write every day." In regard to that, I believe that Peterson accomplished his purpose.
The Message has now been in complete form for a couple of years. However, it was initially released in portions. I picked up the New Testament in either 1993 or 1994. I remember taking it a number of times to an advanced masters level Greek class "Selected Passages from the New Testament" at Southern Seminary. I remember my professor, who will remain nameless, hated it. In particular, he hated Peterson's phrasings in Galatians. That's ironic because it was Peterson's paraphrases of Galatians from the Greek class he taught himself that first gained him notice and led to NavPress asking him to translate the whole Bible. But if my professor hated it, that's okay. Peterson wasn't writing for professors. He was writing for the regular guy on the street. The same way a missionary might translate the Bible to fit a foreign culture, Peterson seemed to be translating to reach the average American person at the turn of the 21st Century.
I've used The Message on and off for ten years now, usually either for devotional purposes or for public readings. I read selected passages from 2 Timothy when I gave my friend, Jason Snyder, his ordination charge. I've used it occasionally in my Bible study class on Sunday mornings to allow participants to hear familiar passages with "a different ear." I use it frequently with my students at Whitefield Academy , especially when assigning longer passages of the Bible. When I read a passage from The Message (in a loud and clear voice with lots of drama and annunciation), they soon figure out it's too difficult to follow along in their translations. So they put them down and look up to watch me. As I look at their faces, these teenagers seem to look like little children listening to Bible stories. Isn't that how we're supposed to approach God anyway, like little children?
When the entire Bible was released a couple of years ago, I gave away my portions to a friend and bought a hardback copy of the whole thing. That's what I've used over the past couple of years (in addition to a software copy of the text that I have in Accordance ). Then, the other day, I was going to speak in a chapel service at Whitefield and I wanted to use The Message as the version to speak from. Maybe I'm just funny this way, but when I use a Bible in front of a group, I like it to look like a Bible, not a book. You know what I mean... I want a leather cover (or something that looks like leather anyway), all floppy so that it hangs correctly in my right hand.
So I decided to see what leather editions of The Message were now available. That's how I came across The Message//Remix which evidently was released about a year ago. It comes in both a hardback printed cover edition and a funky blue alligator bonded leather edition . I got the funky blue one.
How is The Message//Remix different from previous editions? Well, it fixed the one thing that frustrated folks who regularly use it--they added verse numbers! Yes, I understand why the original edition (which is still being published) does not have verse numbers. The biblical writers did not include chapter and number divisions in the original works. We have added these to make referencing particular passages easier. Peterson wanted people not to get bogged down the by unnatural interruption caused by verse references. He wanted us to read it as it was meant to be read in one continuous train of thought. Yet, it was often frustrating not to have the references included, especially when using The Message in conjunction with other translations. But the little known secret is that verse numbers have existed for a while in software editions where they are absolutely necessary. In this new edition, the publisher compromised and took a cue from the New English Bible and put the verse references out in the margins rather than interrupting the text with them.
Like the original edition , The Message//Remix keeps a one-column format which I prefer in a Bible. Book introductions have been revised from the original ones written by Peterson. They tend to be a bit shorter, but still just as powerful. I still like how Peterson introduces Ecclesiastes: "Unlike the animals, who seem quite content to simply be themselves, we humans are always looking for ways to be more than or other than what we find ourselves to be. We explore the countryside for excitement, search our souls for meaning, shop the world for pleasure. We try this. Then we try that. The usual fields of endeavor are money, sex, power, adventure, and knowledge."
The Introduction has new information as well, or at least a new layout--a remix--of the information about the paraphrase found in the original edition. But it's in a a more reader-friendly format. There is a section called "Listening to the Remix" that asks the question, "Why does a two thousand-year-old book still matter?" This part of the introduction seeks to distinguish the Bible from other literature such as Romeo and Juliet, Uncle Tom's Cabin, and Catcher in the Rye. There is a section that asks "Who is Eugene Peterson? Most Bibles don't have a person's name on them. So who is Eugune Peterson and why does he get his name on the front page of this particular Bible?" The best part of the introduction, in my opinion though lies in an essay called "Read. Think. Pray. Live" which truly describes how the Christian should incorporate God's Word into his or her life. I've seen the essay starting to show up a few other places outside this Bible lately, too. I don't know where it appeared first--here or somewhere else.
Finally--and some of you may find this silly--this Bible feels good in the hand. This is very subjective, and I don't know if you will even get what I'm saying. I'm just eyeballing here, but it measures about 7 1/2" X 5" and 1 1/2" thick. That's really one of my favorite sizes for a book. If you look at a library shelf of books from fifty years ago or more, lots of books were this size--hand size, I call it. It fits in your hand well. The cover is limp so it hangs (at the least the leather edition) like a Bible is supposed to. When I was a kid, I had a Bible this size and when I was scared at night in bed, I would hold close to my chest. This Bible would fit that task, if I were so inclined today...
Here's a brief sample of selected passages from The Message itself. I recommend this version as a supplemental study aid and I recommend this Remix edition of it.