The Message New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs

by Eugene H. Peterson (Editor)

Written in the rhythms of today's language, The Message expresses Scripture in the everyday language it was first written in.

This New Testament edition gives your Bible reading a unique perspective; the included books of Proverbs and Psalms add interesting insights.

Whether you are reading the Bible for the first time or have been studying it for years, this Message New Testament is like a breath of fresh air.

Includes Psalms and Proverbs.

Trim size: 6 x 9

Genres: Christian, Reference, Nonfiction, Religion, Christianity, Faith, Theology

816 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1996

About the author

Eugene H. Peterson was a pastor, scholar, author, and poet. For many years he was James M. Houston Professor of Spiritual Theology at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia. He also served as founding pastor of Christ Our King Presbyterian Church in Bel Air, Maryland. He had written over thirty books, including Gold Medallion Book Award winner The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language a contemporary translation of the Bible. After retiring from full-time teaching, Eugene and his wife Jan lived in the Big Sky Country of rural Montana. He died in October 2018.

Reviews

[Liaken · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like the KJV for the poetry. But, really, it's Early Modern English poetry, which doesn't really have much to do with the actual New Testament. The thing I love about Peterson's translation which he calls "The Message" is that while it reads like Modern English, it still retains a poetic feel to it. Most modern translations feel very clunky to me, off-putting, awkward. Not this one. When I read John the Baptist's speech to the Pharisees, it's like I can really hear him saying it. Because no doubt he was speaking the modern language of the time, speaking like a normal person. So, if you've ever wanted a modern translation that doesn't read like a mistake, this is it.

[Kristi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Peterson's translation does modernize the texts quite a bit. I found it easy to connect with my own life because the language was closer to what I was used to. However, there were not verse numbers which was bothersome when I wanted to jot down the exact verse. I typically read it side-by-side with my NIV version of "The Bible." Generally, the New Testament is easier to follow and connect with but I did take different things from Peterson's version than I did from the typical NIV version. For people who are unfamiliar with "The Bible," or find the reading too difficult, I think this is a great translation to get started with. At any rate, it was fun to read another interpretation of the same text. I really liked how it adjusted to some of our contemporary cultural aspects through the language and phrasing while still staying true to intent and overall message of the text.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whatever your beliefs, this is the most interesting version of the Bible I've seen. Consider this oft quoted passage from First Corinthians 13:

"Love doesn't want what it doesn't have. Love doesn't strut. Doesn't have a swelled head. Doesn't force itself on others. Isn't always 'Me first.' Doesn't fly off the handle. Doesn't keep score of the sins of others. Doesn't revel when others grovel."

Gotta enjoy that!

[Carol-lee Zuvich · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't recommend it because the translations seem to be taken out of context of what was intended in The New Testament and I have the version with Billy Graham's comments between each Book. A little too conservative for me.

[Yolanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the verbiage of the Message and appreciate the NIV, ESV, AND CHB as well. I am not a poetic type of person and that is why the KJ and NKJ doesn't appeal to me.

[Lon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This contemporary paraphrasing of the New Testament helped me hear Jesus as he might have been sounded to his contemporaries--in the familiar idiom of the street and fishing village and common people. I heard Jesus in new ways, stripped as he is here from the magisterial language of Jacobean England that's now 4 centuries remote from our lived experience. Admittedly, this won't replace the King James version for me, nor does it displace the NRSV or other translations reflecting current scholarship--but Peterson's Jesus really is incarnate, come down to earth to meet us where we are.

I can't help but wonder how this will hold up, reliant as it is on figures of speech and idiomatic phrasing whose very currency is almost axiomatically short-lived. If so, may it inspire others to revivify these radical teachings to future generations.

[Rex Libris · Rating 1 out of 5]

Peterson tried to translate the Bible into "modern English" and succeed only in butchering up the Word of God. Early on he wrote "it's a two-for-one father-son deal" to describe the relationship between Jesus and the Father. After that I just wanted to be done with it because the language was so bad.

IMHO the Bible sounds better when it is not in such "modern language." It ought to be written a little higher and set apart: it is the Word of God after all! If the Word of God is not the epitome of "other," than what is?

Do yourself a favor: skip this translation. Go for the RSV or something like that.

[TheBibleWithTina]

MY SUMMARIES
The Book of Psalms (Chapters 1-41) Book I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDtY2...

The Book of Psalms (Chapters 42-72) Book II
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AwE9...

The Book of Psalms (Chapters 73-89) Book III
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFC5M...

The Book of Psalms (Chapters 90-106) Book IV
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJvqJ...

The Book of Psalms (Chapters 107-150) Book V
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUaYs...

The Book of Proverbs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rz9jC...

[SKP · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to give this a try, and I even finished it, but this translation is definitely not for me. I think the author took too many liberties with basically replacing authentic translations with a lot of modern expressions or illustrations. I really hated the Psalms—that is meant to be poetic and was anything but! Proverbs was probably the best part in my opinion, but it still used too many ultra-modern illustrations. I think even the modern portions might not stand the test of time, not like the KJV and some of the other translations have.

[Jamie Johnson Leach · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clear and easy to read scripture!

[Merci · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's some things I liked about this version but mostly I kept comparing it to NIV.

[Kelsey Hammett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Makes reading the bible a little easier for first time readers :)

[Selene Peck · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love The Message and Eugene Peterson's translation. I can't recommend it enough!

[Kevin Casto · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful version of God's word in today's language.

[earlgray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read in that NT class where the MSG so poetically transformed my inner being.

[Christine Hayen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazed

I am amazed at how easy it is to understand so much more that the Bible is trying to teach us.
Thank you 🙏 Eugene Peterson.

[Laura Lane · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's like someone telling the story of the New Testament. It has value in that respect, but I would not use it as my Bible.

[A · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first Message version. Read / used this version while I waited for the whole Bible to be translated.
Easy read.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not a study Bible, but what I love about the Message is that I get a new perspective on verses that I have read multiple times in many translations.

[Dan Glover · Rating 1 out of 5]

With partial success, changes the words of Scripture into the vernacular of a small portion of the wannabe hip young, white people of a segment of North America and successfully locks it firmly into that historical and cultural context. Already distorts the meaning of much if not most of the passages it covers and even this text standing on its own (distorted as it is and without comparing it to the nuances of the original languages or a very good English translation) will likely be unintelligible to most of the English speaking world in another dozen years or so.

.....I wrote the above review a while ago, based on a reading from even a while agoer. I continue to occasionally read passages from The Message (as one of many translations/paraphrases I consult) when I prepare a sermon or study. If I were to review it today I would probably give it 2 stars, and would say that I am not against Christians using it for personal devotional reading but that their primary source for serious study of the Word ought to be an essentially literal translation - something like ESV, NASB, NKJV, or similar. The reason my review was so negative initially was my dismay at how many people were using The Message as their primary or exclusive Bible. I think it can be valuable as a conversation partner in your study, along with other conversation partners like commentaries, topical studies, theological works, and other interpretive versions of Scripture (NLT, NIV, J.B. Phillips). But this is not a good "version" to use as your everyday Bible for study, family worship, personal devotional reading, or memorization. It has already become quite outdated in some of its phrasing, and it will only continue to become more so. And where the original rendering is ambiguous or can be taken legitimately in more than one way, I believe a faithful translation should be so as well (which is one of the issues I have with over-translated versions like the NIV or NLT). They do too much of the wrestling with the text for the reader instead of sending them farther up and farther in to the Word and to the work of others who have wrestled with the same passages.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

It actually has been a few weeks since I finished this and went on to a different translation.
But one thing that struck me in this reading was the sense of tension in the book of John. Virtually from the start, there is a tension between Jesus and the religious leaders, and it just builds and builds.
Still, after spending more than a year with my daily reading mostly being in The Message, I'm glad to get back to my old standby, the New American Standard Bible, for a while.

[Peter Krol · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read The Message in its entirety, not just the New Testament. I thoroughly enjoyed it for a quick read-through of the Scripture. I would not recommend this version for any detailed study of the Scripture because Peterson's contemporary language and use of euphemism obscures most verbal repetition and syntax. However, for simply reading and getting the sense of the whole, it was really fun.

[Michael Wayne Tyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Did you want to hear the Gospel in accord with today's culture? Are you interested in applying the Gospel to you life without a barrier of an antiquated language? Eugene Peterson clearly shares God's word, inspired, for this time. From Mathew to Revelation, find each book and chapter, sentence and word applicable to life in this day.

[Bcoghill Coghill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had a non-electronic edition of this book long ago. It came out before the whole Holy Bible version.
I find most of what I am interested in in this N.T. and Psalms version. I do own the whole H.B. in printed form but with this electronic version I seldom have to pull it off of the shelf.
I particularly love what Peterson has done with the Psalms.

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A contemporary paraphrase of the new testament by a serious writer who is also a root language scholar. Very earthy, some part refreshingly so and others too much so. The Pauline letters seemed to work the best for me.

[Kari · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this version because I was hoping to get a simplified view of the Old Testament. Silly me - I ordered the wrong Testament. But I read it anyway and immediately got hooked. I'm not as big of a fan of the Psalms/Proverbs in this version, but really enjoyed the New Testament.

[Beverly Dowdell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A daily read. Inspirational and always shines the light of truth and the spirit of God in the pages. Illuminating. Pick any page and there is something of value and what I need to help me whatever the circumstance. Full of easy to read wisdom, solace, love and peace.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peterson did an excellent job on this one. It is refreshing to read next to the NIV. It gives a great view and take on the text.

[Adriana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this the whole way through; an incredible experience.

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very helpful translation of the Bible to refer to!