The Message Old Testament Prophets: In Contemporary Language

by Eugene H. Peterson (Editor)

If the Old Testament Prophets always seemed distant and dusty then you haven't read The Message. Translating directly from the original languages, Eugene Peterson recounts the stories of God's judgement and action in such a way that you will be unable to escape the reality of God's character and his involvement in our lives today. A MESSAGE THAT IS COMFORTING BUT NEVER COMFORTABLE. The prophets of the Old Testament weren't particularly popular. Their messages-straight from God-made the people of their day very uncomfortable. When God spoke through his prophets, he didn't pull punches. He told his people exactly what he thought of them, using images and language that were powerful, graphic, and sometimes shocking. And while the prophets proclaimed a message of comfort, they never compromised the truth in order to make people feel comfortable. Eugene Peterson restores the passion and power of the prophets' message to a generation that has become perhaps a bit too comfortable with God. The words of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Malachi, and others cut through our defenses, pierce our hardened hearts, and open our eyes to see ourselves as God sees us-and to see him as he really is. It's not comfortable, but it is a message of great comfort.

Genres: Nonfiction

592 pages, Hardcover

First published October 5, 2000

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

[Alana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll be honest, this portion of Scripture gets a bit tedious and repetitive, because it's mostly just God's people doing exactly what he says NOT to do, and then getting into trouble because of it, facing consequences, God saving them, and then the cycle starts all over again. Oh, and the people telling them not to do the things are always on the outs with society. Of course there's the hopeful passages of the savior to come who will set it all right, but mostly it's just lather, rinse, repeat. I'd be harsher on them if I wasn't so guilty of it myself all the time...

[Charlene Hios · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished reading it this morning.

I enjoy how the publisher put the different sections of the bible out as he did the translation. It makes it much easier on your hands holding only a portion of the bible rather than the whole bible.

I always enjoy interacting with Peterson's translation. Wondering why he used the words he did. I spend hours looking up the greek, hebrew, Latin to see why he chose the words he did.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I did enjoy the vigorous translation, I found some of the language jarring because it's too "New World" - you don't get "coyotes" in the Middle East and, for a thing to "boomerang", it must act like something in Australia.

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am trying to read many different types of bible versions to help me understand how to read the bible and how to get the most out of it.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love reading the prophets. I get so tired of people telling me what they think I want to hear. The prophets don't do this. They tell me the truth, whether I want to hear it or not. Yes, they offer comfort and hope for the future, but it is always conditional. There is no easy believism here. And they do it with such vivid language and word-pictures. From Isaiah ("Their whole world collapsed but they still didn't get it; their life is in ruins but they don't take it to heart" in Chapter 42) to Malachi ("You make God tired with all your talk. 'How do we tire him out?' you ask. By saying, 'God loves sinners and sin alike. God loves all.' And also by saying, "Judgment? God's too nice to judge.'" in chapter 2), these guys -- they are all guys -- pull no punches.
The contemporary language of Eugene Peterson's (not Peerson's) "The Message" is fine. But for the prophets, I really prefer a more traditional translation, such as the New American Standard Bible. In making the language more contemporary, some of the energy and vividness seems to get lost. Not a lot, but some.
I do like Peterson's introductions to each book. He does a fine job of giving the background of each book and explaining how it fits in our day.

[Emmeline]

http://www.biblestudytools.com/msg/