The Message: Old Testament Wisdom Books

by Eugene H. Peterson

EXPERIENCE THE WISDOM OF THE OLD TESTAMENT IN A NEW WAY. For many readers, the books of the Old Testament are unfamiliar. The people and events are strange, shrouded in mystery, unapproachable, and old. And yet, the Old Testament books paint a clear, uncompromising picture of the human condition. These writings are a vital part of the ongoing story of God's intimate love-relationship with His people. To overlook them is to overlook God's dealings with humankind. In The Message: The Old Testament Wisdom Books, Eugene H. Peterson's unique rendering from the original Hebrew breathes new life into the enduring wisdom of the ancient biblical texts. With the same vibrancy, passion, and clarity that he brought to his ground-breaking work on the New Testament, Peterson opens up modern minds to the wonder and wisdom of the Old Testament. Come, experience the pain and promise of Job as he struggles with tragedy, disappointment, and abandonment. Feel the passionate fury, humble contrition, and joyful exuberance of the Psalms. Discover the practical and enduring wisdom of Proverbs, the soul-searching honesty of Ecclesiasties, and the mystery and romance of the Song of Songs. If you've ever struggled to read and understand the Old Testament, you'll be surprised and delighted as you experience these old books in a brand-new way.

Genres: Christian, Reference, Religion

390 pages, Paperback

First published January 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

[Marni Tagami · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's been a number of years now that The Message has been on the bookshelves. It keeps its popularity high because it's sometimes a pithy paraphrase and sometimes a very poetic paraphrase of the Bible. Eugene Peterson worked years to finally complete his paraphrase of the Bible, releasing it in parts as he finished. I recently read the OT Wisdom books he paraphrased: Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs (Song of Solomon), and the one I really like best in this paraphrase, Job. I've been impressed by the number of pastors as I've traveled around who freely admit in talking with them or even in their messages from the pulpit that they enjoy reading The Message on their own time, because of the insights they hit upon or the new clarity about a puzzle they've had, and other things of the like that can come through so easily from just a different, current, everyday use of the language in this paraphrase. A couple of examples I love from Psalms: "Enter (His Presence) with the password: 'Thank you!' Make yourselves at home, talking praise. Thank him. Worship him. For God is sheer beauty, all-generous in love, loyal always and ever." Another: "We thank you, God, we thank you--your Name is our favorite word, your mighty works are all we talk about. You say, "I'm calling this meeting to order, I'm ready to set things right. When the earth goes topsy-turvy and nobody knows which end is up, I nail it all down. I put everything in place again. I say to the smart alecks, 'That's enough,' to the bullies, 'Not so fast.'" I love it! God is often called, "God of the angel armies". I'd never heard that phrase before, and I could see him in my mind's eye surrounded by his angels of all kinds, especially warrior angels. The book of Job is a trip, that's all I can say. The "discussions" between his friends and himself are sometimes downright hilarious, yet it is still the Bible paraphrased by someone who deeply loves it. Peterson's entire purpose originally was to teach his congregation how to simply pray and talk to God in their own everyday language. Nothing has to be fancy. The members were so happy with him and his work that they urged him to start submitting it to publishers. The rest is history. Keep in mind, it is a paraphrase; it is not a translation. But everyone from pastors to laymen to youth can really benefit from this fresh and refreshing look at the Bible from a VERY different perspective than the norm. It's to be enjoyed, loved, deeply moved by, and even laughed with. Above all it is to be respected as the supreme work of a dedicated man's life.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Wisdom Books, sometimes referred to as the books of poetry, consist of Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs, often referred to as the Song of Solomon.
I think it was Garrison Keillor who said of Song of Songs, "Solomon must have written it when he was in a very good mood."
Apparently, he was in not such a good mood when he wrote Ecclesiastes. This is the book of the Bible that always makes me think, "I can't believe that's in the Bible." Maybe that's why I find it so fascinating. The second chapter is especially provocative. Here was a man who had the ability, resources, power and wealth to try everything -- and he did. And he found that it all amounted to "smoke -- spitting in the wind," as Peterson translates it.
I read from the Psalms, in one translation or another, almost every day. Everything I feel I come across in the Psalms: joy, frustration, despair, depression, anger, contentment. Yes, the psalmists praise God with reckless abandon. But they leave nothing out. If they are mad at God, if they are scared, if they feel abandoned, they say so. There's no holding back.
It's the most real writing I know of.

[Alana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used to be so bored by the book of Job as a kid, it was just so tedious. And Ecclesiastes was depressing. But as an adult with some life experience, and learning of so many atrocities in the world, these books now are actually some of my favorites, in the sheer raw, realness of them. It's people sharing raw emotions, honest feelings and opinions about events that affect them and the world, and frankly, they are things I want to say sometimes, too! Of course there's all the little "wisdom" soundbites, which are great in their own way. But something about the grittiness of unencumbered human emotion....

[MHA Bookclub]

Shelf 1

[Brett · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very down to earth translation of the Wisdom Books of the Bible, which include Ecclesiastes, my personal favorite book of the Bible. The biggest advantage this book offers is really not in the language, but in the layout--these books are poems, and are laid out as poetry is supposed to be laid out. They are in large-ish font and in a single column down the page, not in the senseless double column often found in the traditional biblical layout. This makes it easier to slow down and read these poems as they are meant to be read, with reflection and attention to detail. The language of the translation is contemporary and normally the word choice was fine with me, though I did at a few points find myself disagreeing with Peterson's tendency to project his Christian viewpoint on these pre-Christian books, as well as his occasional anachronisms. Still, a diverting and fun read for those that are looking for a new perspective on these very old writings.