The Message

This version, otherwise known as The New Testament in Contemporary English, is the work of Eugene H. Peterson. He was a pastor of a Presbyterian church in Maryland and is a professor of spiritual theology at a college in British Columbia and is a writer.

A feature of the original writings of the New Testament is that it was done in the street language of the day. At that time in the Greek-speaking world, there were two levels of language: formal and informal. Formal language was used to write philosophy, history, government decrees, and epic poetry. Some people suppose that language dealing with a holy God and holy things should be elevated – stately and ceremonial. However, Jesus preferred down-to-earth stories and easy association with common people.

The followers of Jesus in their witness and preaching, translating and teaching, have always tried to get the Message – the “good news” – into the language of whatever street they happened to be living on. In order to understand the Message right, the language must be a rough and earthy one that reveals God’s presence and action where we least expect it.

This version is in a contemporary idiom that is current, fresh, and understandable in the same language that we use in all of our activities. The goal was not to render a word-for-word conversion of Greek into English, but rather to convert the tone, the rhythm, the events, and the ideas into the way that we actually think and speak. There is an introduction to each book. Verses are not numbered, except at the top of the page where the range for that page is given.

A later version contains, in addition, the Old Testament books of Psalms and Proverbs.

The translator states that most Christians have learned to pray by praying the Psalms. In his pastoral work of teaching people to pray, he started paraphrasing the Psalms into contemporary rhythms. The Psalms in Hebrew are earthy and rough. They are not the prayers of nice people, couched in cultural language.

The book of Proverbs concentrates on matters of everyday practicality more than any other book of the Bible. This book distills it all into riveting images and sound bites that keep us connected in holy obedience to the ordinary.

John 1: 1 – 3
The Word was first,
the Word present to God,
God present to the Word.
The Word was God,
in readiness for God from day one.
Everything was created through him;
nothing – not one thing! —
came into being without him.

The following comparative studies include this version:

1. Bishops, Overseers, Presbyters, and Elders
2. Entering His Rest
3. Epistle of James
4. Gifts of the Spirit
5. God So Loved the World
6. Hebrew Poetry in the Bible
7. Hebrew Synoptic Gospels
8. Jude’s Advice About Saving People
9. Lord Is My Shepherd: An Anthology
10. Lord’s Day in the Book of Revelation
11. Miracle at Cana
12. Name of Our Heavenly Father
13. Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread
14. Sabbaths and Sundown
15. Scripture Inspired by God
16. Some Variations in the Book of Acts
17. Story of the Adultress
18. Those Who Work Iniquity
19. Was Jesus Forsaken by God?
20. Words with Heathen Origins in the Scriptures