The Message Translation: It’s Not A Bible!

It worries me that there seems to be a new Bible translation almost every minute. Some of these Bibles are fairly good and very much helpful to the cause of the Church. However, as with everything, there is also an influx of terrible perversions. Our case study today is the Message Bible. I had already heard the outcry about this translation before, not that I cared much, until I heard one popular African minister preaching from it. That is when I realised that this poison is actually closer to our plate than we initially thought. Someone has to address it.

The Message Bible was written and published by a man called Eugene Peterson, who, in his own words, decided to just “let go and became playful. And that was when the Sermon on the Mount started… And all of a sudden I realised this could work.” As you are already guessing, the Message Bible causes more harm to the Church than it offers solutions. These are the problems…

A product of one individual. All the good Bibles that we possess are a result of group efforts; a collection of individuals trained in languages and Bible manuscripts. It is not just one person who decided to write the NKJV or the NLT, for example, but a scholarly committee from different walks of life sat down, deliberated, researched and consulted, just to come up with a sound Bible translation. Such a thorough process goes a long way to prevent individual errors, biases, and blind spots that come with one opinion. As for the Message, it’s just one man who got bored in his basement and decided to create a translation, published it and called it the Message Bible. How’s that?

Does not attempt to convey the original – This is always a critical aspect for any Bible translation. That is, God’s people deserve to hear the original wording and meaning the way it came out to the original audience when Scripture was being written. We want to know exactly what Paul said and meant when he wrote to the Philippians. That is what all Bible translations attempt to convey. The Message Bible, however, follows no such pattern. Instead, Mr Patterson was only concerned about making the Bible “relevant” to his readers. Hence he worked overtime to twist and turn the actual text into something appealing to modern readers. To me, that sounds like 2 Timothy 4:5, where we are warned about people who will abandon sound doctrine and seek teachers who say what their itching ears want to hear. I would go ahead and mention that Eugen Peterson went to the grave believing in gay marriages and accepting of homosexual people.

Perhaps it’s only fair that I also provide some samples from the Message Bible, as compared to other versions. Check it out…

KJV Matthew 7:21-22 Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

MSG Matthew 7:21-22 Knowing the correct password–saying ‘Master, Master,’ for instance–isn’t going to get you anywhere with me. What is required is serious obedience–doing what my Father wills. I can see it now–at the Final Judgment, thousands strutting up to me and saying, ‘Master, we preached the Message, we bashed the demons, our God-sponsored projects had everyone talking 

Notice that the kingdom of heaven has been replaced with something completely different. Verse 22 now contains  “Message”. Since it appears with a capital M, it comes across as a proper noun. It suggests that the book – The Message – is what is being referred to. That gives The Message an awful lot of weight in many verses. Here, it replaces a word that means to prophesy.

KJV Romans 3:28-29 For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also,

MSG Romans 3:28-29 We’ve finally figured it out. Our lives get in step with God and all others by letting him set the pace, not by proudly or anxiously trying to run the parade. And where does that leave our proud Jewish claim of having a corner on God? Also cancelled. God is the God of outsider non-Jews as well as insider Jews.

Just notice the extra words that are added to the text. But here, I want us to note the fact that being “justified by faith” disappears completely from verse 28. That is a serious perversion.

Conclusion. Perhaps you will be lucky enough to have no chance of encountering the message translation in your lifetime. Or perhaps your kids will do. The main thing is that we preserve Biblical truth for that next generation, and the Message Bible is not that truth. It’s not a Bible! Hear my good advice: next time you see Mr Peterson’s publication somewhere on the bookshelf, do yourself a favour and pass. Dismissed.

Sinothi Ncube

Credit: Chapter 3 Ministries

          : Justin Peters Ministries 

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