Let’s take a moment to evaluate. There are two different types of Bible translations. The most widely accepted is the “dynamic equivalent,” or thought-for-thought version. This type of translation takes the original Greek and Hebrew texts and translates the thoughts and concepts into English while leaving out certain words or metaphors that may not be understood by the modern audience. While there are indeed some very decent and reliable dynamic equivalents, they do not compare with “formal dynamics” or literal translations, which translate the exact, or nearly exact, words from one language to another. Among these is the widely acclaimed English Standard Version, or ESV.
Within the past fifteen years or so, a new craze has taken flight in America’s Christian culture with the use of The Message Bible. What is The Message? Well, it’s a very liberally translated paraphrase of the original texts that attempts to make the Word of God more accessible and comprehensible to the modern reader. It does this, however, at the expense of many foundational elements in the Word. Eugene Peterson, the lone author of the work, downplays demonic activities and homosexuality and attempts to convey an overall more “friendly” tone.
Allow me to give you an example. Many of you are already familiar with Ephesians 6:12. “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” That’s in the ESV. Now, notice how earnest the text is in conveying the seriousness of the fight—“rulers,” “authorities,” “cosmic powers,” “darkness,” and “forces of evil.” Weighty, right? Let’s turn to Ephesians 6:12 in The Message. “This is no afternoon athletic contest that we'll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.” Tell me, does this seem to be nearly as convincing as the word-for-word version? Does it speak with the same solemnity and gravity? No, not really.
Quiz Time!
Alright, now, this is all well and good, but still, what does it really matter? So this popular new version is less intense, but it’s still the Bible, right? Maybe. We all agree that the Bible calls us not to conform to the world. Now, I’m going to read you two quotes at a time and I want you to decide which one is from The Message.
1. a) “With an eye made quiet by the power of harmony, and the deep power of joy, we see into the life of things.”
b)“[I have] more joy in one ordinary day than they get in all their shopping sprees.”
Which quote would you identify as coming from The Message, as coming from a supposed version of the Bible? The answer is “b”—yes, who knew the Bible talked about shopping sprees? The other one was from William Wordsworth.
2. a) “Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way…to finding yourself, your true self.”
b) “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
Which of these “find yourself” quotes could possibly have been taken from The Message? The answer was “a,” from Matthew 16:25. The second one was Gandhi.
3. a) “Nature always wears the colors of the Spirit.”
b) "Are your ears awake? Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches."
Nature? Wind? What kind of “spirit” is this—is it even in the Word of God? The answer, evidently, is yes, “b” is found in Revelation 3:22. “A” was Ralph Waldo Emerson.
I’m sure you are getting the point. The Message sounds a lot like these other worldly men—so much so that it actually serves to water down the true message of Scripture. So what do we do?
Let’s go back to our options. We’ve got dynamic equivalence, which would be your Message, Living Bible, and TNIV. Then we have the translations that are, in a manner of speaking, split between the two, such as the NIV and the NAB. Finally, we have our formal equivalence Bibles, the most accurate and reliable reads we have without simply learning Greek and Hebrew. These would be your NASB and ESV.
While the NASB is highly accurate in nature, it doesn’t flow as well in its read. The ESV, on the other hand, is totally reliable as well as being completely readable.
The website affirms that “The ESV is committed to the principle of ‘word-for-word’ translation, as the translation philosophy that most accurately conveys the Bible’s own understanding that ‘all Scripture is breathed out by God’ (2 Timothy 3:16), or as Jesus said, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God’ (Matthew 4:4).”
Choosing to read and use the ESV over other translations allows for a more accurate, profitable, and serious study of the Word that shall stand firm forever. Why settle for anything less?
Bibliography
"How is the ESV Different from Other Translations?" ESV.org: Official Website of the English Standard Version Bible. Web. 28 Feb. 2010.
The Message. Colorado Springs: NavPress Group, 2002. Print.
Ryken, Leland. Choosing a Bible understanding Bible translation differences. Wheaton, Ill: Crossway, 2005. Print.
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