Message Version Bible: A Reading Experience That is Reliable and Amazingly Fresh
Few books have had a great influence on every aspect of human life and one of the most influential one is definitely the Holy Bible. As the foundation of Christianity, the Bible unites faith, hope and God's word into a powerful tale of events that have shaped and changed history and the society we live in today. Its influence can be best seen in the fact that it is the most read and naturally the most translated book ever, and nowadays there are many Bible versions that capture God's word in different ways but they are of course all derived from the original text. Interpreting God's word in any language is not that simple, having in mind the grammar and syntax of each language are prone to changes and as time goes by new words and phrases are introduced, some words change their meaning, while others are no longer used.
The original manuscripts and texts of Scripture were written in Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic and depending on the translation methods, there are formal, dynamic and paraphrased Bible versions. Making use of both the dynamic and paraphrased approach the Message Version Bible offers a unique reading experience and provides a great insight in a way that is both understandable and easy to read. A literal interpretation of the original texts can be found in the formal translations, which try to be as precise and accurate as possible and make use of the word for word approach. This means that these versions are more difficult to understand and are usually useful for comprehensive studies of Scripture.
With a more contemporary wording and trying to better capture the meaning behind the initial manuscripts, the Message Version Bible, is simple to understand and doesn't give so much attention to literal meaning as the formal ones do. The main purpose of this book is to to bring God's word closer to the modern English reader and provide a unique perspective to the biblical story. It is written to be more comprehensible and accessible, while still reflecting the original meaning and teachings of the Greek, Aramaic and Hebrew manuscripts. The creator of The Message is Eugene H. Peterson who besides being the author of more than 30 books is a pastor and scholar as well. The book was published in various parts between 1993 and 2002, and includes maps and charts that can help you get a better understanding of where and when the biblical events took place.
