(Please note that this paraphrase of the Bible is available in various editions, at various prices. The ISBN and price information given above are for the copy sent by the publisher.)

Okay, look on your bookshelf. How many Bibles do you have? How many are "translations," how many are "paraphrases"? This is an important difference.

For most Latter-day Saints, the King James Version retains its virtual stranglehold on their Bible reading habits. Over the years, I've suggested several reasons for this. Familiarity, of course, is one reason. The majesty of the language is another. Likewise, should the Church decide to go with another translation, putting aside the archaic language and sentence structures of the Authorized Version, the King James-like language of the Book of Mormon would become even less accessible than it is becoming to a new generation of readers.

But there's an even more important reason, in my opinion. Mormonism, having been born in a Bible-reading environment, adopted much of the King James Version nomenclature to describe its own mission. Shifting to a newer version of the Bible would mean something of a disconnect from the historical phraseology, a jarring move that would many would object to.

I do acknowledge that many Mormon writers are beginning to reach out to newer translations to better explain the Biblical text. It is not uncommon to see reference to these in Church books and magazines. But the King James Version remains the standard, and will likewise be dominant for the foreseeable future.

Peterson's The Message is a relatively new addition to the field of Bible versions. It is a paraphrase, not a translation. The last major paraphrase to hit the streets and make a big splash was Kenneth Taylor's The Living Bible, loved by many as a readable and lively interpretation of the Bible, but scorned by scholars and critics as hopelessly flawed and skewed toward a fundamentalist, predispensational view of both history and eschatology.

I wanted to review The Message because it seems to have received a great deal of attention for its refreshing and differently-imagined retelling of the Bible story. I had seen the New Testament before, but this is the first I've had a chance to look at the entire Bible.

(I should mention that the volume I received is a "numbered edition." Book collectors beware -- it doesn't mean a limited edition. Previous printings omitted verse numbers for each verse. This edition supplies those verse numbers. Hence, this is a "numbered edition.")

In order to evaluate The Message, I would like to compare some often-cited Bible verses with Peterson's rendering of those verses. My thanks to the many friends who supplied suggestions as to which verses would be most helpful to study. A special thanks to my friend Randall Larsen for pointing to a web page where I could do this on line. My fingers thank you, Randall!

Let's start at 1 Thessalonians 5:22 -- "Abstain from all appearance of evil." Scholars have agreed that the meaning behind the verse is that we should avoid any place where evil appears -- and this is the way the verse is generally used in Mormonism -- rather than that we should avoid those things that may appear evil to some. Here is Peterson's rendering: "Throw out anything tainted with evil." That seems to be closer to the actual meaning of the verse.

James 1:5-6 is often quoted: "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed." Most will recognize this as the verse that prompted Joseph Smith to pray in the Sacred Grove. Here is Peterson's paraphrase: "If you don't know what you're doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You'll get his help, and won't be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who 'worry their prayers' are like wind-whipped waves." Would Joseph have liked this? Hard to say.

Let's look at Revelation 14:6-7: "And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." Here's Peterson: "I saw another Angel soaring in Middle-Heaven. He had an Eternal Message to preach to all who were still on earth, every nation and tribe, every tongue and people. He preached in a loud voice, 'Fear God and give him glory! His hour of judgment has come! Worship the Maker of Heaven and earth, salt sea and fresh water!'" The phrase "Middle-Heaven" will sound a bit strange to LDS ears. Also, the word "still" in the phrase "still on earth" seems to imply a theology that has something of a "rapture taste" to it.

Now, one of the biggies -- Ephesians 1:10 -- "That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:" Here's Peterson: "a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth." Wow! This won't work!

Some verses, although not specifically of Mormon interest, left me rather conflicted. Consider John 1:14 -- "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." Peterson has it: "The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish." I hated the idea of Jesus moving "into the neighborhood," but rather liked the rest of the verse.

Once you get past the jarring differences in Peterson's paraphrase, and remember that Mormonism is not the center of the biblical studies universe, works like this can be better appreciated. Having read representative passages, I can report that Peterson's work is far less biased, and more lively, than The Living Bible. Of course, neither should be used for word study or for serious biblical research, but it does succeed nicely in bringing certain passages a new sense of clarity.

Some of it is pretty gritty stuff. Remember Paul, in the seventh chapter of Romans, wringing his hands over his conflicted sense of knowing right and not doing it? And then, beginning in the first verse of chapter 8, his proclamation of victory? Here's The Message:

With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those who enter into Christ's being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death.

God went for the jugular when he sent his own Son. He didn't deal with the problem as something remote and unimportant. In his Son, Jesus, he personally took on the human condition, entered the disordered mess of struggling humanity in order to set it right once and for all. The law code, weakened as it always was by fractured human nature, could never have done that.

The law always ended up being used as a Band-Aid on sin instead of a deep healing of it.

I must say, this passage really moved me.

In the end, paraphrases aren't for everyone. Some object that we should stick as closely to the original text as is possible, given that the original text is not available. Even dynamic equivalence translations are frowned upon. But if one is a stickler for accuracy, why hang on to the King James Version? Despite attempts by well-intentioned General Authorities and scholars to defend it, there is little doubt that it contains numerous problems.

For those who want a bit of fresh air, and don't mind a person taking liberties with the text, The Message is both innovative and inspiring. Students of the Bible will find interesting insights, and even some spiritual clarity, in Peterson's effort.

Finally, for those who want to take a close look, www.biblegateway.com has The Message, along with other translations, for you to compare. Thanks again to Randall for the pointer.

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Jeffrey Needle
May 14, 2006