We are talking about God’s Word after all…God’s inspired Word…the book God breathed into existence… That’s why we should cease our use of “The Message”
We are talking about God’s Word after all…God’s inspired Word…the book God breathed into existence…
That’s why we should cease our use of The Message, at least as long as it is being sold and treated like a Bible translation. Thousands upon thousands of meanings that never crossed the minds of the biblical authors who wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit have been imported into a text many of us treat as though it were a translation of The Bible, and almost as many meanings that are actually in the biblical text have been left out. This is intolerable if we truly believe that no one has a right to add anything to or subtract anything from God’s Holy Word. As long as The Message is viewed and used as a Bible translation, I recommend that we stop quoting from it, preaching from it, or even reading it.
More @ Source: https://www.biola.edu/blogs/good-book-blog/2016/why-we-should-stop-using-the-message
On the Good Book Blog five example passages where The Message either adds or loses meaning–or does both. Click here to read Manning’s excellent post.)
Ephesians 2:2
| Greek Text | “Literal” Translation | The Message |
| ἐν αἷς ποτε περιεπατήσατε κατὰ τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ κόσμου τούτου, κατὰ τὸν ἄρχοντα τῆς ἐξουσίας τοῦ ἀέρος, τοῦ πνεύματος τοῦ νῦν ἐνεργοῦντος ἐν τοῖς υἱοῖς τῆς ἀπειθείας· | in which you once walked, according to the way of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit who is now at work in the children of disobedience. | It wasn’t so long ago that you were mired in that old stagnant life of sin. You let the world, which doesn’t know the first thing about living, tell you how to live. You filled your lungs with polluted unbelief, and then exhaled disobedience. |
Meaning lost: Paul tells us that before we were saved by grace (Eph 2:8-9), our conduct followed the pattern of our world and of Satan, the evil power that rules the world. The Message loses the idea of an evil demonic power in these verses.
Matthew 3:7
| Greek Text | “Literal” Translation | The Message |
| γεννήματα ἐχιδνῶν, τίς ὑπέδειξεν ὑμῖν φυγεῖν ἀπὸ τῆς μελλούσης ὀργῆς; | You brood of vipers, who directed you to flee from the coming wrath? | Brood of snakes! What do you think you’re doing slithering down here to the river? Do you think a little water on your snakeskins is going to make any difference? |
Meaning lost: In Matt 3:7, John the Baptist challenges the sincerity of the Pharisees in requesting baptism and warns that they face God’s wrath. The Message communicates their lack of sincerity, but it loses the message of God’s coming wrath.
Matthew 5:11-12
| Greek Text | “Literal” Translation | The Message |
| μακάριοί ἐστε ὅταν ὀνειδίσωσιν ὑμᾶς καὶ διώξωσιν καὶ εἴπωσιν πᾶν πονηρὸν καθʼ ὑμῶν ψευδόμενοι ἕνεκεν ἐμοῦ. χαίρετε καὶ ἀγαλλιᾶσθε, ὅτι ὁ μισθὸς ὑμῶν πολὺς ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς· | You are blessed when they revile you and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you for my sake. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven. | Not only that—count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—give a cheer, even!—for though they don’t like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. |
Meaning lost and added: Jesus encourages persecuted disciples that they will be rewarded in heaven. The Message moves that entirely to the present: “heaven applauds.” The idea of future reward is lost. At the same time, The Message adds a phrase attempting to explain why people persecute (“What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort”); that idea is not found at all in the Greek text.
Matthew 6:20
| Greek Text | “Literal” Translation | The Message |
| Ὁ λύχνος τοῦ σώματός ἐστιν ὁ ὀφθαλμός. ἐὰν οὖν ᾖ ὁ ὀφθαλμός σου ἁπλοῦς, ὅλον τὸ σῶμά σου φωτεινὸν ἔσται· | The lamp of the body is the eye; if therefore your eye is whole/ generous, your whole body is full of light | Your eyes are windows into your body. If you open your eyes wide in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. |
Meaning added: Jesus’ saying about the whole/ generous eye probably refers to God’s blessing on those who are generous (see my explanation here; another interpretation is that it refers to sincerity). The Message adds the idea of “wonder and belief,” which is not a possible interpretation of the phrase.
To be fair, in the next verse (Matt 6:21), The Message does a great job of getting across the idea that bad eye means stinginess: “If you live squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is a dank cellar.”
Matthew 6:27-28
| Greek Text | “Literal” Translation | The Message |
| τίς δὲ ἐξ ὑμῶν μεριμνῶν δύναται προσθεῖναι ἐπὶ τὴν ἡλικίαν αὐτοῦ πῆχυν ἕνα; καὶ περὶ ἐνδύματος τί μεριμνᾶτε; καταμάθετε τὰ κρίνα τοῦ ἀγροῦ πῶς αὐξάνουσιν· οὐ κοπιῶσιν οὐδὲ νήθουσιν· | And which of you by worrying is able to add one cubit to his stature/life? And why do you worry about clothing? Learn from the lilies of the field, how they grow; they do not labor nor spin. | Has anyone by fussing in front of a mirror ever gotten taller…? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? |
Meaning added and lost: In this section of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus encourages his disciples not to worry about how they will pay for basic necessities such as food and clothing (6:25, 31), because they can trust God to provide. The Message removes that idea of worrying about paying for clothing and replaces it with a warning against vanity and attention to fancy clothing.
