Sunday, November 16, 2014

Knox vs. The Message: 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6

This might be fun.  I am going to do a comparison of one of the Sunday readings from the lectionary, using the Knox Bible and The Message.  If you think this might be of some interest (or at least amusing) let me know.  While done in different ways, I think both Knox and Peterson desired to make the Bible more accessible to the average reader.  Let's see if they were successful.  


Knox Bible:
There is no need, brethren, to write to you about the times and the seasons of all this;  you are keeping it clearly in mind, without being told, that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.  It is just when men are saying, All quiet, all safe, that doom will fall upon them suddenly, like the pangs that come to a woman in travail, and there will be no escape from it.  Whereas you, brethren, are not living in the darkness, for the day to take you by surprise, like a thief;  no, you are all born to the light, born to the day; we do not belong to the night and its darkness.  We must not sleep on, then, like the rest of the world, we must watch and keep sober.


The Message:
I don’t think, friends, that I need to deal with the question of when all this is going to happen. You know as well as I that the day of the Master’s coming can’t be posted on our calendars. He won’t call ahead and make an appointment any more than a burglar would. About the time everybody’s walking around complacently, congratulating each other—“We’ve sure got it made! Now we can take it easy!”—suddenly everything will fall apart. It’s going to come as suddenly and inescapably as birth pangs to a pregnant woman.  But friends, you’re not in the dark, so how could you be taken off guard by any of this? You’re sons of Light, daughters of Day. We live under wide open skies and know where we stand. So let’s not sleepwalk through life like those others. Let’s keep our eyes open and be smart.

12 comments:

rolf said...

Talking about darkness and light, that is the difference between these two translations. IMHO the Knox version is the light, it is much better and just as easy to understand, without the slang.

citizen DAK said...

Yes yes yes! to this sort of comparison :)

Leonardo said...

Hi,

Does the word "brehtren" is similar to "friends", in the sense of depicting the christian relationship between members of the community of faith?

I think that the word "friends" is more realistic, and it does not necesarily have a bad connotation, because a relationship of friendship implies love, but we live in a brotherhood as members of the Church.

JeffPH said...

I agree with citizen DAK's comment to make this MSG CE-Knox Comparison a regular thing in the blog!
Who knows, someone out there might get the strangest idea of publishing a parallel MSG CE-Knox bible!

rolf said...


Leonardo,
The REB also starts off this passage using 'my friends':

'About dates and times, my friends, there is no need to write to you, for you yourselves know perfectly well that the day of the Lord comes as a thief in the night.'





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Leonardo said...

Hi.

Thanks for the example of using "friends" in another versions.

As members of the church, are we members of an association, a corporation, both?

Best regards.

rolf said...

Hey Timothy,
I am starting to collect some Msgr. Knox's books like you did a couple of years ago. I bought three books on Amazon market place pretty cheap. I received a compact 'Knox New Testament' yesterday (very nice and readable), 'The Pastoral Sermons' today and I have a copy of 'The Occasional Sermons' on the way. That should hold me for a little while!

Timothy said...

Rolf,

Would love to see some photos of the compact Knox. My compact was one of the victims of the recent basement flooding from a couple months back. I too have been trying to get early editions, hardcover, Knox books. Just recently received a first edition of "Trials of a Translator" and "In Soft Garments", along with an early editon of "The Creed in Slow Motion." He is fast becoming my favorite author, I enjoy his depth of thought and his humor. In many ways I prefer him to Cheaterton or Lewis.

citizen DAK said...

This sounds like a call to verbum.com to create a Knox Collection :)
( ++ JeffPH )

citizen DAK said...

T.M., wow those are strong words of recommendation.

JeffPH said...

Knox Collection? Hmmm...that would be nice,
But a compact Knox Bible (OT+NT) has to become a reality first!

Timothy said...

Compact Knox would be amazing.