I am going to continue this series of comparing one of the Sunday readings from the lectionary, using the Knox Bible and The Message. 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:
But when John had been put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God’s kingdom: The appointed time has come, he said, and the kingdom of God is near at hand; repent, and believe the gospel. And as he passed along the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Simon’s brother Andrew casting a net into the sea (for they were fishermen); Jesus said to them, Come and follow me; I will make you into fishers of men. And they dropped their nets immediately, and followed him. Then he went a little further, and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; these too were in their boat, repairing their nets; all at once he called them, and they, leaving their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, turned aside after him.
The Message
After John was arrested, Jesus went to Galilee preaching the Message of God: “Time’s up! God’s kingdom is here. Change your life and believe the Message.” Passing along the beach of Lake Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew net-fishing. Fishing was their regular work. Jesus said to them, “Come with me. I’ll make a new kind of fisherman out of you. I’ll show you how to catch men and women instead of perch and bass.” They didn’t ask questions. They dropped their nets and followed. A dozen yards or so down the beach, he saw the brothers James and John, Zebedee’s sons. They were in the boat, mending their fishnets. Right off, he made the same offer. Immediately, they left their father Zebedee, the boat, and the hired hands, and followed.
6 comments:
This is exactly why I dislike The Message so intensely: in no universe is that 'a translation'.....
“Come with me. I’ll make a new kind of fisherman out of you. I’ll show you how to catch men and women instead of perch and bass.”
The text never mentions 'perch' or 'bass', I don't even know if those fish can even be found in the Holy Land....I would have to look it up.
Adding in a reference to 'perch and bass' is not a translation, at best it's a paraphrase...and at worst....well....the worst case scenario is not as nice as 'paraphrase'
It is a paraphrase and makes no claim otherwise. The people who have published the Catholic Edition have insisted on this and have highly recommended using it with ones favorite translation. I think for many of us, who are use to reading the Bible and familiar with endless "bible wars" debates on translation find it hard to find a place for this translation. However, this past year I have recommended its use for difficult passages, in both my high school and adult classes I teach, and have received favorable responses. In particular, some of the more difficult passages in the Wisdom Literature.
I don't know what they say in this edition, but in the past the publisher has claimed that it is a translation
I'm going to divert for a moment and ask an unrelated question. How is your rebound Knox holding up after some usage? I always wonder if rebinds are as sturdy as a quality "store bought" binding.
Peter Brennan
Peter,
Thanks for the question. It is holding up just fine. It is as good as it was when I rebound it two years ago. It helps that Baronius makes an already good Bible with quality sewn binding.
"Time?s up"? Really? Does Peterson even know what that expression means?
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