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The Message

The New Testament in Contemporary Language

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The Message

By: Eugene H. Peterson
Narrated by: Kelly Ryan Dolan, Carol Nix
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About this listen

 "This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need to be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life."

Those familiar with any part of the Bible will recognize John 3:16, with a mind-altering difference. The words are fresh, new, and sound like the 21st century. That's because they are from The Message, a presentation of the Word of God crafted for a modern age. Eugene Peterson, translator and editor, learned from his years of teaching and pastoring that most people, through familiarity or frustration with the Bible, were missing the whole message of Scripture: the Word that God uses to create and save us, heal and bless us, judge and rule over us. So he set out to give us that word in language we use every day, a reading Bible that would enable the Word to penetrate our hearts and minds, transforming us day by day into the person God desires us to be.

©2003 Eugene Peterson (P)2003 Oasis Audio LLC, Under Arrangement With NavPress, Publisher Of The Original Book Version Bibles Bibles & Bible Study Christianity

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Critic reviews

"Acclaimed biblical language scholar Peterson has paraphrased the original Greek and Hebrew of these most popular books of the Bible into vibrant, easy-to-read modern English." ( Ingram)
All stars
Most relevant  

If you could sum up The Message in three words, what would they be?

Understandable, inspiring, listenable

Who was your favorite character and why?

The Message is full of characters! Essentially, it is about God himself, and he is the reason for my wanting to read it.

Have you listened to any of Kelly Ryan Dolan and Carol Nix ’s other performances? How does this one compare?

No

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Many spots, particularly the stories of Jesus and his passion, death and resurrection.

Any additional comments?

The Message is more than "a book": it is an experience. And because it is in modern English - albeit very American in vocabulary and style - it speaks to the heart even of an Englishman.

The Bible Makes Sense

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What did you like most about The Message?

Peterson's poetic version of the New Testament is simply wonderful, either when read on its own or when read alongside other versions (I read alongside one or more of the following: NLT, NET, NIV & NASB). I bought my first paper copy of the Message some years ago (1993 or 1994) and fell in love with it immediately. I still feel swept away when reading it and many of Peterson's translations have given me new and fresh and vibrant insights into passages I know well from other versions. The Message is inspired and this audio version is an amazing way to experience it. Try and make time to listen to whole books at a time. Discover and experience God's revelation through a new encounter with the living Word.

Great Bible Experience

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Easy to understand version of the Bible New Testament it’s really good for new believers or people who struggle with NIV/KJV

Glory to God

Amen

Easy to understand version of the Bible New Testament

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Would you listen to The Message again? Why?

Again and again

Who was your favorite character and why?

Jesus

Have you listened to any of Kelly Ryan Dolan and Carol Nix ’s other performances? How does this one compare?

Not yet

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Already has ....... The Greatest Story Ever Told :-D

Any additional comments?

You will NOT be disappointed!!!

wonderful true story!

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I love having this in audio book form, it means you can listen to scripture whilst carrying on with your day. I often found it hard to find time to sit down and read my Bible. Although I would make sure to try and do so everyday, often it would mean my time would be cut short. Being able to listen to this is great as it allows you to fit reading the word of God in to your day to day life, journey to and from work, cooking, house work, anywhere. As "The Message" translation is more fluid compared to others; this has helped when listening to it whilst on the move.
In this format, from Audible, it comes in 3 parts. Titled Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3. This means its not easy to find particular books, chapters or verses. If this was an important feature for you, then I would suggest getting it in CD format, which would make it easier to find specific books and chapters. Otherwise I would definitely recommend getting a copy of this! Beautifully read and easy to listen to, but be warned its not so easy to put down! You may find you have spent the whole day absorbed in the word of God!

Brilliant

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Would you consider the audio edition of The Message to be better than the print version?

Great for listening when walking the dog

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Message?

Language makes the bible readable as a story

What about Kelly Ryan Dolan and Carol Nix ’s performance did you like?

Easy to listen to

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No

Easy listen

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- liked the expression given by the speaker.
-Great way to explore the Bible
- only thing I didn’t like was that there are no chapters in the contents eg Matthew 1. You have to bookmark them yourself.

Great Quality

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The words, the voice, the introductions to each chapter, it's all simply brilliant. I really do recommend this version of the bible. It has helped me 'rediscover' the bible.

Brilliant!

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I found it very unhelpful that I could not ask for the bible book or chapter and verse that I wanted to listen too. Instead the Message seemed to broken up into unusable time spans as the chapter markers, so if you ask for chapter 2 or some other number it will just start in the middle of some book of the bible somewhere, without telling you where.
To make this a good buy it would need to be able to take you to the book you ask for such as 'read Luke' or read 'James' and it would also be of great help to be able to say, for example 'read John chapter 8' and also 'read John chapter 8 from verse 12'.

Problem Area

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I have used this version for over twenty years and feel that it is the perfect be that has brought the Bible alive to me in more ways than any other I have read. I am so grateful that Eugene Petersen took the many years of hard work to produce this version. All of us who love the Bible are forever in his debt.

A masterful and fresh rendering of the New Testament

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