I was at a used book store the other day and shocked at the volume of Bibles on their shelves. There must have been thousands of Bible of different translations and languages. It got me wondering what translations my friends used and then why any of us chose to read any particular flavor of a Bible.

For years I read the NIV. Then the NKJV. Then the NASB. At some point I started researching the scholarly basis for the various translations. I realized while legitimate complaints exist for many translation, the heart behind most was to render the story of God’s love for man in the clearest possible terms. I started reading other translations from time to time. I loved the Amplified for the lengths it takes to be sure you really got the meaning of that word. I loved the Living Translation for the heart to make the Bible accessible to everyone.

I ended up trying the Message. At first I just read it for the poetry books. Reading the Psalms in King James is great because the language is so poetic. But it’s classic (and antiquated) language reads like a static and completed work. The Message had some of that same literary quality, but also captured the vibrant now-ness of a God who moves us in ways just as he did David so long ago.

Then I started reading the Old Testament in the Message too. Genesis was illuminating.

The NIV:

“And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.”

The Message:

“God spoke: “Light!” , And light appeared.”

The tone in the NIV and so many other translations seemed too timid for God. I know he can whisper and perhaps he created the world in a hush. But I don’t think he created the world using his inside voice.

I started looked at Jesus’ words and noticed a similar trend.

The NIV:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

The Message:

“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 be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.”

That quote from Jesus was part of his response to a leading rabbi’s struggle to understand Jesus’ message. The rabbi, Nicodemus, came privately at night to ask Jesus questions and Jesus was teaching him. At lunch a friend told me that he’s always struck at how simple Jesus made his message. Jesus kept it simple because he was interested in making sure we understood. I don’t think the NIV is hard to understand, but the tone Jesus takes in the Message relates a savior striving so hard to transfer a message to the world.

I also fell in love with some of the smaller features of the message. I loved the newness of the language. I love reading text that sounds like Jesus without sounding Biblical. I love the lack of verse numbers. The original letters and histories and poems were verse-free when they were first written. In fact, the New Testament didn’t have verses at all until 500 years ago. Yes, verses are helpful for studying the Bible. Unfortunately they are also distracting for reading.

Bit by bit the Message became the version of the Bible whose words were stitched on my heart. When Jenn and I started transcribing the Bible, it was the translation we used. Now, some years later, I have many books of the Bible carefully rewritten in my own hand, all in the Message translation.

I don’t contend it’s perfect because perfect is a subjective term when it comes to Bible translations. (Though bad would be objective!) But it is good. I understand God more fully through this translation. I am better bound to my wife through our mutual adoption of a version of the Bible the made familiar text new to both of us.