Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Proverbs From The Message

I have read the book of Proverbs dozens of times over the years.  It is easy to read cause for the most part the chapters line up with the day of the month.  Example: today is June 26th so I read Proverbs 26.

Proverbs are profound, quick words of wisdom that help guide our thoughts and actions.  I believe Jesus, the Living Word of God, read the Proverbs and showed us what they looked like fulfilled in a life.

Today I read them from an English version of the Bible that I have never used with Proverbs before.  I usually read from the New International Version(NIV).  But today I read from a paraphrase version of Scripture, The Message(MSG).  The Message helped me see these words I have read dozens of times in a brand new way.  They jumped off the page.

Eugene Peterson, the author of The Message translation, is a biblical scholar and genius.  I highly recommend his translation of the Scriptures, especially Proverbs.  Here is a comparison of a few verses from the NIV and the MSG versions.  See how they jump.  I think so anyway.

What do you think?

What versions do you recommend?       

Proverbs 26:4
NIV Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him.
MSG Don’t respond to the stupidity of a fool; you’ll only look foolish yourself.

Proverbs 26:17
NIV Like one who grabs a stray dog by the ears is someone who rushes into a quarrel not their own.
MSG You grab a mad dog by the ears when you butt into a quarrel that’s none of your business

Proverbs 26:22
NIV The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts.
MSG Listening to gossip is like eating cheap candy; do you want junk like that in your belly?

1 comment:

Gloria said...

I enjoyed the Msg version a lot more. It was a lot easier to understand. Thank you for the comparison.