Advantages: Easy reading Disadvantages: Perhaps difficult to reconcile with King James English versions
...The New Testament of the Bible is written in 'common' Greek, not the classical variety. It was the language of the ordinary people of the day, and language that Paul the Apostle would have known and spoken fluently. It was the lingua franca of the time.
When the Bible was first translated into English it was a long time ago, and the reverence the translators had for the text meant that they put it into the best English prose they could.
This was not as faithful to the original intention of the New Testament writings as they imagined.
Eugene Peterson uses contemporary common language (without being crude) to convey the sense of the original writings.
This gives the book much more of a sense of relevance to the 21st century and also makes for a gritty read. The New Testament isn't after all just pious thoughts.
For those wanting...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful
22.02.2006
30.12.2006
