BLB (Better Life Bible)
Internet access to the BLB.
Introduction to the BLB
from the translator:
Now you can read the Bible in a style you’ll easily understand, without stumbling over difficult terms or puzzling over the meaning.
Discover:
How to connect with God
How you can enjoy a better life
How to relate better to other people
Why your life is sometimes miserable
Category: Better Life Bible
Introduction to the BLB
from the translator:
Now you can read the Bible in a style you’ll easily understand, without stumbling over difficult terms or puzzling over the meaning.
Discover:
Category: Better Life Bible
posted by Wayne Leman at 11:55 PM
7 Comments:
I know this is an old post, so I don't know if my comment will be read.
The fact that this is a paraphrase isn't what bothers me. What bothers me is that very important ideas are often oversimplified and therefore, the meaning completely changes. For example, the verse in which Peter affirms Jesus' deity is completely glossed over! Jesus was far more than just a bearer of good news. This rendering implies that He is not God's son, just a prophet. Even Muslims believe that. I would at least add, "You are God's son." And baptized being called "rinsed" sounds a bit cheap to me. Even the Message doesn't "dumb it down" that much.
Flute, one or two of us read comments on old posts. I will send a link to this one to Dan Sindlinger for him to comment further if he wishes.
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Flute4jc, Thanks for your post. Please indicate which verse you're referring to so I can respond appropriately.
The term "baptize" is a very familiar term to Christians but not to people who have never attended a church. Since it is an expression used almost exclusively in church circles, it carries little or no meaning for unchurched people. It is actually a transliteration (writing a foreign word with English letters) of the Greek term BAPTIZW which refers to washing and/or rinsing something with water. Most Bible versions use the term "baptize," but since The Better Life Bible is geared to people with little or no knowledge of the Bible, I decided to use the expression "symbolically rinse." I welcome other suggestions to convey that concept in a meaningful way.
Thanks for your thoughts.
Thanks for responding, Dan. Ok, maybe "cheap" and "dumb it down" were a poor choice of words. I actually can understand the use of rinse in that context. Still, I think that simply calling Jesus "God's special messenger" completely misses the mark on why Jesus came. The passage I was referring to is in Matthew 16 (if verse numbers were used, it would be verse 16). Some parts of the Bible are just hard, no matter how easy we try to make it. So to me, there's no use watering down those parts, unless you (referring to anybody) just don't believe Jesus IS God's Son and think that "Son" is merely symbolic. That's something that little kids/non-Christians just have to come to understand over time, like I did.
Flute4jc, Thanks for indicating the verse. Here's some of my rationale for translating as I did.
When I initially translated Matthew and Mark, I used the expression "God in human form" to convey the meaning of "Son of God". Since then, I've noticed that "Son of God" is often used in connection with "Christ" (Messiah):
Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:16 - NIV)
The high priest said to him, "I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God!" (Matthew 26:63 - NIV)
"She [Martha] told him, “I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world." (John 11:27 - NIV)
But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:31 - NIV)
Simon Peter, the high priest, Martha, and John all used "Son of God" in apposition to "Christ", suggesting a close association in meaning. Luke appears to use the two terms synonymously:
Demons came out of many people, shouting, "You are the Son of God!" But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Christ. (Luke 4:41 - NIV)
The only occurrence of "Son of God" in the entire Old Testament is in Daniel 3:25 where it conveys the idea of "God’s special messenger". That meaning relates well with "Christ" (Messiah), the one whom God promised would help people enjoy a better life, and it makes good sense in many other New Testament contexts where the term "Son of God" occurs. So instead of keeping the expression "God in human form" in my translation of Matthew 16:16, I decided to revise it to the following:
"You're God’s special messenger, who God promised would help people enjoy a better life.”
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