The-Message-MSG
Short answer: The Message (MSG) is a paraphrase of the Bible produced by pastor and scholar Eugene Peterson, first published in 1993 for the New Testament and completed for the whole Bible in 2002. It is not a translation from the original languages in the way the New American Standard Bible or English Standard Version is. Peterson worked from the Hebrew and Greek, but he deliberately rendered the text in contemporary, conversational English, often expanding or compressing sentences to convey what he judged to be the sense. That makes it useful as a devotional reading aid and unreliable as a primary text for doctrine, careful exegesis, or memorization. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, "Every Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness," and that standard should govern how we use any paraphrase.
What The Message actually is
The Message is best described as a paraphrase or an idiomatic rendering, not a formal translation. Peterson himself resisted calling it a translation and described his work as bringing the Bible into everyday American speech. He pastored for decades before producing it, and the project grew out of his own study and preaching. The result reads more like a novel or a letter than like the cadenced prose most English Bibles use.
Because it is a paraphrase, the wording you read is Peterson's interpretation of the original. When the Greek of Romans 12:2 uses a passive imperative about being transformed, The Message may render it as an active invitation to change. That is not necessarily wrong, but it is an interpretive move, and the reader is receiving Peterson's judgment about what the verse means rather than the closest possible equivalent of what it says.
This does not make the project dishonest. Peterson was transparent about his method. But it does define what the book is. Treating The Message as though it carried the same authority as a translation obscures the difference between the text and one man's rendering of the text.
Why 2 Timothy 3:16-17 sets the standard
Paul wrote to Timothy that all Scripture is God-breathed, which means its authority comes from God, not from the skill or style of the human writer. The verse goes on to say it is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness. Those four uses are weight-bearing. Teaching and correction require that the words actually say what we claim they say.
A paraphrase can serve those purposes when it is checked against a translation, but it cannot carry them alone. If a paraphrase smooths a difficult phrase into something clearer than the original allows, the reader may be corrected by Peterson rather than by Paul. The doctrine of inspiration attaches to the original words, which is why the church has always labored over translation.
Timothy's context is worth noting. Paul was writing near the end of his life, warning about false teachers and urging Timothy to hold fast to what he had learned. The appeal is not to a fresh, lively rendering but to the Scriptures themselves, which Timothy had known from childhood. The standard is the text, not the style.
Where a paraphrase genuinely helps
Paraphrases have a real and legitimate place. Many readers have found that a fresh rendering of a familiar passage breaks through the dullness that comes from over-familiarity. A phrase that has been heard so often it no longer lands can suddenly strike home when it is put in ordinary speech. That is not a small gift.
Nehemiah 8:8 describes Ezra's team reading the law and giving the sense so the people understood. That verse is often cited in favor of paraphrasing, and there is something to it: clarity of understanding is a genuine goal. But notice that Nehemiah describes an oral explanation of a Hebrew text to a congregation, not the production of a new written Bible that would replace the old one.
Used alongside a translation, The Message can function like a good sermon illustration. It can open a window. It should not become the window frame. Read it, enjoy it, and then go back to the translation to see what the words actually say.
The cost of paraphrase for doctrine and memorization
Doctrine is built on precise wording, and paraphrase by definition changes wording. Consider the careful distinctions the church has defended over centuries: the relationship of the Father and the Son in John 1:1, the meaning of justification in Romans 3, the nature of the resurrection body in 1 Corinthians 15. Each debate turns on what the Greek actually says. A paraphrase that recasts a sentence for readability may blur exactly the line that matters.
Memorization raises a similar issue. A verse hidden in the heart should be a verse that can be examined, cross-referenced, and defended. If a paraphrase is the only version someone has learned, they may find themselves quoting Peterson when they mean to quote Paul, and unable to answer a question about what the original text contains.
This is not a reason for fear, but for order. Learn a translation. Read the paraphrase as a companion. Where faithful Christians differ, they differ about how much a paraphrase can be trusted for various uses, not usually about whether the original languages are the final authority.
What Deuteronomy 4:2 and Revelation 22:18-19 warn against
Scripture takes additions and subtractions seriously. Deuteronomy 4:2 says, "You shall not add to the word which I command you, neither shall you take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of Yahweh your God which I command you." Revelation 22:18-19 contains a similar warning about the prophecy of that book. These are not prohibitions against translating, since translation is necessary for the gospel to reach the nations.
They are warnings against tampering with the substance of what God has said. A paraphrase that expands a phrase to explain it is not the same as a paraphrase that changes what the text asserts. The question to ask is whether the rendering preserves the claims of the original or replaces them with something more agreeable.
Peterson's work is not, in the ordinary sense, an attempt to add to Scripture. But the warnings should cultivate a habit: when a paraphrase surprises you, check it. That habit protects both your doctrine and your confidence in the text.
The role of the Spirit in understanding Scripture
Reading Scripture is not merely a technical exercise. 1 Corinthians 2:12-13 says, "But we received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God, that we might know the things which were freely given to us by God." The Spirit is given so that believers may know what God has freely given. That includes understanding the text.
This is important because it guards against two errors. One is dry intellectualism that treats the Bible as a puzzle to be solved without prayer. The other is a mystical approach that treats the plain wording of the text as unimportant, as though the Spirit would supply a private meaning. 2 Peter 1:20-21 says, "knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of private interpretation," which rules out the second error.
The Spirit does not make a paraphrase more authoritative than a translation. He illuminates the Scripture itself. A paraphrase may help us see something we had missed, but it remains a human rendering, subject to correction by the text.
How to read The Message wisely
Read it after a translation, not before. Let the translation give you the text; let the paraphrase give you a second angle. If the paraphrase opens your eyes to something, turn back to the translation and ask whether the original words support what you just felt. Sometimes they do, and you have made a genuine discovery. Sometimes they do not, and you have learned something about the limits of paraphrase.
Do not teach from it. Do not build a doctrine on it. Do not quote it in a setting where someone might assume the words are the words of Scripture rather than Peterson's rendering. Use it for devotional reading, for fresh hearing, and as one tool among many. And keep a translation you can trust as your daily bread.
None of this requires dismissing The Message. Many readers have been helped by it. The counsel is simply to know what you are holding and to let the God-breathed text, not the paraphrase, have the final word.
Choosing a primary translation
If The Message is a companion, you still need a primary text. The English Standard Version and the New American Standard Bible follow the original languages closely. The Christian Standard Bible and the New International Version balance readability with accuracy. The King James Version and New King James Version have a long history in English-speaking churches. Each has strengths and weaknesses, and faithful Christians disagree about which to prefer.
The New American Standard Bible and English Standard Version follow the original languages closely and are widely used in study and preaching. The Christian Standard Bible and New International Version balance readability with accuracy. The King James Version and New King James Version carry long histories in English-speaking churches. Faithful Christians disagree about which to prefer, and the disagreement is not a test of orthodoxy.
Whatever you choose, read it as a translation, with the awareness that even the best translation involves decisions. Compare versions when a verse matters. Look at the underlying Greek or Hebrew when you can. The goal is not to master the languages but to keep your confidence anchored in what God actually said.
Biblical fidelity check
2 Timothy 3:16-17 establishes that Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness. It does not say that every rendering of Scripture into another language carries that same authority, and it does not authorize paraphrases to function as the text itself. The passage sets a high standard for what we build our doctrine on, and that standard attaches to the words God inspired, which is why translation work matters so much.
A common misreading treats this verse as a blanket endorsement of any Bible product that calls itself a Bible. That is wrong because the verse is speaking about Scripture, not about every book that reproduces or restates portions of it. Another misreading swings the other way and uses this verse to condemn all translation on the theory that only the originals are inspired. That is also wrong, since translation is the means by which the gospel reaches the nations and by which Timothy himself, whose family used the Greek Scriptures, learned the truth. The verse honors the text and the labor of bringing it faithfully into every tongue.
Other passages that speak to 2 Timothy 3:16-17
Several passages in the supplied text deepen the picture. Nehemiah 8:8 shows the people being given the sense of the law so they understood the reading, which commends clarity in handling Scripture. Deuteronomy 4:2 and Revelation 22:18-19 warn against adding to or taking from God's word, which underscores why paraphrases must be checked rather than trusted as the final text. 2 Peter 1:20-21 locates the origin of prophecy in the Holy Spirit rather than human will, grounding the authority of Scripture. 1 Corinthians 2:12-13 describes the Spirit given so that believers may know the things freely given by God, which is the proper basis for understanding. For related studies, see What Does 1 Corinthians 1:10 Mean? Context, Theology, and Application, What Does 1 Corinthians 1:9 Mean? Context, Theology, and Application, 1 Corinthians 1: Called, United, and Boasting in the Lord, and 1 Corinthians 10: Warnings and Freedom.
Frequently asked questions
Is The Message a Bible translation or a paraphrase?
The Message is generally classified as a paraphrase rather than a translation. Eugene Peterson worked from the Hebrew and Greek but rendered the text in contemporary, conversational English, often reshaping sentences to convey what he understood the sense to be. That means the wording reflects interpretive decisions, not a strict word-for-word equivalent. It can be read as a companion to a translation, but it should not be treated as the primary text for doctrine, teaching, or memorization.
Can I use The Message for Bible study?
You can use it as a secondary resource in Bible study, provided you keep a translation open alongside it. Read the translation first, then the paraphrase, and check whether the paraphrase preserves what the original says. Where it clarifies, give thanks. Where it deviates, note it and stay with the translation. Used this way, The Message can help you hear familiar passages freshly without letting one man's rendering become your standard for what Scripture teaches.
Does 2 Timothy 3:16-17 apply to paraphrases too?
2 Timothy 3:16-17 says that every Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness. The verse concerns Scripture itself, the words God inspired, not every rendering of those words into modern speech. Paraphrases are useful in proportion to how faithfully they carry the meaning of the inspired text. They do not become Scripture by being printed between covers, and they should be tested against faithful translations.
