The Message (MSG) , 2002 full Bible
Bible translation
Review scope: The translation text and selected text revision. Font size, margins and binding belong to a specific printed edition.
Text revisions and printed editions are separate. Font size and margins are listed by publisher and ISBN below. See printed editions →
NavPress, Christian ministry (The Navigators) · one translator, Eugene H. Peterson · published by NavPress with Tyndale House Publishers
Edition 2018 text , current2002 full Bible , superseded1993 New Testament , superseded
Scores and reviews below describe the selected historical edition. The sourced facts describe the current edition.
Pending source verification
Where to read or buy
Read Read online at messagebible.comLink not enabled
Seller links are enabled after an agreement or seller request is approved. Reference citations remain available for checking facts. How links work
Request a seller link →Community track
Not enough counted responses yet
0 counted responses · few
The headline share appears at 3 counted responses. How this is computed
Vetted results appear at 3 counted written reviews. Tracks are never blended.
Verify
Scores and meters here are recomputed from the public vote log. This listing has 1 events in it; the whole log has 140, with state hash 1d39701efc13bae6a2521aafddb90f0a819613002d8a05a2f454c9edf374cf73.
On-chain anchoring is not active on this deployment yet. The hash chain is live and verifiable on its own.
Recompute this yourself: the events for this listing, the full export, the script and the contract.
Meters · 0 written reviews counted
Neither end is better. Each meter is shrunk toward 3.0 with C = 7.
Readability
no counted reviews yet
Literal to idiomatic feel
no counted reviews yet
Study helps
no counted reviews yet
Devotional to academic feel
no counted reviews yet
Fidelity questions are answered by the spec sheet and the Disputes panel below, never by a number.
Spec sheet
Source links are provided for facts. A fetched date appears only after verification; pending facts are labeled. Nothing here is a rating.
- Made by
NavPress, the book-publishing division of The Navigators, an evangelical ministry; published with Eugene Peterson since 1993, and since 2014 through a publishing alliance with Tyndale House Publishers
Verification pending- Official website
https://messagebible.com/read-the-message/
Verification pendingExisting editorial catalog metadata- Languages
English
Verification pendingExisting editorial catalog metadata- Intended audience
- Verification pending Existing editorial catalog metadata
- Full name
The Message
Verification pendingExisting editorial catalog metadata- Abbreviation
MSG
Verification pendingExisting editorial catalog metadata- Translation language
English
Verification pendingExisting editorial catalog metadata- Translation approach explanation
"Contemporary equivalence", the publisher's term: Peterson worked from the Hebrew and Greek and chose contemporary English for the sense and flavour of the original rather than word-for-word correspondence; the publisher says it stands between a paraphrase and dynamic equivalence and bears similarity to a paraphrase
Verification pending- Old Testament textual basis
Translated from the Hebrew text; the publisher names no edition
Verification pending- New Testament textual basis
Translated from the Greek text; the publisher names no edition
Verification pending- Canon and included books
Protestant, 66 books; a Catholic/Ecumenical Edition adds the deuterocanonical books, translated by William Griffin
Verification pending- Copyright and permissions
Copyright 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson; published by NavPress and represented by Tyndale House Publishers. Up to 500 verses may be quoted in print or eBook form without written permission if they are under 25 percent of the work and not a complete book
Verification pending- First published
New Testament 1993; complete Bible 2002; text updated 2018
Verification pending
38 fields still need research. Missing details are not treated as no, free, or safe.
Original listing evidence
| Fact | Value | Source · fetched |
|---|---|---|
| Made by | NavPress, the book-publishing division of The Navigators, an evangelical ministry; published with Eugene Peterson since 1993, and since 2014 through a publishing alliance with Tyndale House Publishers | The Message FAQ · Verification pending |
| Translation philosophy | "Contemporary equivalence", the publisher's term: Peterson worked from the Hebrew and Greek and chose contemporary English for the sense and flavour of the original rather than word-for-word correspondence; the publisher says it stands between a paraphrase and dynamic equivalence and bears similarity to a paraphrase | The Message FAQ · Verification pending |
| Textual basis, Old Testament | Translated from the Hebrew text; the publisher names no edition | The Message FAQ · Verification pending |
| Textual basis, New Testament | Translated from the Greek text; the publisher names no edition | The Message FAQ · Verification pending |
| Canon | Protestant, 66 books; a Catholic/Ecumenical Edition adds the deuterocanonical books, translated by William Griffin | The Message FAQ · Verification pending |
| Reading grade level | No published figure | Publisher pages checked · not published |
| Gender language | Not published | Publisher pages checked · not published |
| Committee | One translator, Eugene H. Peterson, over ten years; reviewed by 20 scholars named by the publisher, a 15-member Old Testament team and a 5-member New Testament team | The Message, the translation · Verification pending |
| Licence and quotation | Copyright 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson; published by NavPress and represented by Tyndale House Publishers. Up to 500 verses may be quoted in print or eBook form without written permission if they are under 25 percent of the work and not a complete book | Tyndale permissions · Verification pending |
| First published | New Testament 1993; complete Bible 2002; text updated 2018 | The Message FAQ · Verification pending |
What the maker discloses about itself (not a rating): Tradition: clearTextual basis: partlyPhilosophy: clearCommittee: clearFunding: not disclosed
Request a correction · Are you the maker? Claim or correct this listing
Printed editions
Font size, writing margins, paper and binding belong to an identified published edition. These documented examples do not cover every printing.
No specific printed editions have been documented for this listing yet.
Suggest a printed edition or correct its details →Disputes and context
EditorialWe describe each dispute, attribute each position, and take no side.
Paraphrase or translation
The publisher’s FAQ says The Message was made by one translator working from the Hebrew and Greek, that it “bears similarity to a paraphrase”, and that its own term for the approach is “contemporary equivalence”; Tyndale’s permissions page calls it a reading Bible rather than a study Bible. GotQuestions.org says it “is not a translation, nor can it strictly be said to be a paraphrase” and criticises its renderings as reflecting the translator’s own wording. The publisher says 20 Old and New Testament scholars reviewed the text for faithfulness, and that Peterson did not intend it as a primary resource for deep study. We describe both positions and take no side.
Maker reply: none yet · Dispute this description
Reviews
0 reviews published. 0 published but not counted. 0 removed for policy reasons.
No reviews on this tab yet.
The standing questions
Answered from the spec sheet and the positions above, never from the meters.
Is it a paraphrase?
The publisher’s own term is “contemporary equivalence” and it says the work bears similarity to a paraphrase while being made from the Hebrew and Greek; critics call it a paraphrase or neither. The disputes panel describes both positions.
Is it word for word?
No. The publisher says Peterson chose contemporary English for the sense and flavour of the original rather than word-for-word correspondence. The literal-to-idiomatic meter above shows where readers place its feel.
Who translated it?
Eugene H. Peterson alone, a pastor and professor of spiritual theology, over ten years; the publisher names 20 scholars who reviewed his work.
Is it approved for Catholic use?
The standard edition has the 66-book Protestant canon and no imprimatur. The publisher sells a Catholic/Ecumenical Edition with the deuterocanonical books; it does not appear on the USCCB list of approved translations we checked.
Which text do most printings carry?
Online editions carry the 2018 text; printed copies carry the 2002 or 2018 text, and the copyright page says which (the 2018 line reads “copyright 1993, 2002, 2018”).