Customer Reviews

God's New Covenant: A New Testament Translation

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The translator of God's New Covenant, Heinz Cassirer, was an Oxford professor in philosophy just like his father, the famous Ernst Cassirer. He was Jewish by race, but was not religious. Then, at around the age of 50, he became a Jewish Christian.

Cassirer's translation is modern and not literal. With the publisher's permission, I will quote a passage from one of the Apostle Paul's epistles in the God's New Covenant translation to give you a better idea of what this version is like: "Surely, you know that wrongdoers will obtain no share in the kingdom of God. Do not allow yourselves to be deluded. It is not those engaging in fornication, the idolaters, the adulterers, those acting as partners in unnatural vice, the sodomites, the thieves, the greedy, the drunkards, the slanderers, the extortioners, who will obtain a share in the kingdom of God. And such some of you once were. But you washed yourselves clean, you have been made holy, you have been accepted as righteous in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God" (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).

Cassirer's translation of the New Testament is a refreshing, invigorating read. Scripture comes alive under his efforts and his unique Jewish/Christian perspective shows through. Buy this living word and obey what you hear. Bruce Fogerty

Pros: It reads well and it brings out things in a way that allows the reader to see its concepts and ideas in a new light, from a different angle. One verse that comes to mind is Eph 4:22, "There must be a laying aside of that which conforms to your former manner of life...." This rendering is very practical; it makes it plain what is meant: you get rid of the bad stuff you messed with before conversion! It also takes out the false verse found in certain otherwise excellent translations (such as the KJV and NKJV) which was surreptitiously added in "much later" to support the false doctrine of the trinity (see 1 John 5:7).

Cons: Although the book is excellent for gleaning deeper meaning in some areas, it is also expectedly lacking in others. One small example is Gal 2:20 where it reads, ".... Yet I live it by the faith IN the Son of God...." It should read, "by the faith OF the Son of God". Most translations make this error, but it is important. For biblical Christianity teaches that the Christian has Christ living in them via the power of the Holy Spirit, and this is how one overcomes self, Satan and society; being empowered to keep God's law in spirit and Truth.

Overall I like it a lot! Any serious Bible student would do well to add it to their library.