The Message Old Testament Prophets: In Contemporary Language [Hardcover]

Eugene H. Peterson (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 5, 2000

If the Old Testament Prophets always seemed distant and dusty then you haven't read The Message. Translating directly from the original languages, Eugene Peterson recounts the stories of God's judgement and action in such a way that you will be unable to escape the reality of God's character and his involvement in our lives today. A MESSAGE THAT IS COMFORTING BUT NEVER COMFORTABLE. The prophets of the Old Testament weren't particularly popular. Their messages-straight from God-made the people of their day very uncomfortable. When God spoke through his prophets, he didn't pull punches. He told his people exactly what he thought of them, using images and language that were powerful, graphic, and sometimes shocking. And while the prophets proclaimed a message of comfort, they never compromised the truth in order to make people feel comfortable. Eugene Peterson restores the passion and power of the prophets' message to a generation that has become perhaps a bit too comfortable with God. The words of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Malachi, and others cut through our defenses, pierce our hardened hearts, and open our eyes to see ourselves as God sees us-and to see him as he really is. It's not comfortable, but it is a message of great comfort.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The words fresh and new are so overused, we are rightly skeptical when we hear them applied to books. However, in The Message: The Old Testament Prophets, Eugene Peterson again boldly takes on sacred text, translating it into the vernacular in--dare we say it?--fresh, new ways. Where once the Old Testament prophets may have seemed outdated, his heavy use of metaphors and fiery prose make the text sing, loudly proclaiming righteousness and direction to contemporary culture.

This from Jeremiah, chapter seven: "Get smart! Your leaders are handing you a pack of lies, and you're swallowing them! Use your heads! Do you think you can rob and murder, have sex with the neighborhood wives, and tell lies nonstop, worship the local gods and buy every novel religious commodity on the market--and then march into this Temple, set apart for my worship, and say, 'We're safe!' thinking that the place itself gives you a license to go on with all this outrageous sacrilege? A cave full of criminals!"

The Message: The Old Testament Prophets satisfies our hunger for more of Peterson's no-holds-barred, knock-you-down scripture, while whetting the appetite for the full biblical text, slated for release in 2002. It jars us out of our complacency, pricks our conscience, resonates with alarming clarity. Don't ignore this call to holiness from a modern-day prophet. --Cindy Crosby

About the Author

EUGENE H. PETERSON is a writer and poet. He has authored more than twenty books and is a contributing editor to Leadership Journal. He is Professor Emeritus of Spiritual Theology at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia. Eugene also founded Christ Our King Presbyterian Church in Bel Air, Maryland, where he ministered for twenty-nine years. He lives with his wife in Montana.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 592 pages
• Publisher: Navpress Publishing Group (October 5, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576831957
• ISBN-13: 978-1576831953
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #728,475 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Message Gets Through, October 18, 2000

By 

Tom K. Stephenson (Wilmington, Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Message Old Testament Prophets: In Contemporary Language (Hardcover)

As with the past installments of Peterson's rendering of the Bible, The Message: Old Testament Prophets communicates through the static of cultural and language shifts since the biblical narratives were first put to papyrus and scroll. This crisp rendering of Israel and Judah's prophetic voices lends an authentic credibility to the living Word of God in the hearing of those shaped and formed in a post-Christian millieu. Peterson has blessed us with his scholarship and skill as an interpreter of Scripture and modern culture, but mostly, we have been blessed in The Message by a sensitive pastor with a heart that aches for the written word of the Bible to become an indwelling Word in the human spirit! The Message accomplishes what it set out to do, i.e., it communicates clearly with authority the ancient narrative of the One who speaks life and is willing to do whatever it takes to secure that life in those God loves.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent rendition of the Old Testament Prophets!, May 13, 2002

By 

Pastor Roger "Roger R." (Chicago, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Message Old Testament Prophets: In Contemporary Language (Hardcover)

This book is an excellent rendition of the Old Testament Prophets. Like the other Message translations of the Bible, it's written in street English, or what some call "Wal-Mart English." Peterson takes what many people call a boring section of the Bible and makes it comprehendable and relevant for today. Peterson doesn't change the what God intended to say. He merely makes the Old Testament Prophets readable, understandable, and enjoyable.
Mind you, this is not a good study Bible for seminary students or those into weighty theological issues. To those people I'd recommend a study Bible or perhaps the Amplified version. However, if you want to read and understand the Prophets or if you're trying to explain certain Old Testament passages so that people can understand it, this book will be extremely helpful to you. I highly recommend this book to every Christian!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hearty approval - buy it!, May 4, 2001

By 

Bob Westbrook (Pennsylvania, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Message Old Testament Prophets: In Contemporary Language (Hardcover)

Buy it! Read it!

Though one should be aware that it's a paraphrase rather than a translation, it does convey the message in a terrific manner. It will grab you in ways that reading a more strictly rendered translation may not. I enjoy reading it side-by-side with another translation with which I am more familiar.