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The Voice of Psalms

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The Voice is an interesting translation project unlike the others currently available. The bible market has been dominated by literal, word for word and paraphrase translations, all produced by scholars working in the ancient languages and seeking to produce a Bible that aligns closely with the original apparatus while smoothing the syntax to varying degrees. While some translations have been idiomatically freer, few translation committees have taken the input of artists, poets and authors of fiction and given them free reign to retell God's story in the scriptures. The Ecclesia Bible Society does, and its work is to create a series of new translations for modern readers. The scriptures that result from the project are meant to appeal to a current day audience by retelling the story using modern language and imagery that brings inspiration to modern ears similar to that the Hebrew poetry brought to ancient listeners.

The Voice of the Psalms is a `retelling' of the Psalter that intends to restore the beauty of the original Hebrew poetry for the modern reader. I tend to be conservative in my approach to the Bible and the translations that I will use in the pulpit or for teaching but I can appreciate a Bible in a different voice that offers benefits for my devotional life. The Voice is just such a translation. By and large, the Psalms in The Voice are faithful to the structure and pace of an ESV or NIV with re-phrasings or rewordings to bring out a depth that straight translation might not highlight.

A familiar example that readers can compare is the 23rd Psalm, which many will know by heart. The NIV verses are:

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. (vv 1-3)

The Voice verses read:

The Eternal One is my shepherd, He cares for me always.
He provides me rest in rich, green fields beside streams of refreshing water.
He soothes my fears;
He makes me whole again, steering me off worn, hard paths to roads where truth and righteousness echo His name. (vv 1-3)

The Voice's poetic presentation offers a new approach to a well known scripture. Devotional reading of familiar passages can be empty as they threaten to leave our heart by rote rather than with prayerful consideration. The Voice encourages us to pause, to consider the language and images, and perhaps to find the freedom to write the psalms to the Father in our own language. The book won't accompany me to preach except for illustrative purposes but I feel very comfortable in recommending this volume for personal prayer and reading. God is blessed when the creativity embedded in His people is released.

I'm intrigued by the narrative approach of The Voice translation, a recent attempt of the Ecclesia Bible Society to let Scripture speak in multiplicit voices at the same time. I've been enjoying the New Testament that was completed several months ago and now BookSneeze has provided the latest in their series: The Voice of the Psalms.

Not only is The Voice of the Psalms a collection of the traditional texts served up Ecclesia style, but it is a devotional style book that provides a reading schedule for separate disciplines. The Voice editors show not only a sensitivity towards a fresh approach, but also towards the rhythm of faith.

By its nature, this translation helps you slow down. In a number of ways, it's like having the Bible read to you by Jack Johnson, metered by muted nylon strings, yet uplifting as a smooth ride on a Pacific breaker.

Typically, when I look at varying translations, I use Psalm 23 as a gauge. I find the Psalm in this collection a cut above. The usual usage of "God" here is replaced by "the Eternal One." From the beginning, the reader must take pause to consider the enormity of our Creator. The Voice takes great liberty with adjectives, but to artistic and spiritual benefit. "Rich, green fields" is where we are led. Verbs take on a whole different, guiding dimension as the Eternal One "soothes [our] fears" and "makes [us] whole again." The assurance of verse 6 is properly and poetically rendered, "Certainly, your faithful protection and loving provision will pursue me where I go, always, forever..."

The Voice of the Psalms is a songbook. It is a flourish on the shelf of artless interpretations. You may not like it. It's not going to be for everyone, but there will be plenty whose treasured time of Bible reading will be transformed into a concert of scripture heard in the surrounding ambiance of an oceanside amphitheater.

The Voice of Psalms: Psalms Retold by the Friends of Ecclesia Bible Society - a review

This volume doesn't look or feel like the average Bible. It is printed on heavy paper that has a colored background picture to make it look like old paper. Each Psalms is set apart by a horizontal border making it easy to find a particular chapter. It is also set up as a devotional with reflections or devotions every few pages. Twenty-eight day and forty day reading plans are included as well. This is another installment in Thomas Nelson's new translation "The Voice." This version will eventually cover the entire Bible.

This is an easy to use copy of the Psalms although the page background made reading more difficult for me. The appearance and layout make it seem like something good for daily devotions. It is clearly made to have an artistic appeal in its general layout, translation style and writing.

The content is of some concern to me. I am not comfortable with some of the theology that comes through in The Voice translation. Also, in place of "the Lord" this translation uses "the Eternal One." This may be an accurate translation (I am not qualified to decide), but feels awkward on my tongue when I am reading. The use of italicized word and phrases helps highlight added material. Some of this material is part of the theology being added into this translation.

The devotions included vary somewhat in quality. Some seem relevant, modern and applicable instantly to most any reader. Other come across as vague poetry that is difficult to apply to ones life. Perhaps this is a positive aspect, since other readers will likely have a different purpose in reading that I.

The most important thing to me is, of course, the translation itself. I am not a fan of the translation choices of this version. For that reason, I would not recommend "The Voice of Psalm."

I really wanted to like this translation of the Psalms on the theory that anything that gets the current generation into the Bible has got to be good. I often look at Bible passages in several different translations ranging from ones that are closer to word-for-word end of the translation spectrum to The Message on the dynamic equivalence end so I evaluated this translation of the Psalms as a "reading version" more like The Message and not a study version. Even so, there are things about this translation that I just really don't like.

I'll start with the cosmetics. It's maybe a little shallow but the way a Bible is printed is important to me. I want it to be comfortable to read. On the plus side, the text goes across the page in a single reading line, not two columns. I don't know why publishers still print Bibles in two columns because that's not the way we read. Another positive is that the margins are large enough to write notes in, but given that this is a Bible for reading and not study, that is probably unnecessary.

The positives in appearance are outweighed by the huge negative of the shading behind the words. It starts off fairly light on the bottom of the page but by the top, it is medium gray. Even the lightest parts looked smudgy and dirty. I thought it was ugly. And the way the publisher split individual Psalms over a couple pages to fit the "reflections" on the first page of the Psalm was quite irritating. This wasn't only for the longer Psalms, they split up short ones that could have fit on one page without the interruption of the "reflection." It was bad enough when a Psalm was split over facing pages, but it was most annoying to have to turn the page for the rest of the Psalm just to fit the "reflection" on the first page.

My issues with the translation itself are much more than the cosmetics. I appreciate the idea that poets, musicians and writers might help breathe life into a translation by academics but when the number of contributing writers is triple the number of Biblical scholars, I think the balance is too far skewed to the lay contributor. I also think the Biblical scholars for this book don't have the wide ranging theological background or same level of reputation in the field as the groups involved in some of the other modern translations.

But my most serious issue involves the translation itself. The first thing that bothered me is the choice of "title" for God to use in the places where the original text has the tetragrammaton (YHWH), the holiest name of God. The NIV and the New Living Translation use "the LORD" with large & small capital letters in LORD for this word and The Message uses simply "God." For some reason, the Voice translation uses Eternal One, which I don't think conveys the sense that this is God. God is, of course, eternal but that doesn't convey a name so sacred that the Jews wouldn't even say it aloud.

But even worse than the name of God, I am deeply concerned about the additions to the text that take it far beyond a dynamic equivalence and into adding thoughts that are what the translators thought should be included. The preface of this book notes that "italic type indictes words not directly tied to a dynamic translation of the original language." Given that a dynamic translation is a "thought by thought" not literal translation, going beyond that is pretty dangerous. I compared several Psalms to the NIV and NLT versions and generally either thought the added language in italics either didn't add to the understanding of the passage or were beyond what one should assume the particular psalmust intended. I thought that the italicized passages made this more like a paraphrase than a translation.

For that reason, I urge people who may be interested in getting this that it not be your only Bible. Much like "The Message" translation (which is also more of a paraphrase), if you want this for a reading version for a change of pace, keep that in mind and don't rely on it as a study Bible. At least the publishers give you the italics -- I started skipping over the italicized portions as I read it and that felt better to me. But between thinking "the LORD" in place of Eternal One and skipping over the italics, this was not a great Bible reading experience for me.

I was given a copy of this book free by the publisher, Thomas Nelson, in exchange for writing a review. I think it goes without saying that my opinion is my own and not influenced by the publisher. My review is also available on Booksneeze.

The Voice of Psalms is a daily reading Bible written in literary style. In essence, I saw it as a paraphrase with a bit more attention to staying true to Biblical text. It took me several months after receiving the book to put up this review -- on one hand because of circumstances going on in my life, and on the other so that I could give the Voice of Psalms several reads in order to be a bit more objective and give it an accurate review.

The Voice translation was a bit distracting for me, honestly. In order to stay true to the original (an effort that I applaud and appreciate), the words they have added to enrich the literary and poetic aspects of the Psalms are italicized. It took me several chapters to get used to that, and while I understand the reason for italicizing I can't say I especially enjoyed it. I'm guessing since this is the book of Psalms, it probably isn't so heavily italicized in other books.

There are also devotionals and commentaries every couple of pages. They are great tools, although aesthetically I normally prefer to have devos at the beginning or end of the book -- I don't mind flipping pages if my text isn't interrupted!

As far as other qualities of the Bible, this particular edition is a paperback, so it was easy to toss in a bag when I flew to Delaware and equally easy to cart to babysitting jobs. The print is friendly, fresh and crisp, and I did enjoy the overall styling of the book.

My recommendation is to check this edition out. In no way would I use it to replace my regular edition of the Bible, but it does make a nice addition to the collection--pull it out when you just need a beautiful read. :)

I review for BookSneeze

Disclosure of Material Connection:

I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their [...] book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 <[...]> : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

My first reaction to hearing about The Voice of Psalms left me a little worried. I was afraid that we were being given yet another paraphrase that would sit on shelves gathering dust.

As I read through this I was struck by a couple of things that intrigued me about this effort. First, I loved that God is referred to as The Eternal One in every single instance. This really helped me to recognize the consistent character of God despite the varying themes of the psalms. Second, the embellishments to each verse (identified with italics throughout, much like the King James Version of the Bible) were actually helpful to draw out significant nuances of the poetry. We can't forget that the psalms are supposed to be songs so these extra "fleshing out" points allowed the verse to be easily understood and maintain its poetic qualities. Finally, the devotional thoughts that accompany the Psalms were well written and further enhanced the subtleties of the text by explaining meaning and pointing out various themes.

That being said I am probably going to put this on my shelf with the other paraphrases and watch it gather dust. I'm at a point in my life where I'm not looking for easily worded versions of scripture. I've used that crutch for too long in my life and have realized that I need to work a little harder in my faith and that involves working harder in my study and reading of scripture.

I find it hard to recommend another paraphrase when there are several better and more complete ones out there. But this book is well designed, feels great in the hands, and puts the Psalms together in a thoughtful and poetic way. This would be the ideal book for an artist or someone struggling who needs to see God in varying circumstances.

The Voice of Psalms has accomplished its goals of being readable, personable, and stimulating.

The Voice is a new translation of the Bible that seeks to bring together biblical scholars alongside talented writers to present a biblically sound yet easily readable translation. This is the New Testament edition released by Ecclesia Bible Society, which is headed by Chris Seay at Ecclesia in Houston, Texas.

The translation of the text itself reads very similar to another translation, such as the NIV or ESV, in most places. The editors have added italicized portions within the text itself that serve as a commentary within the verse to explain the original author's intent.

These italics additions within the text itself help readers to be able to understand the textual meaning that has a tendency to get lost in a mere superficial reading of the text. These commentary notes flow easily through the narrative and are seen as an aid to readers rather than a distraction.

I would be hesitant to term this version a translation since there are clearly commentary additions to the written text. The purpose and place of this work can best be described by looking back at the Jewish rabbi's commentaries on Jewish writings. These scholars desired to produce a commentary along with the written text to aid in studies. This is the purpose of The Voice project.

This project is off to a great start and is producing Bibles that will function well for a devotional reading of the text but should be avoided when seeking to do an in depth study of a particular passage due to the commentary elements getting mixed with the text itself in the minds of the reader.

This book contains the entire book of Psalms in The Voice translation and includes reading plans and reflections for selected psalms. The distinguishing feature of this book is its use of The Voice translation, described by its authors as "a literary project...created for and by a church in great transition...(this) uniquely represents collaboration among scholars, pastors, writers, musicians, poets, and other artists." The goal seems to be to make the Bible "more beautiful" in the eyes and ears of the authors, and while the text is lovely, they are less successful in maintaining the accuracy of God's word.

I adore the book of Psalms and was anxious to read this book. However, the more I read, the more uncomfortable I became with The Voice. I feel that it takes great yet unnecessary and perhaps incorrect liberties with the Bible. I have read from many types of Bibles, from King James to NIV to The Message, yet they all fundamentally stay true to God's word. This translation adds or changes words that change the overall meaning of the text. The authors claim that this is necessary to reach the post-modern church, but I feel that doesn't give people enough credit. Making the stories more accessible and understandable is one thing, changing the meaning to make people feel better is another. While I think anyone will benefit from spending time reading and meditating on the Psalms, this book goes down a slippery slope with its translation. Those truly interested in the Psalms will be better served by reading a more traditional translation.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for this review. My content was in no way dictated by Thomas Nelson Publishers.

I found the Voice of the Psalms to be very refreshing. It is easy to read and is a great source for personal study or daily devotions. There are several suggested reading plans in the front of the book which I believe would be very useful. I would recommend this translation to anyone who may struggle with understanding other translations, however, I would not recommend it to someone as their only source of scripture. I believe The Voice translation is well written for the Psalms since it is a collection of poems/songs. It will be interesting to read the Voice translation of the New Testament. I would definitely recommend this book.

About 10 weeks ago I raved about the New Testament offering from the ongoing biblical series The Voice. Well, if it's possible, I love The Voice of Psalms even more. This series is phenomenal.

As a reminder, four key characteristics describe The Voice project:

1. Holistic: Considers heart, soul and mind
2. Beautiful: Achieves literary and artistic excellence
3. Sensitive: Respects cultural shifts and the need for accuracy
4. Balanced: Includes theologically diverse scholars and writers

This book is gorgeous.When it first arrived I opened it at random, and found verses 7 and 8 of Psalm 57:

My heart is ready, O God;
my heart is ready,
And I will sing! Yes, I will sing praise!
Wake up, my glory!
Wake up, harp and lyre;
I will stir the sleepy dawn with praise!

Praise, wisdom, comfort, and sorrow. You'll find it here, beautifully presented. Features of this addition to the series include:

* The entire book of The Psalms The Voice translation
* 75 reflections on selected passages
* Four suggested reading plans for Advent, Lent, comfort and guidance, and praise

I'm not sure what the gang at the Ecclesia Bible Society have planned next, but I suspect you'll eventually find a response to it here. This volume belongs in your biblical collection.