Paraphrases of Scripture

In this claim he seriously errs.

The use of paraphrases of Holy Writ has no place in the worship of sincere Christians. They are totally without value, for they replace inspired testimony with man’s foolishness.

Not the least offensive feature of The Living Bible (TLB) is the use of coarse language, at times bordering on the vulgar. To represent the Word of God in such language is blasphemous. One example of the use of vulgarities may be seen in Isaiah 5:11 (American Edition). We will not reproduce it here.

Many crude expressions are included in this paraphrase. Among such are the following examples:

Mark 10.50: Bartimaeus yanked off his old coat. (TLB, American Edition) — And he, casting away his garment (KJV)

Ecclesiastes 5.3: Blabbermouth (TLB) — A fool’s voice (KJV)

Ezekiel 22.12: Loan racketeers (TLB) — thou has taken usury and increase (KJV)

Proverbs 27.15: A cranky woman (TLB) — a contentious woman (KJV)

Isaiah 5.14: Hell is licking its chops in anticipation of this delicious morsel (TLB) — Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure (KJV)

Mark 2.16: How can he stand it, to eat with such scum? (TLB) — How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners? (KJV)

Mark 12.17: They scratched their heads in bafflement (TLB) — And they marvelled at him (KJV)

Luke 10.40: Martha was the jittery type (TLB) — But Martha was cumbered about with much serving (KJV)

Isaiah 41.24: Anyone who chooses you needs to have his head examined (TLB) — An abomination is he that chooses you (KJV)

James 1.4: Don’t try to squirm out of your problems (TLB) This passage is not in the original Greek, hence there is no comparable text in the KJV.

Jonah 1.2: Your wickedness . . . smells to highest heavens (TLB) — For their wickedness is come up before me (KJV)

Genesis 13.17: Hike in all directions (TLB, American Edition) — Walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it (KJV)

John 11.49: You stupid idiots (TLB) — Ye know nothing at all (KJV)

Jude 16: These men are constant gripers. . . . Loud-mouthed "show-offs" (TLB) — These are murmurers, complainers . . . and their mouth speaketh great swelling words (KJV)

Nahum 1.14: How you stink with sin! (TLB) — for thou art vile (KJV)

Zechariah 9.7: I will yank her idolatry out of her mouth (TLB) — I will take away . . . his abominations from between his teeth (KJV)

Distressing as is the use of coarse language to convey the message of the Word of God, The Living Bible may be faulted on the even more serious ground of mistranslation of God’s messages. On occasion the paraphraser takes it upon himself to add words of his own for which there is no basis in the original manuscripts. One example is:

This travesty of scriptural truth can be discerned by comparison with the translation in the Authorized Version which closely follows the original Greek.

It will be promptly observed that John wrote nothing whatsoever concerning the law containing rigid demands and merciless justice. Had John so written he would have contradicted Scripture, for God has declared that

To charge God’s law with the characteristic of rigidity, and to state that it operates on the principle of merciless justice, is rank blasphemy; for God’s law is a transcript of His character. Only the archdeceiver and his agents would dare to charge our merciful heavenly Father so falsely. This major affront to our God’s character highlights the perils of the paraphrase method of presenting Scripture. Not only does it devalue Scripture, but it is liable to contradict divine revelation. At the very least it affords numerous opportunities for the paraphraser to interweave his human biases into Holy Writ, a most serious defect.

Some additions may appear to be "minor," but God has warned of a most terrible anathema upon those who add to the sacred Word.

Ignoring this fearful prospect, the paraphraser of The Living Bible frequently adds his own material. Let us look at one apparently innocuous addition.

Clearly this passage warns against loose women and alcoholic wine. But Taylor sees fit to add a further word when he refers in this passage to "Wine, women and song." The paraphraser also adds modern-day conclusions to some of the epistles, when no such concluding greetings appear in the originals. Thus The Living Bible completes the first epistle of John with the words, "Sincerely, John" (1 John 5:21, TLB), while Peter’s second epistle has a "Good-bye" added to its conclusion (2 Peter 3:18, TLB).

Further, in attempting to make The Living Bible relevant to the twentieth century, K.N. Taylor has introduced terms unrelated to the period of which Scripture tells. This may appear to be a reasonable technique to attract the contemporary reader, but it does patronize such readers, assuming that they are so lacking in understanding that they cannot comprehend matters and objects of a past era; this strange approach in an age when educated people have never been more numerous. In an era where tertiary education is frequently sought, Taylor presumed that people are less able to comprehend the past than those of yesteryear who were fortunate if they completed the elementary grades of education. Where Habakkuk reported:

the paraphraser finds it needful to substitute billboard (U.S. Edition) and hording (British Edition) for table. Such use of a modern publicity medium not only disturbs the sense of the original but also sounds ludicrous when placed in a setting of antiquity. Similarly,

is altered to read,

Many other renditions are incongruous with their ancient setting and add absolutely nothing to biblical understanding. Three further instances are cited to evidence this assertion. Speaking of the manna, Moses stated that the Lord had commanded the children of Israel that they

The Living Bible renders this passage,

King Solomon’s words,

are transformed in The Living Bible to

while the report that

is paraphrased,

Such renditions make a mockery of history. How would we regard a history detailing the military exploits of Alexander the Great which substituted tanks for chariots, machine guns for spears, and bayonets for swords? The historical work would be laughed to scorn. Why anyone would think of the substitutions in The Living Bible in any better light is a profound mystery.

At least one important Messianic prophecy is destroyed by this use of paraphrase.

The Living Bible translates this prophecy,

But the apostle John, referring to the fact that although the shin bones of the two malefactors who were crucified with Jesus were broken, because of Jesus’ prior death

asserted

In relation to the Passover, God had commanded of the paschal lamb,

To mutilate such a significant prophecy is no small matter.

In yet another manner The Living Bible perverts Bible doctrine by introducing the paraphraser’s bias. The original Greek of 1 Peter 3:19-20 does leave some ambiguities, but the translators of the King James Version accurately translated the passage,

The Living Bible states that between His death and resurrection, Christ preached to

Such a paraphrase specifically distorts the biblical teaching that death is a sleep. One commentary upon The Living Bible presentation of this text rightly states the matter.

Of course we must remember that the Bible use of the term hell is often synonymous with grave. This fact is underlined by the record that Jesus was in hell during His death.

Quoting from the prophecy of Psalm 16:10, Peter stated on the Day of Pentecost:

As with virtually all modern translations, the deity of Christ is weakened. Thus 1 Timothy 3:16 is stated to say:

Christ’s creatorship is omitted in the following reduction:

Ephesians 3:14-15 testify that God is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. But the Living Bible simply states,

The defects of The Living Bible are manifold. Only a few examples have been cited in evidence. Paraphrases should have no place in private or congregational worship, for they seriously distort the Word of God. It is a matter of serious spiritual danger to utilize a false Scripture, for Satan will certainly seize the opportunity to distort God’s truth if we do so.