Review: Eugene H Peterson's THE MESSAGE
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This Article: (6 Pages)
3) PASSAGE 1 Exodus 20:1-3
GOD spoke all these words. I am GOD, your GOD who brought you out of the land of Egypt out of a life of slavery. No other gods, only me. The Message.
A word for word translation of the Hebrew text (Tanakh) (compare Strong's and JPS)וידבר אלהים את כל־הדברים האלה לאמר׃ ◄start
And said Elohim all the words← these saying
2 אנכי יהוה אלהיך אשׁר הוצאתיך מארץ מצרים מבית עבדים׃ ◄start
I (am) Yahweh your-Elohim which bring-out-you of-land Egypt of-house bondage(plural)
3 לא יהיה־לך אלהים אחרים על־פני׃ ◄start
Not to-exist to-you Elohim other unto your-face/presence
In verse one PTM leaves out the concept that Elohim (God) say the words actively to the people, by deleting reference to the Hebrew “to say”. By writing “GOD spoke” PTM uses a word which does not indicate when the speaking was done.
In verse two PTM substitutes 'life' for 'house'. This changes the concept as Hebrew bayith is about place or dwelling, whereas life is about existence. Also the word 'slavery' is for ebed which is about serving or providing service which is a stronger kind of servitude but not unreasonable.
In verse three PTM deletes the word 'to-exist' and the idea that we can bring before our face another god. He substitutes instead “only me” which repeats the idea behind “no other gods”.
In summary in Passage 1 PTM's translation does not add to our knowledge of the Hebrew text, instead two important concepts are subtracted. It fails the test as it removes words that materially effect how someone understands the passage.
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