While The Message is obviously not an ideal option for those seeking to study the bible, it never purpots to be.The Message is a good bible when used for its intended purpose by its intended audience.

The Message is meant to be a reading bible, not a study bible. It's meant for you to curl up in bed with it and read it before bed or to take to work with you and read it during your break. It's meant to be a good bible to be read through, not one to be studied.

The Message is aimed at two different types of people. The first, are those who are unfamiliar with the bible and find it difficult, or simply boring to read. The second are those who have already read the bible and find its text too familiar.

The Message is an excellent translation for the first group because by breaking out of the constraints of the original language, the author was able to express the content of biblical passages in a more fluid, poetic, interesting, and exciting way that is far more appealing to those who are new to reading the bible. It is expected that these people would eventually move on to studying the bible and not just reading it, at which point they would move on to a more traditional translation.

The Message is also a good translation for those of us who have already read the bible and find many of the passages all too familiar. When something is familiar to you, it loses its impact and you are able to glean less from it. By using a different version, specially one as free-form as this one, you are able to read everything in a fresh new way; almost like reading it again for the very first time.

As an example of the latter, let us use the most familiar passage of the bible:

John 3:16-18 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. (NIV)


Most of us could probably recite that straight from memory, or at least the first verse. Reading that passage at this point, is like a rote. Does your mind even bother to analyze what it's reading when it goes over that passage? or does it simply pull it from the memory banks without bothering to look for anything new in it?

Now, read it again in The Message:

John 3:16-18 "This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person's failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him. (The Message)

See the difference between reading a familiar passage in a standard version and reading it again in The Message? It's almost like reading it again for the very first time.

Another use for The Message, which I have only recently encountered, is for teaching children. I had a young boy in one of my classes who offered to read one of the verses for the day from his bible. It turns out his bible was The Message. After the brief confusion over where the verse is (The Message does not break things up into verses), he read the passage and it was understood perfectly by every child in the room. One boy even commented how much easier it was to understand than his bible. I usually encourage kids to read the NIRV version, but after this experience, I'm looking at The Message more carefully for possible use with children.

The Message has its uses. It is a very good translation when used correctly by the right people. It is definitely not a study bible, but it is a useful bible and there is nothing wrong with having one on your shelf.