The Message Large Print Hardback: Large Print Edition

Product Review

Introducing an all-new large-print version of one of today's most popular translations, The Message. After carefully reviewing consumer feedback, this large-print version was created using a comfortable font that reads well and satisfies a wide range of customer tastes. Designed for those who prefer a larger type for easier reading, this edition of The Message allows you to reach more customers than ever before. Specifications: 1. Size - 6 13/16 x 9 3/16 2. Font size - 12.5 (larger than many standard large-print Bibles) 3. Pages - 2,048 4. Binding options: a. Hardback - $34.99 b. Leather-look - $49.99 5. Contains the same charts and maps as the full-size numbered edition 6. Ribbon marker

Amazon.com Review

Readers who have either found the Bible to be an intimidating proposition or who are so familiar with it that the words have lost their meaning will discover that Eugene Peterson's The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language is a welcome way to read and reread one of the best-loved books of all time. It's directly translated from the Greek and Hebrew texts and is intentionally designed to be a reading Bible rather than a study Bible. Each of the 66 books has an introduction by Peterson, and there are no verse numbers to interrupt the flow of the passages.

The vibrant flavor of the text is evident from the opening verses of the book of Genesis: "First this: God created the Heavens and Earth--all you see; all you don't see. Earth was a soup of nothingness, a bottomless emptiness, an inky blackness."

There's renewed vigor in some of Jesus' most well-known words of the New Testament in John 3: "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."

Whether it's the poetry of the Psalms, the thundering tirades of the Old Testament prophets, or the ageless words of Jesus, Peterson breaths new life into timeless passages in this fresh-voiced paraphrase. --Cindy Crosby

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Review

(301 customer reviews)

502 of 508 people found the following review helpful

The Message: Numbered Edition is Joy to Read, October 29, 2005

S.A.M. "izzylea" (Anaheim, CA, U.S.A.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language : Numbered Edition (Hardcover)

This latest edition of the paraphrased Bible "The Message" is wonderful! The full title is "The Message: Numbered Edition, The Bible in Contemporary Language". It seems that with each new edition, The Message titles get longer!

I have enjoyed chapter after chapter since I received this edition a couple of weeks ago from Amazon. I keep my New American Standard Bible (NASB) and my HarperCollins New Revised Standard (NRS) Study Bible close at hand while I read The Message. Thus, if needed, I can look up a passage to make certain I am understanding the full context of the Message translation. This research in comparing passages is increasing my understanding of the Bible.

The Message makes clearer, in today's language, what many biblical passages mean. I find this wonderful paraphrase to be full of "aha" moments when a passage I may have glossed over or didn't fully understand, in the past, finally comes to life.

One of my favorite examples: The...Read more

396 of 425 people found the following review helpful

Not the Word of God? God might disagree!, September 6, 2002

Bradley Morehouse "Lover of Truth" (Cape Girardeau, MO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language (Hardcover)

While reviewing the various comments about this work, I kept thinking about my initial experience when the Message New Testament was being prepared for its introduction a few years ago. I was working the Customer Service desk at NavPress (the books publisher) at the time. Because of my religious training, I didn't consider this a Bible either, I thought of it as a devotional work, or a cute little paraphrase. It wasn't the authoritative "Word of God," however. Then something profound happened.When the book was released, calls started coming in...incredible calls! People who would never read a Bible read The Message and made new commitments to walk a life of faith. Others who had experienced stagnation in their walk were renewed and strengthened. Because of this, I began to read the work, and experienced new depths in my Christian experience. In fact, several of the encounters I personally experienced were so powerful and life changing that to this day I can't discuss them without...Read more

97 of 101 people found the following review helpful

The Message gets even better with numbers!, October 15, 2005

C. Martin (Georgia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language : Numbered Edition (Hardcover)

Since the complete Message Bible was introduced in 2002, I have enjoyed its translation but have often wished for numbered verses. I found that I was unable to use my Message translation in church or in Bible study.

I was thrilled to see the new numbered edition on my store shelf. It is just what I was looking for!

The Message is a wonderful translation because it helps the reader to relate today's events and language with what the Bible is saying. I find often that after I read The Message translation, I am better able to understand and more likely to read again the more complex translations.