I am in a Bible study with pastors and missionaries, all conservative, and many use the Message all the time. It is a paraphrase, which most of the time, Eugene Peterson gets right! However, I would always suggest reading a more literal translation first, like NASB, ESV, HCSB or NIV to compare. Peterson is one of the few people to have translated a whole Bible by himself, the other versions were done by committees.

I think it is a good read, particularly for a new Christian who finds the stilted language of the literal translations hard to read. If course, the Greek and the Hebrew really are the best documents to read, if you want to dig deep! But that takes a lot of hard work and learning.

I usually read the ESV, despite the complementarian footnotes, I find it to be closets to the original languages!

My favorite version is the New Living Translation (NLT),because it is easy to read and written in contemporary language like its predecessor,the Living Bible,except it is as accurate as the other versions like the NIV or NASB (both of which I also own),and is not a paraphrase.

I got to hear Eugene Peterson interviewed. Such an interesting person. I'm so glad you found it inspirational. This year I am reading a Chronological Bible. It arranges the books, chapters and verses in the order they actually happened. Each day you have a reading and by the end of the year you have read the entire Bible. One of my teachers recommended it. I love it!

Oh, I forgot to answer your question. I read the NIV. My Dad gave it to me. It's got great commentary and articles.

What a fun question!

I have several Bible versions, including a "New Testament Today's English Version" from grade school catechism. (It reads very much like the Message). I have tried to read it again and again over the years, thinking it should resonate with my "modern ness". Curiously, it never has

I find the King James enjoyable and entrancing. It's like being in a literature course dissecting Shakespeare, only it's way more important.

For every day reading, I most like the New International Version. It seems to marry the old timey words to the slightly more simple, thus easier for me to "get".

I've often considered learning Greek or Hebrew so I could translate the originals for myself. Then I remember how difficult I found learning German. LOL

I prefer the KJV Bible, but I will use other versions for references. I guess I'm just "old school"...

My favorite is NASB,

I have read many translations like NIV, KJV, NKJ and NLT. I read the whole Bible often so I like to try out the other versions to see how they been done compare to NASB.

Since electronic age is in effect, it is really nice to go to a Bible web page and get to use all the different kinds of versions.

The two main readers for me today is NASB and NLT.

Compost, there are a lot of parallels between Greek and German, like the cases for the nouns. A lot of students dropped out because of that, the grammar was difficult. But for me, the German 40 years earlier helped me with Greek, so much that I just loved the language, and read the New Testamentnin Greek every day.

As for German, I am studying it again too, and enjoying it a lot more.

I have also read the Bible in French and German and in 10 different versions.

I don't think the translation matters as long as the gospel is presented and you are reading every day.. I have read through the Bible at least once a year, except the 2 years I was too sick to read.

Reading 3 chapters of the Old Testament a day, and one of the New Testament gets you through the whole Bible in a year. And the more you get to know the Bible, the easier it gets to read, it understand it, and follow Jesus

Thanks, Marlene. I didn't know German and Greek were similar. That makes the idea of learning Greek far less daunting.

All of your replies are very interesting! Thanks for responding so openly. May the Lord bless each of you this day as we get to know Him more deeply through His word!.

I like the KJV

Its flowing language and prose rhythm has literary value . I appreciate it more because it is one of the first translations .It was revised by a committee of about 50 scholars . I find it challenging to interpret which is great .