More on the Message Bible and how it compares to the Surge Up S.T.A.M.P. Bible

...Rather than trying to achieve word-for-word correspondence. The Message, then, is a paraphrase from the original languages. Translation is generally thought of as bringing the meaning from one language to another, whereas a paraphrase is usually a rewording of a document within the same language. Yet in one sense all translation involves paraphrasing. There is no clearly distinct line that can be drawn between the two. Sometimes, it takes five English words to bring across the meaning of a single Greek word; other times only one English word is required to communicate five Greek words.

The Surge Up S.T.A.M.P. Bible takes inspiration from this and tries to take it to the next level of relevance for teenagers of western culture.

Eugene's intent was to recapture the tone, to bring out the subtleties and nuances of the Hebrew and Greek languages while keeping a sense of firsthand experience for contemporary readers. He often asked himself, "If Paul were the pastor of my church, how would he say this?" or "If Jesus were here teaching, what would it sound like?"

The Surge Up S.T.A.M.P. Bible asks the question how would a teenager say that verse or best understand it based on slang and language of the new millennium.

       So is it a translation or a paraphrase? It is probably most accurately called a "translation of tone" or a "paraphrase from the original languages." It is a bridging of the gap between the original languages and English, and between centuries of time and language change, to bring to us the New Testament as it originally sounded.

It's not meant to replace your current version of choice. Rather, it is designed as a reading Bible that can give you a fresh perspective on a familiar phrase or passage.

The Surge Up S.T.A.M.P. Bible is not meant to replace your favorite translation choice either. 

In some English versions John 1:14 is rendered, "The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us." In The Message that same sentence is stated, "The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood." Why the words "moved into the neighborhood"? Eugene Peterson responded to this question by saying, "'Dwelt among us' was likely something people said in the first century. But I've never heard anybody say that except when they're quoting the Bible. 'Moved into the neighborhood' is something we would say. I wanted to use a phrase that came out of people's experience. Jesus was a master at doing this. His listeners didn't have to read a commentary to figure out what he was saying." (Christianity Today, December 13, 1993). Here's another example. The Message renders Colossians 2:8 this way: "Watch out for people who try to dazzle you with big words and intellectual double-talk. They want to drag you off into endless arguments that never amount to anything. They spread their ideas through the empty traditions of human beings and the empty superstitions of spirit beings. But that's not the way of Christ. Everything of God gets expressed in him, so you can see and hear him clearly. You don't need a telescope, a microscope, or a horoscope to realize the fullness of Christ, and the emptiness of the universe without him."
        In this passage, the words "empty traditions of human beings" are referred to again in terms of physical devices of scientific exploration—"telescope" and "microscope." (The Greek is kata ten paradosin ton anthropon—literally, "according to the tradition of men.") Then the words "empty superstitions of spirit beings" are reflected in the occult practice of the "horoscope." (The Greek is kata ta stoicheia tou kosmou—literally, "according to the elements of the cosmos.") The Apostle Paul was describing here the false teachers who were trying to impress Colossian Christians with a manmade religious system that relied on physical and metaphysical dimensions that went beyond the fullness already present in Christ. In Colossians 2:8, Paul is pointing out the absurdity of that kind of religious pursuit. Although the words ending in "-scope" are not found in the Greek, the concept is clearly there, and it is clearly communicated in the English in an illustrative way.