A Comparative Look At Some Of The Differences Between The
God-Inspired Authorized King James Version Of The Bible, And
The Modern New Testament Referred To As "The Message". This
has to be the worst I have seen yet. You Be The Judge.
Matthew 5:1-8 The KJV Bible :
1 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain:
and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:
2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven.
4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after
righteousness: for they shall be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Matthew 5:1-8 The Message :
1 When Jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds, he
climbed a hillside... This is what he said:
2 "You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope. With
less of you there is more of God and his rule.
3 "You're blessed when you feel you've lost what is most
dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most
dear to you.
4 "You're blessed when you're content with just who you are
no more, no less. That's the moment you find yourselves
proud owners of everything that can't be bought.
5 "You're blessed when you've worked up a good appetite for
God. He's food and drink in the best meal you'll ever eat.
6 "You're blessed when you care. At the moment of being
'care-full,' you find yourselves cared for.
7 "You're blessed when you get your inside world your mind
and heart put right. Then you can see God in the outside
world.
8 (This verse is missing because The Message takes the
liberty of combining verses 1 and 2.)
Matthew 5:13-16 The KJV Bible :
13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost
his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth
good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden
under foot of men.
14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an
hill cannot be hid.
15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a
bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all
that are in the house.
16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see
your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Matthew 5:13-16 The Message :
Jesus said, "Let me tell you why you are here. You're here
to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this
earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste
godliness? You've lost your usefulness and will end up in
the garbage.
"Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light,
bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a
secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public
as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don't
think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm
putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on
a hilltop, on a light stand shine! Keep open house; be
generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll
prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in
heaven." (148 words)
Matthew 5:43-48 The KJV Bible :
43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love
thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that
curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them
which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in
heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the
good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye?
do not even the publicans the same?
47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more
than others? do not even the publicans so?
48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in
heaven is perfect.
Matthew 5:43-48 The Message :
Jesus said, "You're familiar with the old written law, 'Love
your friend,' and its unwritten companion, 'Hate your
enemy.' I'm challenging that. I'm telling you to love your
enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst.
When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the
energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your
true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does.
He gives his best -- the sun to warm and the rain to nourish
-- to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and
nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a
bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those
who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill
sinner does that.
"In a word, what I'm saying is, Grow up. You're kingdom
subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created
identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the
way God lives toward you."
Matthew 6:1-4, 6 The KJV Bible :
1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen
of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is
in heaven.
2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a
trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues
and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily
I say unto you, They have their reward.
3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what
thy right hand doeth:
4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which
seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.
6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and
when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in
secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward
thee openly.
Matthew 6:1-4, 6 The Message :
Jesus said, "Be especially careful when you are trying to be
good so that you don't make a performance out of it. It
might be good theater, but the God who made you won't be
applauding.
"When you do something for someone else, don't call
attention to yourself. You've seen them in action, I'm sure
'playactors' I call them treating prayer meeting and street
corner alike as a stage, acting compassionate as long as
someone is watching, playing to the crowds. They get
applause, true, but that's all they get. When you help
someone out, don't think about how it looks. Just do it
quietly and unobtrusively. That is the way your God, who
conceived you in love, working behind the scenes, helps you
out. . . .
"Here's what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place
so you won't be tempted to role-play before God. Just be
there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus
will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his
grace."
Romans 5:7-10 The KJV Bible :
5:7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet
peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.
5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while
we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
5:9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we
shall be saved from wrath through him.
5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to
God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we
shall be saved by his life.
Romans 5:7-10 The Message :
We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying
for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could
inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put his love on
the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death
while we were of no use whatever to him.
Now that we are set right with God by means of this
sacrificial death, the consummate blood sacrifice, there is
no longer a question of being at odds with God in any way.
If, when we were at our worst, we were put on friendly terms
with God by the sacrificial death of his Son, now that we're
at our best, just think of how our lives will expand and
deepen by means of his resurrection life!
Romans 5:20-21, 6:6-9 The KJV Bible :
5:20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might
abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
5:21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might
grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus
Christ our Lord.
6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him,
that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we
should not serve sin.
6:7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.
6:8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall
also live with him:
6:9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no
more; death hath no more dominion over him.
Romans 5:20-21 The Message :
Sin didn't, and doesn't, have a chance in competition with
the aggressive forgiveness we call grace. When it's sin
versus grace, grace wins hands down. All sin can do is
threaten us with death, and that's the end of it. Grace,
because God is putting everything together again through the
Messiah, invites us into life-a life that goes on and on and
on, world without end. . . .
Could it be any clearer? Our old way of life was nailed to
the Cross with Christ, a decisive end to that sin-miserable
life no longer at sin's every beck and call! What we believe
is this: If we get included in Christ's sin-conquering
death, we also get included in his life-saving resurrection.
We know that when Jesus was raised from the dead it was a
signal of the end of death-as-the-end. Never again will
death have the last word.
Philippians 2:1-6 The KJV Bible :
2:1 If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any
comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any
bowels and mercies,
2:2 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the
same love, being of one accord, of one mind.
2:3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in
lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than
themselves.
2:4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man
also on the things of others.
2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ
Jesus:
2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery
to be equal with God:
Philippians 2:1-6 The Message :
If you've gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if
his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a
community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a
heart, if you care then do me a favor: Agree with each
other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don't push
your way to the front; don't sweet-talk your way to the top.
Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don't be
obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves
long enough to lend a helping hand.
Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself.
He had equal status with God but didn't think so much of
himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that
status no matter what. Not at all.
Philippians 2:12-16 The KJV Bible :
2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not
as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence,
work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to
do of his good pleasure.
2:14 Do all things without murmurings and disputings:
2:15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of
God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse
nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
2:16 Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in
the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither
laboured in vain.
Philippians 2:12-16 The Message :
Be energetic in your life of salvation, reverent and
sensitive before God. That energy is God's energy, an energy
deep within you, God himself willing and working at what
will give him the most pleasure.
Do everything readily and cheerfully no bickering, no
second-guessing allowed! Go out into the world uncorrupted,
a breath of fresh air in this squalid and polluted society.
Provide people with a glimpse of good living and of the
living God. Carry the light-giving Message into the night so
I'll have good cause to be proud of you on the day that
Christ returns. You'll be living proof that I didn't go to
all this work for nothing.
Philippians 4:4-9 The KJV Bible :
4:4 Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.
4:5 Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is
at hand.
4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer
and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made
known unto God.
4:7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding,
shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true,
whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just,
whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely,
whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any
virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
4:9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received,
and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be
with you.
Philippians 4:4-9 The Message :
Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make
it as clear as you can to all you meet that you're on their
side, working with them and not against them. Help them see
that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any
minute!
Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let
petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers,
letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense
of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good,
will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens
when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life
Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by
filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble,
reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious the best, not the
worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not
things to curse.