“A new Bible translation. Bah! Humbug!” That’s the gist of what a fellow said to me and Frank Couch earlier this year.
Frank and I were at the Justice Conference in Portland, Oregon talking with people about The Voice Bible. We were also giving away copies of The Voice New Testament to anyone who came by and asked. Most people who stopped by for a brief chat about the project were interested to see what Thomas Nelson and about 120 scholars and writers had been up to for the last 7 years. When they discovered the missional purpose for the effort, they walked away with a smile on their faces and a copy or two in their hands. As I recall, one of the schools in the northwest asked for 300 copies to give to their graduate students. We were only too happy to help.
This one fellow, however, was committed to another version. He saw no need—for himself—for a new Bible translation. So his attitude was pretty much, Bah! Humbug!
We created The Voice Bible not to replace anyone’s favorite version but to provide a version for those who have never read it before or who would not likely pick up another translation. We did it for people like Keith Richards, guitarist for the Rolling Stones, who said: “I read the Bible sometimes, but I find it deadly boring.” In essence, we have been saying all along: “Don’t give up, Keith!”
Well, I’m happy to report, that after a bit of persuasion, the gentleman at the conference took a copy of The Voice New Testament back to his hotel room. He came back the next day with a big smile on his face. He said, “I love it. I started reading at 11:00 pm and didn’t put it down until 1:15 AM. I read through several books.” After spending some time with The Voice, he understood why we had to do this translation. He asked for other copies to give away to friends and family. We were only too happy to help.
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