New English Bible Translation Omits 'Jesus Christ,' 'Apostle'

Religion Today | Updated: Dec 12, 2012

New English Bible Translation Omits 'Jesus Christ,' 'Apostle'

April 18, 2012

A new English translation of the Bible does not contain the name "Jesus Christ" or the word "angel," and prefers the word "emissary" over "apostle," the Christian Post reports. The Voice, which replaces "Jesus Christ" with terms such as "Jesus the Anointed One," was released by Thomas Nelson Publishing last month. Frank Couch, Thomas Nelson's lead editor for the project, said the purpose of The Voice was to make the Bible easier to understand for modern audiences. "The Voice has not claimed to be more accurate than any other translation, rather, it is more easily understood than any other translation," he said. "Scripture is presented not as an academic document, but as an engaging story." The name comes from the translation's rendering of the Greek word logos in John 1:1 -- the typical English Bible translates logos to "Word," but here it is translated "Voice." The first verse of John, which in the New King James Version reads "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God," is translated in The Voice as "Before time itself was measured, the Voice was speaking. The Voice was and is God." Despite the approval of Thomas Nelson, The Voice has raised controversy among Christians. The apologetics blog "Extreme Theology," for example, said The Voice "blatantly mangles and distorts God's Word in order to support a peculiar and aberrant theological agenda."



New English Bible Translation Omits 'Jesus Christ,' 'Apostle'