What is your opinion of The Voice translation?

I have not yet read from The Voice translation.  From what I have read about it, this translation was created using 125 scholars, but also artists and other creative people.  There appears to have been some solid scholarship behind the translation. The intent was to create a readable translation which works dramatically.  It will read out loud well.  It is not a literal translation.  Its authors call it a balance between word-for-word and phrase-for-phrase translation, but there are clearly elements of a paraphrase in this version of the Bible. On the other hand, I get the impression that it is not as loose a paraphrase as the New Living Bible, but there are elements of interpretation rather than translation in this version. You should bear this in mind.  Some conservative evangelicals have renounced this translation for having “New Age” elements in the wording.  I will let you decide for yourself.  My advice is that if you use The Voice, you should also have a more literal translation such as the RSV or the NAS at hand so as to cross-check what you are reading in The Voice.  I have no personal problem with this translation, and think that it might be helpful to some to understand the text. I think that conservative evangelicals may be overreacting here, but I would not suggest using The Voice as your only Bible to read and study.  You should at least have a companion more literal translation at hand when you read The Voice.

One interesting feature is that where the Hebrew has YHWH and most Bibles translate this as The Lord, The Voice translates this as “Eternal One.”  I have no problem with this.  In fact, I might even prefer it to “The Lord”.    Also, in John 1:1, instead of “In the beginning was the Word” it has  “In the beginning was the Voice.”  Again, I do not see a major doctrinal or other problem with this unusual reading. Another choice of the translators was to translate the Greek Christos as “Anointed One.”  Again, I agree with the translators that this is a good choice to translate rather than transliterate the Greek.

Bear in mind that I have not even read this translation yet, so my perspective is a bit limited, but that is what I can say from the little I know.

John Oakes