Word Come Alive New Testament Paraphrase

Editor: Martin Manser

Word Come Alive is an expanded translation (paraphrase) of the New Testament of the Holy Bible.

www.wordcomealive.net

Copyright © Martin Manser 2016–2024

Martin Manser’s website: www.martinmanser.co.uk

Front cover by Tony Cantale

ISBNs of digital editions unless otherwise stated

Matthew: 9781543968996

Mark: 9781543906486

Luke: 9781098315177

John: 9781483571096; hard copy 9781909680432

Acts: 9781098358532

Ephesians: 9781483578651

Philippians: 9781483581262

1,2,3 John: 9781483573854

For permissions to quote this text, see website www.wordcomealive.net

Reviewers

Gervais Angel, formerly New Testament Greek Examiner for the Church of England and tutor in New Testament Greek at Trinity College, Bristol, United Kingdom.

Dr Pieter Lalleman, Pastor of Knaphill Baptist Church, Surrey, United Kingdom and Senior Research Fellow of Spurgeon’s College, London, United Kingdom.

This resource will be updated as new translations are finished and produced.

Contents

Introduction

Matthew

Mark

Luke

John

Acts

Romans

Ephesians

Philippians

Colossians

1 Timothy

2 Timothy

Titus

Philemon

James

1-3 John

Revelation

Introduction

Origins of Word Come Alive

The story goes back to 2014. At a meeting with a friend in June that year, we had completed our main business and were discussing motives in Christian service. As a follow-up, I thought I’d look at 1 Thessalonians 2 in which I knew Paul discussed motives. I looked up 1 Thessalonians 2 in all the Bibles and commentaries I have. I focused particularly on 1 Thessalonians 2:12 and the three verbs that Paul uses to refer to how a father treats his son. The verbs are translated variously as ‘encourage’, ‘urge’, ‘plead’, and ‘comfort’, all of which are fair but I don’t think they had much impact on me. One book even suggested ‘stimulate’ but that word is completely inappropriate today. I then thought, ‘What do fathers do?’ They seek to motivate their children and then the thought occurred to me, why not put verses 1 to 12 into contemporary English, expanding as appropriate to explore the fuller meaning? I also knew, from my schooldays decades ago, that the best way to see if you’ve really understood a passage is to express it in your own words. So I did that and then I felt there was something almost pulling me to continue. (Later, I sensed that the ‘something’ was in fact Someone: the Holy Spirit of God.) I then edited the whole of 1 Thessalonians in a similar way, showed that to friends and they encouraged me to do more. When I read this expanded paraphrase, it made me sit up and think because the message was clear, fresh and more immediately understandable.

Another friend then urged me to work on John’s Gospel, which I did from late 2014 to end 2015. I then drafted 1, 2 and 3 John, Mark’s Gospel, Ephesians, Philippians, and the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, and Acts. This was followed by Revelation, Romans and James. I hope to complete the New Testament in the next few ...