The Passion Translation is designed to help you encounter the heart of God in your day, just like the KJV did in its day. We also appreciate that it has been a trusted, cherished source of spiritual encouragement for many, nourishing their faith for years. To see more differences between The Passion Translation and the KJV as well as other versions of the Bible, click here!
The New Apostolic Reformation, commonly known as NAR, is a name used by some Internet apologists and critics to identify leaders mostly in the Pentecostal and Charismatic traditions who affirm (or seem to affirm in part or full) a group of beliefs the critics oppose. Brian Simmons has been unfairly identified with this non-movement because of his association with some of these leaders and affinity with Pentecostalism. Further, such critics have falsely accused Simmons of writing The Passion Translation as a stealth maneuver in support of the non-movement’s agenda and to bolster it theologically through translation renderings. Neither of these accusations are fair or accurate. Although his audience certainly includes the Pentecostal or Charismatic believer, he affirms historical Christian orthodoxy and is very much at home within the broader evangelical tradition.
Simmons undertook this translation project because he felt a calling from God and because he has always wanted to bring people into a greater understanding of the wealth and treasure contained in the Bible. For more information, see our TPT statement of faith below.
There can often be confusion in the Christian community when it comes to various versions of the Bible, particularly the differences between “translation” and “paraphrase.”
Yet, because of the language issues of the KJV, we encourage people to find a translation based on the latest manuscript scholarship and one that communicates God’s original message in contemporary English
A paraphrase involves rewriting content into the paraphraser’s own words. Such a version of the Bible utilizes an existing English-language translation as its base text. It paraphrases one version into more contemporary language. For instance, in 1971 the creator of The Living Bible paraphrased the existing American Standard Version of 1901 to create a new English-language Bible version.
It translates these original languages into a modern language
A translation, however, uses the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek manuscripts as the base text for a new version of the Bible. For example, the translators huggle tips of the New International Version in 1978 worked off the original ancient-language manuscripts to produce a new English Bible by translating those ancient languages into the modern language.
Similar to such functional or dynamic equivalent translations as the New International Version and the New Living Translation Bible versions, The Passion Translation is a new version of God’s Word that is considered a thought-for-thought translation because it uses the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek manuscripts to translate the essential message of Scripture into contemporary English. Whenever implied words or phrases are made explicit for the understanding of the reader, this additional language is made clear by employing italics in the tradition of translations such as the King James Version or the New American Standard Bible.
The Passion Translation is an excellent translation you can use as your primary text to study God’s Word seriously because it combines the best aspects of what are called formal and functional equivalence Bibles. It is a balanced translation that results in an entirely new, fresh, fiery translation of God’s Word. Furthermore, this is the first modern English translation to use Aramaic, the mother tongue of Jesus and the disciples, to shed extensive light on our understanding of the New Testament.