An Essential Version

I have a lot of bibles including a Pentateuch, an NIV Study Bible, a 1786 version of the KJ, a Comparative Study Bible with 4 translations, a New World and now, the Unvarnished New Testament, translated by Andy Gaus. I haven't even finished Matthew and I'm ready to scrap all the others. Centuries of piety have been scraped away leaving the story and words of Jesus more like they were uttered. The poor and the meek aren't "blessed", the are "in luck" ! You can sympathize with the early translator who thought "in luck" insufficently solemn for the words of the "son of humanity" (not, we note, the "Son of Man" as usually translated), but we praise Andy Gaus for giving us back a Jesus who was speaking to a common audience and using common words.

Fascinating and Inspiring

This is a wonderful book and belongs on almost every bookshelf. The literal translation of the oldest Greek texts makes for some very compelling reading. The characters and events of the New Testament come alive. I personally didn't find too much that was "unorthodox". This is not a re-interpretation of the Gospels, but rather a new translation, and as such is not another New Age fantasy. It will inspire you, and also make you wonder how your official Bible came to differ from the original. But most of all, it will rekindle your love of the Gospels.

A must read!

This is the most readable translation of the gospels that I have come across, even more so than that of Richmond Lattimore. The conversational style is enlightening.