The Second Testament: A New Translation - Scot McKnight

REVIEWER: Rev John Woods

BOOK: The Second Testament: A New Translation

(IVP ACADEMIC, 2023) 312pp, hardback, RRP prices vary 

Some preachers can work competently with the Greek New Testament in their sermon preparation, while others have to depend on a translation. My preaching journey started with using the Authorised Version. The arrival of the New International Version was so useful in providing a text that was readable but generally robust enough to use for public reading and preaching. Eugene Peterson’s The Message was also a great gift in providing a street version that dressed so many familiar passages in everyday working clothes. So, where does this translation fit in? 

It is too clunky to read in public reading or preaching, yet it has many flashes of brilliance that are suggestive for preaching. John the Baptist becomes Yoannes the Dipper, the disciples become ‘apprentices,’ Pharisees become ‘The Observant,’ and scribes become ‘Covenant code scholars.’ 

One McKnight translation I have particularly enjoyed is the rendering of the word ‘good’ as ‘beautiful.’ Good can often have a cold stainless-steel ring to it, but to view it as beautiful lends it an attractive nobility.  

Less convincingly for some readers is McKnight’s use of ‘allegiance’ instead of ‘faith’ and ‘right’ instead of ‘justification.’ Yet his aim ‘to provoke us to think again about the terms that have become too conventional’ is commendable. I agree with the translator when he says: ‘A different angle on a conventional term… makes us think about it differently, and my prayer is that the change will fill in your conventional term with fuller meaning.’ 

The Second Testament has an illuminating general introduction and useful brief introductions to each book. Here again, there are useful things for preachers to learn. I was struck by the comment that James’ reference to widows and orphans might open a window into the home life of James, the half-brother of Jesus. 

I often read books fairly quickly but decided this one might benefit by being read over a long period, so it has been in my daily Bible reading schedule for the past couple of months or so. Scot McKnight has lived and breathed the New Testament for decades, so it would be difficult not to profit from this book. 

Reviewer: Rev John Woods, a pastor for nearly 40 years, is training director for the School of Preachers Trust and a teacher at the Latvian Bible Centre.