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The Passion Translation (TPT) is a modern English paraphrase of the New Testament, and of an increasing number of books from the Hebrew Bible. The goal of The Passion Translation is "to bring God's eternal truth into a highly readable heart-level expression that causes truth and love to jump out of the text and lodge inside our hearts."[1] The entire TPT Bible is slated for completion in 2028. It was first published in 2011 by 5 Fold Media, although the current publisher is Broadstreet Publishing. The lead translator is Brian Simmons.[2]
| The Passion Translation | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | TPT |
| Language | English |
| OT published | 2028 (projected) |
| NT published | 2011 |
| Authorship | Brian Simmons |
| Textual basis | Masoretic Text, Novum Testamentum Graece |
| Translation type | Essential equivalence |
| Publisher | Broadstreet Publishing |
| Website | thepassiontranslation |
When God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was completely formless and empty, with nothing but darkness draped over the deep. God's Spirit swept over the face of the waters. And then God announced: "Let there be light," and light burst forth.
For here is the way God loved the world—he gave his only, unique Son as a gift. So now everyone who believes in him will never perish but experience everlasting life. | |
In January 2022, it was removed from Bible Gateway amid controversy. It remains available on YouVersion and Logos Bible Software.[3]
Simmons' vision
During a 2015 television interview, Brian Simmons asserted that in 2009 Jesus visited his room and commissioned him to write a new translation of the Bible.[4] According to the publisher's website, Brian's vision for the project is that people would read it and grow closer to Jesus.
Translation and release
The Passion Translation is primarily the work of Simmons.[2] Although he claims that a team of "respected editors and scholars" reviewed his translations and footnotes, no names have been given. For the translation, Simmons claims to have assisted as a translator in the New Tribes Mission to the Paya-Kuna. Some who worked on the Paya-Kuna translation have said that Simmons was never a translator. They stated he only assisted in reading the translation to the native people, and providing feedback to the translators of how well the translation was understood by the intended audience.[2][5] The New Testament was published on October 31, 2017.[2]
2022 removal from Bible Gateway
In January 2022, Bible-reading website Bible Gateway removed TPT from their list of translations. Simmons criticized the action in a since-deleted Facebook post, saying "cancel culture is alive in the church world" and asking followers to request the site restore the version.[6] Broadstreet Publishing, however, said in a statement that it "accepts that Bible Gateway has the right to make decisions as they see fit with the platforms they manage". As of November 2023, the website has not given Broadstreet Publishing a reason for the removal.
The Passion Translation has received some positive and many critical reviews. Pastor Bill Johnson of Bethel Church in Redding, California, praised the translation as "One of the greatest things to happen with Bible translation in my lifetime."[7] New Apostolic Reformation apostle Lou Engle has also endorsed the translation.[3]
Banning Liebscher, founder of Jesus Culture, said: "In a world that is constantly shaking, The Passion Translation is making Scripture accessible to a generation whose lives long to be established on the truth of God's Word. Young and old are experiencing the inevitable freedom that comes when you encounter the power found in God's Word, and are being ignited with a passion for Jesus that will not be extinguished. My own personal devotion and study has been deeply impacted by The Passion Translation and I am grateful for what this work is adding to the body of Christ."[citation needed]
Andrew G. Shead, who worked on the NIV Bible, does not consider TPT to be a Bible and stated:[8]
any church that treats it as such and receives it as canon will, by that very action, turn itself into an unorthodox sect. If the translation had been packaged as a commentary on Scripture I would not have needed to write this review; but to package it as Scripture is an offence against God. Every believer who is taught to treat it as the enscripturated words of God is in spiritual danger, not least because of the sentimentalised portrait of God that TPT Psalms sets out to paint. Simmons's caricature of God as 'the King who likes and enjoys you' ...eliminates all but one facet of God's feelings about us, and then gets that one wrong.
Andrew Wilson, a pastor in a New Frontiers International church in London, points out that TPT is "not really a translation" due to its lack of accuracy to the original. He points out specifically the verse Galatians 2:19, hina theō zēsō, typically translated to 'that I might live for God' which TPT translates as 'so that I can live for God in heaven's freedom.'
"It's not a translation. It's an interpolation, or a gloss, or (more bluntly) an addition."
Wilson also mentions Revelation 22:18, which reads "I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book...". He concludes by stating that while TPT is not necessarily bad, it should not be regarded as scripture.[9]
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