J. B. Phillips

The New Testament in JB Phillips' own translation, bringing home to the modern reader the full force of the original message

About the Contributor(s): John Bertram Phillips (1906-1982) was a Bible translator, writer, and clergyman. His work translating the New Testament made him one of Britain's most famous Bible communicators. He talked of the revelation received as he translated the New Testament, describing it as ""extraordinarily alive""--unlike any experience he had had with non-scriptural ancient texts. He referred to Scripture speaking to his condition in an ""uncanny way."" Phillips was a masterful apologist and defender of the Christian faith. He upheld the basic tenets of the faith, and was able to present them as fresh to the modern reader and hearer, much as he had done with his translation of the New Testament.

About the Contributor(s): John Bertram Phillips (1906-1982) was a Bible translator, writer, and clergyman. His work translating the New Testament made him one of Britain's most famous Bible communicators. He talked of the revelation received as he translated the New Testament, describing it as ""extraordinarily alive""--unlike any experience he had had with non-scriptural ancient texts. He referred to Scripture speaking to his condition in an ""uncanny way."" Phillips was a masterful apologist and defender of the Christian faith. He upheld the basic tenets of the faith, and was able to present them as fresh to the modern reader and hearer, much as he had done with his translation of the New Testament.

Through the eyes of the Prince of the Apostles we see Jesus as he really was, in Palestine and in his transforming impact on Christians around the first-century Mediterranean. J. B. Phillips, one of the best-known translators of the new Testament into modern English, interprets with simplicity and clarity the Gospel of Mark and the letters of Peter, basing what he says on his own latest translation. His conviction that the Gospel of Mark is nothing less than the writing down of Peter's own memoirs of his master, and that the First Letter of Peter is authentic, although the Second Letter is not, making this an especially exciting commentary.

J. B. Phillips began to translate the Bible during World War II for study by youth groups of the Anglican church in London of which he was then vicar; his New Testament translations have since been read by millions. Four Prophets is his first translation from the Old Testament. But as for me, my eyes look for the Lord. I will wait for the God who will save me; Yes, my God will deliver me Never exult over me, my enemy-- When I fail, I shall rise again; When I sit in darkness, The Lord shall be my light. I will endure the displeasure of the Lord, (For I have sinned against him), Until the day when he takes up my cause, And vindicates my right. He will bring me out into the light, And I shall see the justness of his ways. Micah 7:7

About the Contributor(s): John Bertram Phillips (1906-1982) was a Bible translator, writer, and clergyman. His work translating the New Testament made him one of Britain's most famous Bible communicators. He talked of the revelation received as he translated the New Testament, describing it as ""extraordinarily alive""--unlike any experience he had had with non-scriptural ancient texts. He referred to Scripture speaking to his condition in an ""uncanny way."" Phillips was a masterful apologist and defender of the Christian faith. He upheld the basic tenets of the faith, and was able to present them as fresh to the modern reader and hearer, much as he had done with his translation of the New Testament.

About the Contributor(s): John Bertram Phillips (1906-1982) was a Bible translator, writer, and clergyman. His work translating the New Testament made him one of Britain's most famous Bible communicators. He talked of the revelation received as he translated the New Testament, describing it as ""extraordinarily alive""--unlike any experience he had had with non-scriptural ancient texts. He referred to Scripture speaking to his condition in an ""uncanny way."" Phillips was a masterful apologist and defender of the Christian faith. He upheld the basic tenets of the faith, and was able to present them as fresh to the modern reader and hearer, much as he had done with his translation of the New Testament.

About the Contributor(s): John Bertram Phillips (1906-1982) was a Bible translator, writer, and clergyman. His work translating the New Testament made him one of Britain's most famous Bible communicators. He talked of the revelation received as he translated the New Testament, describing it as ""extraordinarily alive""--unlike any experience he had had with non-scriptural ancient texts. He referred to Scripture speaking to his condition in an ""uncanny way."" Phillips was a masterful apologist and defender of the Christian faith. He upheld the basic tenets of the faith, and was able to present them as fresh to the modern reader and hearer, much as he had done with his translation of the New Testament.

J. B. Phillips, best known hitherto for his widely acclaimed translation of the New Testament, has in this series of short plays about the life of Christ preserved the same direct speech and simple, dignified language that so distinguish his translation. The series starts with the first public appearance of the boy Jesus when he talks to the elders in the temple, and ends with a moving reconstruction of the crucifixion as witnessed by the soldiers, by Nicodemus, and bystanders. Written at the invitation of the BBC in England for their Schools Programme, these plays will be welcomed in book form by parents and children, as well as teachers. Schools, churches, clubs, and other groups will find them admirably suited to simple dramatization of some of the events in the life of the Man called Jesus. They will be especially satisfying to the individual reader who will find that this imaginative approach sheds new light upon familiar stories. Turn to Canon Phillips' helpful introduction for his interesting comments on the writing of the plays.