What is a paraphrase?
Good question. A paraphrase is the rewording of Bible text in plain language in order to help the reader more clearly understand what the text is trying to teach. A paraphrase needs to be true to the text without the writer’s personal opinions on the matter. My paraphrase is not a translation but simply a study aid to help you better understand what the Bible text is teaching, Please allow me give you an example.
Proverbs 26:12 states, “Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.” A proper paraphrase would be something like, “Do you see a guy who thinks he knows it all?
He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
He is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice, and He preserves the way of His godly ones.– Proverbs 2:7-8
There is more hope of a fool becoming wise than for the know-it- all to become humble.” I would like to word it according to what Proverbs as a whole teaches, but that has to be reserved for the commentary where I can explain the whole thing. You see, Proverbs 27:22 says, “Though you pound a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, yet his foolishness will not depart from him.” The overall teaching, then is that there is no hope of a fool becoming wise. So, if we are to understand what is really happening in Proverbs 26:12 we would write something like this: “Do you see a know- it-all? Since there is absolutely no hope of a fool becoming wise, there is even less hope of making the know-it-all into a humble man.” I can’t write that in the paraphrase though, because I have to be true to what the individual verse teaches. I think you get the idea.
Proverbs Paraphrase
This paraphrase will help you better understand the truths contained in Proverbs. The wording for each verse is consistent with what the text is teaching and not necessarily what a particular teacher or preacher says about it. You will find the Proverbs paraphrase easy to read and easy to understand. Have your Bible open to the same chapter as you read the paraphrase, and you will gain an even better understanding of the book.
After reading this paraphrase, you may also want to look at my Commentary on Proverbs.
