Barclay Newman, a translator on the teams for both the Good News Bible and the Contemporary English Version, translated passages of the New Testament into English and published them in 2014, “in a publication brief enough to be non-threatening, yet long enough to be taken seriously, and interesting enough to appeal to believers and un-believers alike.” The following is the translation of Matthew 4:1-11:
The Holy Spirit led Jesus into the desert,
where he was tested by the devil and ate nothing
for forty days and forty nights.
When Jesus was about starved, the devil came up and said:
“You claim to be God’s Son,
so turn these stones into bread!”
“Read the Bible,” said Jesus,
“Nourishment from God’s Word
is all anyone really needs’.”
Now on the pinnacle of the Jerusalem temple,
the devil challenged Jesus, “Jump off! —
Like the Bible says, ‘God will send angels
to protect your feet from the stones’.”
“Read it again,” replied Jesus. “It says,
Don’t ever try to put God to the test!”
Finally, from the top of a high mountain,
the devil pointed out the authority of all earthly kingdoms,
“They’re yours.’ Just kneel and worship me.”
“Enough of you!” answered Jesus,
“The Bible teaches us to worship only God.”
So the devil departed,
and angels descended to wait on Jesus.
