Black Bible Chronicles is a two-volume set of "adaptive retelling" of the Bible by P. K. McCary. Black Bible Chronicles: From Genesis to the Promised Land is a 190-page "interpretation" of the Pentateuch. Book 2, titled Rappin' With Jesus: The Good News According to the Four Brothers, was released a year later on January 1, 1993, and includes similarly interpreted versions of the four gospels in 168 pages. There has been no announcement concerning further releases in the series for the remainder of the Biblical books.
It is far more free in its structure than a dynamic equivalence translation. In terms of style, it is more free than Clarence Jordan's Cotton Patch version or The Aussie Bible.
The Black Bible Chronicles books were all written by P.K. McCary as a way to bring the "message of life into the language of the streets". The original Biblical passages are summarized; the rhythm of the original verses is maintained, but the vocabulary and phrasing uses African American Vernacular English (AAVE or Ebonics). Excerpts can be read in some of the external links from this article.
See also
References
- Boswell, Freddy. 2006. Classifying "Cotton Patch Version" and similar renderings as adaptive retelling rather than translation (La clasificación de la "cotton patch version" y de otros tipos de versiones más como reescrituras adaptadoras que como traducciones)." Hermēneus, Vol. 8: 45-66
- "The Aussie Bible :: Welcome". Archived from the original on 2009-09-14. Retrieved 2009-07-05.
- McCary 1993, p. v.
- McCary, P. K. (September 1993). Black Bible Chronicles: From Genesis to the Promised Land. New York: African American Family Press. ISBN 1-56977-000-X. Introduction by Andrew Young, activist and former mayor of Atlanta.
- McCary, P. K. (February 1994). Rappin' With Jesus: The Good News According to the Four Brothers. New York: African American Family Press. ISBN 1-56977-005-0.
- McCary, P. K. (January 1995). Black Bible Chronicles (Box set; paperbacks ed.). New York: African American Family Press. ISBN 1-56977-010-7.
External links
- "Jesus Raps with the Brothers on the Hill". Beliefnet. Retrieved 2006-05-15. Excerpt of the Beatitudes.
- "The Almighty said: "Lighten up!"". Ship of Fools. Retrieved 2006-05-15. Excerpt of Genesis.
- "The Ten Commandments". Harper's Magazine. Retrieved 2006-05-15. Excerpt of the Ten Commandments in the January 1995 issue.
- 1993 interview on KCAL 9 News, Los Angeles, including criticism from Pastor John Coleman