The wording in the Preface from the free PDF file of The Book of John (and it looks like it’s the same as in the print edition) is:

The Voice is based on the earliest and best manuscripts from the original languages (Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic). When significant variations influence a reading, we follow the publishing standard by bracketing the passage and placing it a note at the bottom of the page while maintaining the traditional chapter and verse divisions.”

5:4 Some ancient manuscripts omit the end of verse 3 and all of verse 4.

So what it looks like to me is that, despite what it says in the introduction, the printed text follows the Textus Receptus (the basis of KJV and NKJV) or something similar, but significant departures in ancient manuscripts are marked with brackets and footnotes. This is a reasonable policy, if properly explained which it doesn’t seem to be. But it is also a slightly strange policy for a version intended to be accessible to people with no church background.

Re: the text: The introduction says it’s based on the best and oldest manuscripts, and The Voice puts the questioned passages – e.g., Mark 16:9-20 (they also include the addition to Mark 16:8); John 7:53-8:11; etc. – in brackets with explanatory footnotes. Though the authors of the Gospels and some of the other books that have previously been published – e.g., Acts, Hebrews, and Romans – are mentioned in the introduction, there is no listing of who translated each book, and the authors of, e.g., the rest of the Pauline Epistles, are not stated.

* 3:3 Or “from above.”

Maybe I confused it with another footnote. I guess I’ll know when I again see a copy.

http://www.hearthevoice.com/pdf/Book_of_John.pdf

I was prepared to be skeptical of it, and it didn’t help when the footnote to John 3:3 said (in reference to “born again” or “born a second time” or however The Voice translates it) something like: “other manuscripts read from above.” As far as I can tell from NA 26/27, ανωθεν (anôthen) is in all the manuscripts (i.e., there are no textual variants), so the footnote should have said something like: “the Greek can also mean from above.” Also, Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christians aren’t going to be happy with the statement after Matthew 1:25 that Joseph and Mary had sexual relations after Jesus was born.

That said (and my look-see was a rather quick one), I found The Voice to be quite captivating, and will procure a copy. I was disappointed to see that the “leather bound” edition (or more accurately, 1/3 leather, 2/3 fabric bound) seems to be bound with the same glue as the paperbound, which means it will eventually crack, so it may not be worth the extra buck$$. I don’t believe the introduction mentioned the textual basis (i.e., whether TR/Majority Text or NA 27), and also didn’t see mention made of who translated each book.

I agree that reading “The Liberating King” for “Christ” gets as old and repetitious as hearing Henry Ian Cusick say “I tell you the truth” (for “Amen, Amen”) a million times in the movie The Gospel of John.

Thanks for the heads up on this!