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 Luke 7:1-10:

Jesus was back in Capernaum,
where a Roman army officer’s favorite servant
       was at the point of death.
So when the officer heard Jesus was in town,
he sent some Jewish leaders with a request
       for Jesus to come and heal his servant.

The leaders went to Jesus and begged him to help —
       “This man is truly deserving,” they stated.
“He loves our nation and even built us a synagogue.”
       So Jesus went with them.

As Jesus approached the officer’s house,
       the officer sent some friends with a message:
       “Sir, please don’t trouble yourself on my account!
       I’m not worthy for you to stand under my roof,
              and I’m certainly not worthy to look you in the face.

       “Just say the word, and my servant will be healed.
       I myself am under orders,
              and I have men under my command.
       If I say ‘Jump!’ they jump;
              if I say ‘Sit down!’ they sit down.”

When Jesus heard this, he was so surprised
that he said to the crowd following him,
       “I’ve never seen such faith!”

The officer’s friends returned and found the servant well.