{{unreferenced, date=June 2011 : ''For the linguistics definition, see

paraphrase A paraphrase () is a restatement of the meaning of a text or passage using other words. The term itself is derived via Latin ', . The act of paraphrasing is also called ''paraphrasis''. History Although paraphrases likely abounded in oral tra ...

.'' : ''For the paraphrases by Erasmus of the New Testament, see

Paraphrases of Erasmus The ''Paraphrases'' were Latin Biblical paraphrases, rewritings of the Gospels by Desiderius Erasmus. Composed between 1517 and 1524, Erasmus occasionally revised them until his death in 1536. In 1547, Edward VI of England ordered an English-la ...

.'' : ''For the medieval Biblical literary genre, see

Biblical paraphrase A biblical paraphrase is a literary work which has as its goal, not the translation of the Bible, but rather, the rendering of the Bible into a work that retells all or part of the Bible in a manner that accords with a particular set of theological ...

.'' Paraphrases are traditional forms of singing within

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

churches. They are

biblical paraphrase A biblical paraphrase is a literary work which has as its goal, not the translation of the Bible, but rather, the rendering of the Bible into a work that retells all or part of the Bible in a manner that accords with a particular set of theological ...

s: lyrical renderings of sections of the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

that have been set to music, in a similar fashion to

metrical psalms A metrical psalter is a kind of Bible translation: a book containing a verse translation of all or part of the Book of Psalms in vernacular poetry, meant to be sung as hymns in a church. Some metrical psalters include melodies or harmonisatio ...

Usage

Within a Presbyterian

Hymnbook A hymnal or hymnary is a collection of hymns, usually in the form of a book, called a hymnbook (or hymn book). Hymnals are used in congregational singing. A hymnal may contain only hymn texts (normal for most hymnals for most centuries of Chri ...

, the Paraphrases are usually printed in a separate section from

Psalms The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...

and

Hymns A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

. Within the Church Hymnary Revised Edition of the Presbyterian Hymnbook there are 67 Paraphrases. The '' Irish Presbyterian Hymnbook'' (2004) includes 66 Paraphrases along with 150 Psalms of the Irish Psalter and a further 669 hymns and song. Traditional churches generally sing a Paraphrase, a Psalm and a number of hymns within worship. In recent decades many congregations have moved from traditional Paraphrases to modern settings of Bible passages to music, in the same way that modern settings of Psalms are often used. This is due to the often archaic language that the Metrical Psalms and Paraphrases use. Presbyterianism Biblical paraphrases