​PARAPHRASE (Gr. παράφρασις, from παραφράζειν, to relate something in different words, παρά, beside, and φράζειν, speak, tell), a rendering into other words of a passage in prose or verse, giving the sense in a fuller, simpler or clearer fashion, also a free translation or adaptation of a passage in a foreign language. The term is specifically used in the Scottish and other Presbyterian churches of metrical versions for singing of certain passages of the Bible.