To express or restate the meaning of the writer or speaker (or something written or spoken) using different words.
Paraphrasing declares that the words are of no value, only the concepts and ideas; it devalues the teaching of Scripture wherein God declares 1,739 times that the words are inspired.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
You can garner concepts and ideas from words, but you cannot get the exact words from concepts and ideas
If the actual words are of no importance, then Christ is of no importance. To use a Paraphrase is to declare that God is a liar; that men are the final and absolute authority, not God.
See also Translate, Transliterate