by M. Kurt Goedelman
The
New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (NWT) is the name of the
Bible used worldwide by members of the Jehovah's Witness sect. The
Watchtower Society claims this work to have been made directly into
English from Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek languages.
This
translation, they claim, was made by "a committee of anointed
witnesses of Jehovah," but the Society refuses to divulge the
names and credentials of the men who comprised this committee.
The
work was originally released in six volumes starting in 1950. In 1961
the entire Bible had been completely "translated" and thus
released in a one volume publication. Since that time many additional
editions of this Bible have rolled off the Watchtower's presses,
complete with changes and alterations.
Who Were the translators?
The
Watchtower Bible and Tract Society has failed both the public and its
own followers at this most crucial point, as they refuse to give the
names and credentials of the translators of The New World
Translation. The Watchtower's Bible subject index handbook, Reasoning
from the Scripture, states: "When presenting as a gift the
publishing rights to their translation, the New World Bible
Translation Committee requested that its members remain anonymous.
The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania has honored
their request" (pg. 277).
The reason cited is because
the "translators were not seeking prominence for themselves."
However, the fact is that the men who comprised this committee had no
adequate schooling or background to function as skilled critical
Bible translators.
The translation committee was headed by
(then vice -president of the Jehovah's Witnesses), Frederick W.Franz.
Other members included Nathan H. Knorr (then president of the
Jehovah's Witnesses), Albert D. Schroeder, Ceorge D. Gangas and Milton
Henschel.
The information as to the identity of the
translation committee was made known by former Jehovah's Witness
William Cetnar. (See further, We Left lehovah's Witnesses, A
Non-Profit Organization; Edmond C. Gruss.) Cetnar was able to supply this
information as he worked at the International Headquarters of
Jehovah's Witnesses during the time the translation was being
prepared.
In addition, former member of the Watchtower's
Governing Body, Raymond V. Franz, in his book, Crisis of Conscience,
lists the translators' names as Franz, Knorr, Schroeder and Cangas.
His list omits Henschel. Franz further acknowledges his uncle
Frederick Franz as the "principal translator of the Society's
New World Translation" (Crisis, pg. 50).
Yet, Frederick
Franz's translation ability is open to serious question.
During
a court trial held in Scotland in 1954 (during the same period that
the New World Translation was being made) Franz was asked if he had
made himself familiar with Hebrew. His reply was "Yes."
He also acknowledged under oath that he could read and follow the
Bible in Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Spanish, Portuguese, German and
French. The following day, during the same court trial, his
linguistic abilities were put to the test.
He was asked to
translate Genesis 2:4 into Hebrew. He failed the test as he was
unable to do so. In fact he did not even try, but rather stated "No,
I wouldn't attempt to do that." (See, Court of Session, Scotland
- Douglas Walsh vs. The Right Honourable James Latham Clyde -
November 1954.)
Is It Really a Scholarly Translation?
WHAT ABOUT JOHN 1:1 ?
John 1:1 in the vast majority of Bibles reveals the deity of Christ:
The Word was God (NKJV).
The Word was God (NIV).
The Word was God (KJV).
In contrast, the NWT renders John 1:1 in a most unusual way:
'In [the] beginning the Word was, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god.'
Much more information on the correct translation of John 1:1 can be found here.
To
this question the Watchtower has led its followers to believe that
although the backgrounds of its translators are not made known, the
translation will stand on its own. It does not.
The
translation committee is guilty of inventing non-existent Greek
grammar (and then following these made-up rules only when necessary to
support the theology of the Watchtower), and when inserting words into
Scripture that change the meaning of God's Word.
The 1985
edition of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek
Scriptures states for its readers the guidelines and goals endorsed
by the translation committee. The Society claims that, "We offer
no paraphrase of Scripture. Our endeavor throughout has been to as
literal a translation as possible where the modern English idiom
allows for it or where the thought content is not hidden due to
awkwardness in the literal rendition" and that "To each
major word we have assigned one meaning and have held to that meaning
as far as context permitted" (pp. 9-10, 1985 ed.; pg. 10, 1969
ed.)
However, based on these claims for its translation of
the Bible, the committee has failed miserably.
Considering
the Watchtower's first point, "We offer no paraphrase of
Scripture," one need only examine the NWT renderings of John
15:4,5; John 17:26; Galatians 1:16; Romans 8:10; Colossians 1:27 and
2 Corinthians 13:5 to find that the translation committee has
paraphrased Scripture to deny the indwelling of Christ in the
believer.
Each of the aforementioned verses speaks of Christ
living within the Christian ("in him" or "in you"),
yet these verses found in the NWT have been paraphrased to read "in
union with you (him) " (emphasis added).
Regarding the
second point, "Our endeavor throughout has been to give as
literal a translation as possible...," this criterion likewise
misses the mark of honest scholarship.
An examination of
Colossians 1:16, 17 and Philippians 2:9 demonstrates through the
addition of words that the committee has not presented "as
literal a translation as possible. "
In both verses
cited one finds the word "other" added. (Christ created all
"other" things, meaning he is also a creature, a created
being.) Thus we find divine attributes of the Lord Jesus Christ
removed, namely that He is the creator of all things and that He
possesses the name that is above every name.
Finally, the
third point, "To each major word we have assigned one meaning
and have held to that meaning as far as context permitted,"
fares no better than the previous statements. The translation
committee has again let their theological bias bend their rules for
translating.
In Matthew 25:46, 2 Peter 2:9 and Acts 4:21 we
find the Greek word kolaoontai that refers to punishment.
However,
since the Watchtower denies the teaching of eternal punishment we
find the committee rendering two of the passages, those in Matthew
and 2 Peter (which refer to eternal punishment) as "cutting off"
and the Scripture found in Acts (which refers to physical punishment)
as "punish."
Since the Kingdom Interlinear
Translation provides a between the lines literal Greek-English
Translation and the text of the New World Translation (located in the
right hand column), we recommend its use for the documentation of the
above Scriptural citations.
Why is the Name "]ehovah "
Used in the Christian Greek Scriptures?
The Watchtower
Society leads its followers to believe that its translation is also
superior on the basis that it has restored the divine name ]ehovah
(Yahweh) to the pages of the Bible. The Watchtower's publication,
"The Divine Name That Will Endure Forever" announces that
it was a "apostate" Christian church that removed the
divine name and has substituted "Lord" in its place.
However, they have based, in part, this erroneous idea on
some guesswork published by Professor George Howard in an article in
the March 1978 issue of Biblical Archaeological Review. Howard's
evidence was slim and in a more detailed article published the
previous year in The Journal of Biblical Literature he sets forth
what he proposes as "a theory." The question that the
Watchtower leaders never considered is whether Howard's guesses are
supported by the evidence.
This question was addressed by Dr.
Albert Pietersma of the University of Toronto. Writing in De
Sepuaginta, a collection of scholarly articles, by experts in
Septuagint studies, Piertersma carefully reviews Howard's use of the
three Old Testament manuscript fragments. He finds that a careful
examination does not support Howard's theory.
Further, the
Watchtower's Reasoning book announces, "The divine name appears
in translations of the Christian Greek Scriptures into Hebrew, in
passages where quotations are made directly from the inspired Hebrew
Scriptures. This is merely a rephrasing of the "Restoring the
Divine Name" concept found in the Forward of the Kingdom
Interlinear Translation (pp. 10ff).
The translation committee
has set forth the proposition that a modern translator may render the
Greek words Kyrios and Theos as the divine name Jehovah (Yahweh) when
the inspired Christian writers have quoted from the Hebrew Scriptures
where the divine name appears.
Regrettably, once again the
translation committee has followed this rule only when it does not
contradict their theology. Philippians 2:10,11 serves as a perfect
example. Scripture is clear that one day every knee will bow and
every tongue confess that "Jesus Christ is Lord." However
the Philippians passage is quoted from Isaiah 45:23 and here we are
told that to Jehovah every knee will bow.
Therefore based on
the Watchtower's own translation rule, the Lord spoken of in
Philippians is none other than Jehovah. Further it is of interest to
note that the 1950 edition of the New World Translation of the
Christian Scriptures, which contained marginal cross references,
cited Isaiah 45:23 as a cross reference to the Philippians 2:11
passage.
Numerous scholars with true credentials in the
Biblical languages have condemned the Watchtower's New World
Translation as a fatal distortion of God's written Word. For example,
see The Bible Collector (July-December, 1971) issue which devotes
three articles evaluating the Watchtower scripture.
Thus it
has been demonstrated above that the Watchtower Society has, by its
own standards, proven its Bible translation to be unreliable and
untrustworthy. Those desiring a modern translation would do well to
invest in either the New American Standard Version or the New
international Version of Scripture to escape the theological
prejudice and Biblical untruths found in the New World Translation.
If a Jehovah's Witness Would Say... "Our Bible is
Reliable." The Christian should respond that no reputable Greek
or Hebrew scholar has given an endorsement of the New World
Translation. The Society has at times used both out-of-context
quotations from scholars and antiqued statements to make it appear
that there are those who give credence to this translation, but this
version is only used by Jehovah's Witnesses to promulgate their
doctrines.
You may also wish to note that it would be most
beneficial if we could check out the scholarly abilities of the men
who comprised the translation committee, but the Watchtower
organization refuses to release their names or credentials. While
some have stated that this is due to the humility of these men,
others have made the claim that it is because these men have no
qualifications to serve as accurate Bible translators.
Therefore
the evidence found both within the Society's own Kingdom Interlinear
Translation and other non-Watchtower sources, the latter claim
appears to be most true. Remember it is not a sin to "make sure
of all things" (1 Thessalonians 5:21) nor to try "them
which say they are apostles" (Revelation 2:2).
An
additional suggestion: If a Jehovah's Witness should ask who
comprised the translation committee of the Bible you use, tell him
you will be happy to find out. Inform the Watchtower follower that
this information is available and accessible to those who desire to
find it out. It is not hidden from nor denied to those who seek it.
Some modern day versions of the Bible even include this information
in the introduction section of the publication. The names and
scholarly credentials for the translators of The New King James
Version, The New International Version, The Revised Standard Version
and The King James Version are all easily accessible.
The
Jehovah's Witnesses have and do use this type of smoke screen to
catch Christians off guard. When Christians respond by providing the
names and credentials of the men who comprised the various
translations of Scripture, it again demonstrates the deceptiveness of
the Watchtower Society.
One note of exception: The
Watchtower's Reasoning book has cited the New American Standard
Version as an example of a translation committee who refuses to
divulge the identity of its members. While the Lockman Foundation,
the publisher of the New American Standard Version, has, to date, not
made known the names of its translation committee, it has provided
its readers with numerous facts concerning the making of this
translation as found in the preface.
Further, the Lockman
Foundation has, over the past few years, increasingly made known more
facts concerning the translation of the New American Standard
Version. The Watchtower, unlike the Lockman Foundation, has
consistently stated when challenged, that its translation will stand
on its own. If the need arises the Christian may simply state that he
(or she) will be happy to make use of a translation whose translation
committee names are available -- if the ]ehovah's Witness will find
out the names of the NWT's translation committee.
For
additional information dealing with the Jehovah's Witnesses' New
World Translation see: The lehovah's Witnesses' New Testament by Dr.
Robert Countess (Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company) and
Apostles of Denial by Edmond C. Gruss (Baker Book House).
Kurt
Goedelman is director of Personal Freedom Outreach, A Christian
research ministry in St. Louis, Missouri.
UK
APOLOGETICS
MUSELTOF
COUNTERCULT AND APOLOGETICS
(The Association for Theological Studies |
P.O. Box 290168 | Minneapolis, MN 55429)