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by Anonymous on November 22nd, 2009

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Who translated the New World Translation of the Bible that the Jehovah's Witnesses use, and what are their qualifications for Biblical translation?

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  • by Baggins on November 22nd, 2009

    Baggins

    The people who compiled the New World Translation were Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic scholars and experts of The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of PA. It's been accurately compared to the original scripts and found to be the most accurate rendition by many experts. It's a word-for-word translation of the original text into English and over a dozen other languages.

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  • by vew573 on June 13th, 2010

    vew573

    The translators prefer to remain anonymous. However, here are some favorable Comments on the NWT by Scholars

    1. J.D. PHILLIPS: (J.D. Phillips was a Church of Christ Minister, schooled in the
    original tongues). “Last week I purchased a copy of your New World
    Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures of which I take pride in being an
    owner. You have done a marvelous work…I was happy, indeed, to see the name
    Jehovah in it. But you have made a marvelous step in the right direction, and I
    pray God that your Version will be used to His glory. What you have done for
    the Name alone is worth all the effort and cost!”

    ALLEN WIKGREN: (Allen Wikgren was on the New Revised Standard Version
    committee, as well as on the committee which produced the UBS Greek text).
    “Independent readings of merit often occur in other modern speech versions, such
    as…the Jehovah’s Witnesses edition of the New Testament(1950).” (The
    Interpreter’s Bible, 1952 Vol. 1 page 99)

    BENJAMIN KEDAR: (Benjamin Kedar is a
    professor at Hebrew University in Israel). “In my linguistic research in connection with
    the Hebrew Bible and translations, I often refer to the English edition of what
    is known as the New World Translation. In so doing, I find my feeling
    repeatedly confirmed that this work reflects an honest endeavor to achieve an
    understanding of the text that is as accurate as possible. Giving evidence of a
    broad command of the original language, it renders the original words into a
    second language understandably without deviating unnecessarily from the specific
    structure of the Hebrew…Every statement of language allows for a certain
    latitude in interpreting or translation. So the linguistic solution in any given
    case may be open to debate. But I have never discovered in the New World
    Translation any biased intent to read something into the text that it does not
    contain.”

    S. MACLEAN GILMORE: “In 1950 the Jehovah’s Witnesses published their New World
    Translation of the New Testament, and the preparation of the New World Old
    Testament is now far advanced. The New Testament edition was made by a
    committee…that possessed an unusual competence in Greek.” (The Andover Newton
    Quarterly, September 1966, Vol 7, #1 page 25, 26) C. HOUTMAN: Mr. Houtman
    notes that on the point of translator bias “the New World Translation of the
    Jehovah’s Witnesses can survive the scrutiny of criticism.” (Nederlands
    Theologisch Tijdschrift, [Dutch Theological Magazines] 38 1984, page 279-280)

    WILLIAM CAREY TAYLOR: (William C. Taylor was a Southern Baptist Minister
    schooled in the original tongues). “Just when the infidel universities of this
    land thought they had laughed out of court the very name Jehovah, up…surges..
    “Jehovah’s Witnesses”. …And with considerable scholarship they get out their
    own New Testament and lo and behold, they put Jehovah into the New Testament two
    or three hundred times…It ought to be there [in the entire Bible] many times”
    (The New Bible Pro and Con, 1955 Page 75)
    C. HOUTMAN: Mr. Houtman notes that on the point of translator bias “the New World Translation of the Jehovah’s Witnesses can survive the scrutiny of criticism.” Nederlands Theologisch Tijdschrift, [Dutch Theological Magazines] 38 1984, page 279-280

    CHARLES FRANCIS POTTER: “the New World Translation of the Christian Greek
    Scriptures…the anonymous translators have certainly rendered the best
    manuscript texts…with scholarly ability and acumen.” (The Faith Men Live By,
    1954, Page 239)

    EDGAR J. GOODSPEED: (Edgar J. Goodspeed was a Professor of Greek at the
    University of Chicago, and also translated the New Testament portion of “The
    Bible an American Translation”). “I am…much pleased with the free, frank and
    vigorous translation. It exhibits a vast array of sound serious learning, as I
    can testify.” (Personal Letter to Arthur Goux of Brooklyn Bethel, December 8,
    1950; See also Watchtower September 1, 1952 page 541, where Goodspeed is quoted
    as stating that the New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures was
    “an interesting and scholarly work” )

    ROBERT M. MCCOY: “The translation of the New Testament is evidence of the
    presence in the movement of scholars qualified to deal intelligently with the
    many problems of Biblical translation.” (The Andover Newton Quarterly, January
    1963, Vol. 3, #3, Page 31)

    STEVEN T. BYINGTON: (Steven T. Byington translated the version known as “The
    Bible in Living English”). “If you are digging for excellent or suggestive
    renderings this is among the richer mines.” (Christian Century, “Review of the
    New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures, November 1, 1950 page
    1296)

    JASON BEDUHN: (Jason Beduhn teaches at the University of Indiana). “I have just
    recently completed teaching a course for the Religious Studies Department of
    Indiana University, Bloomington, …This is primarily a course in the Gospels.
    Your help came in the form of copies of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation of
    the Greek Scriptures which my students used as one of the textbooks for the
    class. These small volumes were invaluable to the course and very popular with
    my students…Simply put, it is the best interlinear New Testament available. I
    am a trained scholar of the Bible, familiar with the texts and tools in
    use in modern biblical studies, and by the way, not a member of the Jehovah’s
    Witnesses. But I know a quality publication when I see one, and your ‘New World
    Bible Translation Committee’ has done its job well. Your interlinear English
    rendering is accurate and consistent to an extreme that forces the reader to
    come to terms with the linguistic, cultural, and conceptual gaps between the
    Greek-speaking world and our own. Your ‘New World Translation’ is a high
    quality, literal translation that avoids traditional glosses in its faithfulness
    to the Greek. It is, in many ways, superior to the most successful translations
    in use today.”


    When a new Bible translation is published in English many people wonder why, because a great many English versions already exist. Some may even argue that the King James Version gives us the Bible in English; so why produce new translations?

    The principal reason is to give the public a translation of God’s Word that accurately expresses the fine shades of meaning contained in the Hebrew and Greek of Bible manuscripts and that at the same time is understandable to the average person living today.

    The King James Version itself was actually a new translation in its day, really a revision of previous English versions. It met the need for a clearer translation of God’s Word then, and now new versions again meet our need for an easily understood version.

    The English language has changed since 1611, when the King James Version was released. Many words that were used then are no longer used today or their meanings have changed. For example, do you understand the language of the King James Version in its rendering of Genesis 25:29? It says: “Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint.” In a new translation that uses the English we speak today this verse reads: “Once Jacob was boiling up some stew, when Esau came along from the field and he was tired.” (NW)

    Since the purpose in reading the Bible is to learn from it, is not that goal more easily attained when the language used in it is the English that is spoken in this twentieth century rather than that spoken in the seventeenth century?

    The translations of the Bible of which the King James Version was a revision were based upon a small number of Hebrew and Greek manuscripts. Many thousands of manuscripts have been found since then, some being as much as a thousand years older than those.

    The fact that these manuscript copies are older means they are closer in time to the original writings and are, therefore, more accurate, having fewer copyist errors. Their existence urges the production of new translations that can incorporate the refinements they make possible.

    The continually improved knowledge scholars are gaining of the ancient languages of Hebrew and Greek is another factor that makes new Bible versions necessary. They have a much better understanding of these languages today than did the Bible translators of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

    It was not until the close of the eighteenth century that archaeological findings revealed that the Greek-language manuscripts of the Bible were written in a form of Greek that was spoken by the common people. It differed a little from the classical Greek, just as the English spoken by a laborer often differs from that spoken by the upper class in society.

    Prior to this discovery scholars made their translations according to their understanding of classical Greek. This resulted in inaccuracies because word meanings according to classical Greek often differed somewhat from the common, or koine, Greek.

    For example, the King James Version renders Matthew 6:27 this way: “Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature ? The word it translates “stature” or size was right in Luke 2:52 and 19:3 and Ephesians 4:13, but the common, or koine, Greek also gave the word the meaning of age or time of life. Knowing the extended meaning of the word, modern translators make this verse plainer and more accurate. One version says: “Who of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his life span?” (NW) So the thought should be life span instead of stature.

    The Harper Collins Bible Dictionary calls it (The NWT) one of the “major translations of the Bible into English,” along with the Knox translation, the Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible and the New English Bible. p. 292

    ALEXANDER THOMPSON: “The NWT is evidently the work of skilled and
    clever scholars, who have sought to bring out as much of the true sense of the
    Greek text as the English language is capable of expressing.” (TheDifferentiator, April 1952, Page 52)

    EDGAR FOSTER: (Classics Major, Lenoir-Rhyne College)
    “Before I formally began to study Greek, I simply compared the NWT with lexicons,
    commentaries, and other translations to try and determine it’s
    accuracy. It passed the litmus test then and it also passes the test
    now for me…The NWT is a fine translation. In my mind, it is the translation
    _par excellence_. But I feel just as confortable with an RSV or an
    NASB. Mostly I prefer my UBS Greek text.”

    THOMAS N. WINTER: (Thomas N. Winter taught Greek at the University of
    Nebraska). “I think it (NWT) is a legitimate and highly useful aid toward the mastery
    of koine (and classical) Greek. After examining a copy, I equipped several
    interested second-year Greek students with it as an auxiliary test. After
    learning the proper pronunciations, a motivated student could probably learn
    koine from this source alone. …the translation by the anonymous committee is
    thoroughly up to date and consistently accurate. ....…In sum, when a witness comes
    to the door, the classicist, Greek student, or Bible student alike would do well
    to place an order.” (The Classical Journal, “The Kingdom Interlinear”,
    April-May 1974, pages 375, 376) See Also: “Bible Translation how to choose
    between them” by Alan S. Duthie,(Alan S. Dunthie is a professor at the
    University of Legon), Page103. Comments by Dr. Rijkel ten Kate

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  • by AnonJerry on November 22nd, 2009

    AnonJerry

    it is translated from the same bible that other religions use in fact any person that has a bible can follow along with the Jehovah witnesses

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  • by Daniel2 on November 22nd, 2010

    Daniel2

    The NWT translators choose to remain anonymous. In fact, such anonymity has been a part of the Watchtower Society for much of its history and in all phases of its publishing activity. The reason has always been to keep from glorifying any man when it is Jehovah and Jesus who deserve the recognition. Humility is extremely important to any real Christian as the scriptures clearly teach, and every Jehovah's Witness should be able to produce clear scriptural evidence for his belief in this area.

    It should be sufficient to point out what one respected trinitarian organization says (and does). Yes, the Lockman Foundation states in the preface to their New American Standard Bible: "no work will ever be personalized." (And the jacket of the 1971 Reference Edition of the NASB states even more clearly: "We have not used any scholar's name for reference or recommendations because it is our belief God's Word should stand on its merits.")

    And, sure enough, they do not identify their translators. Why? Because, as they write in their preface: "They shall give to the Lord Jesus Christ His proper place, the place which the Word gives Him, and no work will ever be personalized." So when some mock the Watchtower Society for its humility, they also mock other respected "orthodox" organizations attempting to follow God's Word in this respect.

    Just as a man should be judged by his actions, a Bible should be judged on its accuracy of rendering the Greek and Hebrew texts (not on who translated, nor what any prejudiced source says, nor by comparison to another translation, etc.).

    For more, see:
    How Accurate is The New World Translation?

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  • by Anonymous on September 18th, 2010

    Anonymous

    In the book "Crisis Of Conscience" by Raymond Franz-former Governing Body
    member of the Jehovah's Witnesses and nephew of former president
    Frederick W. Franz-we find out that the membership of the committee
    were Frederick W. Franz, Nathan H. Knorr, Albert Schroeder, Milton
    And George D. Henschel Bargain.
    According to what Raymond said his uncle Fredrick W. Franz, "Was the only
    one with enough knowledge of Biblical languages to try a translation of
    this class because he had studied Greek for two years at the University
    of Cincinnati, but he studied Hebrew for himself."
    ["Crisis of Conscience"; by Raymond Franz; Commentary Press, Atlanta;
    1983 edition; footnote 15; page 50.]

    Watchtower, October 15, 1997, How the Bible Came to Us, p 11-12
    says about the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures in English
    "a translation committee of experienced anointed Christians was
    organized to produce the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures
    in English."

    Franz, Frederick
    Probably the only person to actually translate.
    Franz was a liberal arts student at the University
    of Cincinnati:
    21 semester hours of classical Greek, some Latin.
    Partially completed a two-hour survey course in Biblical
    Greek in junior year.
    Self-taught in Spanish, biblical Hebrew and Aramaic

    Gangas, George
    No training in biblical languages. Gangas was a Turkish national who knew
    Modern Greek. Translated Watchtower publications into Modern Greek.

    Henschel, Milton
    No training in biblical languages.

    Klein, Karl
    No training in biblical languages.

    Knorr, Nathan
    No training in biblical languages.

    Schroeder, Albert
    No training in biblical languages. Schroeder majored in mechanical engineering
    for three years before dropping out.
    http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/False%20Religions/Jehovah%20Witnesses/new_world_translation.htm

    Nothing is said about them being Greek exegetes or scholars.
    Four out of the five men on the committee had no Hebrew or Greek
    training at all. They had only a high school education
    http://www.bible.ca/Jw-NWT.htm

    During the 1960s and 1970s, the Watchtower Society occasionally used the translation of the New Testament by Johannes Greber to support their similar renderings of John 1:1 and Matthew 27:52,53. In 1983 they officially stopped using his translation because of its "close rapport with spiritism." The information that Geber Was a Spiritist Was readily available to the Society's writers. In 1955 and 1956 the Society's writers themselves wrote of Greber's spiritism. Their use of Greber's translation to support their New World Translation and their explanations for it is evidence of shallow scholarship.

    Some legitimate translations (such as the King James Version) make use of brackets or italics to indicate words inserted for proper flow, but which are not found in the original language manuscripts. In legitimate translations, this tool is only used for proper flow in English, or to indicate words that are found in some ancient manuscripts but not in others. However, you will find the NWT goes further. Not only do the NWT brackets show words included for flow, but also words not found in the manuscripts which, when included, result in a material change of meaning in the verse. You’ll see examples of this below. I will sometimes underline the disputed words or phrases, and a discussion will follow.



    Genesis 1:1-2
    NWT: In [the] beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth proved to be formless and waste and there was darkness upon the surface of [the] watery deep; and God's active force was moving to and fro over the surface of the waters.

    NIV: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

    NASB: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.

    KJV: In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness [was] upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

    DISCUSSION: The Jehovah’s Witnesses reject the doctrine of the Trinity. They believe in a non-triune God named Jehovah, they believe Jesus is “a god” subordinate to Jehovah, and they reject the notion that the Holy Spirit is a person of the Trinity. They believe that the Holy Spirit is an extension of Jehovah – an “active force” He sends out. The Hebrew words here are ruwach elohim, which are accurately translated as “Spirit of God.” Ruwach can be translated as “wind” also, but when joined in context with God, it is a reference to the Spirit of God (as Strong’s Hebrew Lexicon states, “Spirit of God, the third person of the triune God, the Holy Spirit, coequal, coeternal with the Father and the Son”). This is the first example of the NWT forcing its doctrinal bias into the text of Scripture.

    http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/False%20Religions/Jehovah%20Witnesses/new_world_translation.htm

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  • by Anonymous on November 22nd, 2009

    Anonymous

    AnonJerry, that doesn't answer the question. Thank you anyways...

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