Many would like to discredit the New World Translation.
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). âœLast 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 workâ¦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!â
ALLEN WIKGREN: (Allen Wikgren was on the New Revised Standard Version
committee, as well as on the committee which produced the UBS Greek text).
âœIndependent readings of merit often occur in other modern speech versions, such
asâ¦the Jehovahâ™s Witnesses edition of the New Testament(1950).â (The
Interpreterâ™s Bible, 1952 Vol. 1 page 99)
BENJAMIN KEDAR: (Benjamin Kedar is a
professor at Hebrew University in Israel). âœIn 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 Hebrewâ¦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.â
S. MACLEAN GILMORE: âœIn 1950 the Jehovahâ™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
committeeâ¦that possessed an unusual competence in Greek.â (The Andover Newton
Quarterly, September 1966, Vol 7, #1 page 25, 26) C. HOUTMAN: Mr. Houtman
notes that on the point of translator bias âœthe New World Translation of the
Jehovahâ™s Witnesses can survive the scrutiny of criticism.â (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). âœJust when the infidel universities of this
land thought they had laughed out of court the very name Jehovah, upâ¦surges..
âœJehovahâ™s Witnessesâ. â¦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 timesâ¦It ought to be there [in the entire Bible] many timesâ
(The New Bible Pro and Con, 1955 Page 75)
C. HOUTMAN: Mr. Houtman notes that on the point of translator bias âœthe New World Translation of the Jehovahâ™s Witnesses can survive the scrutiny of criticism.â Nederlands Theologisch Tijdschrift, [Dutch Theological Magazines] 38 1984, page 279-280
CHARLES FRANCIS POTTER: âœthe New World Translation of the Christian Greek
Scripturesâ¦the anonymous translators have certainly rendered the best
manuscript textsâ¦with scholarly ability and acumen.â (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 âœThe
Bible an American Translationâ). âœI amâ¦much pleased with the free, frank and
vigorous translation. It exhibits a vast array of sound serious learning, as I
can testify.â (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
âœan interesting and scholarly workâ )
ROBERT M. MCCOY: âœThe 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.â (The Andover Newton Quarterly, January
1963, Vol. 3, #3, Page 31)
STEVEN T. BYINGTON: (Steven T. Byington translated the version known as âœThe
Bible in Living Englishâ). âœIf you are digging for excellent or suggestive
renderings this is among the richer mines.â (Christian Century, âœReview 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). âœI have just
recently completed teaching a course for the Religious Studies Department of
Indiana University, Bloomington, â¦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 studentsâ¦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 Jehovahâ™s
Witnesses. But I know a quality publication when I see one, and your â˜New World
Bible Translation Committeeâ™ 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 â˜New World Translationâ™ 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.â
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 Godâ™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 Godâ™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: âœJacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint.â In a new translation that uses the English we speak today this verse reads: âœOnce Jacob was boiling up some stew, when Esau came along from the field and he was tired.â (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: âœWhich of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature ? The word it translates âœstatureâ 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: âœWho of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his life span?â (NW) So the thought should be life span instead of stature.
The Harper Collins Bible Dictionary calls it (The NWT) one of the âœmajor translations of the Bible into English,â along with the Knox translation, the Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible and the New English Bible. p. 292
ALEXANDER THOMPSON: âœThe 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.â (TheDifferentiator, April 1952, Page 52)
EDGAR FOSTER: (Classics Major, Lenoir-Rhyne College)
âœBefore I formally began to study Greek, I simply compared the NWT with lexicons,
commentaries, and other translations to try and determine itâ™s
accuracy. It passed the litmus test then and it also passes the test
now for meâ¦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.â
THOMAS N. WINTER: (Thomas N. Winter taught Greek at the University of
Nebraska). âœI 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. â¦the translation by the anonymous committee is
thoroughly up to date and consistently accurate. ....â¦In sum, when a witness comes
to the door, the classicist, Greek student, or Bible student alike would do well
to place an order.â (The Classical Journal, âœThe Kingdom Interlinearâ,
April-May 1974, pages 375, 376) See Also: âœBible Translation how to choose
between themâ by Alan S. Duthie,(Alan S. Dunthie is a professor at the
University of Legon), Page103. Comments by Dr. Rijkel ten Kate
Comments
Does not answer the question of why they have their own translation, just says you think it is wrong.
by Anonymous on August 15th, 2005
Useful, but you don't explain the well thought out reasons, just say they're brainwashed into believing them
by Anonymous on January 6th, 2006
Technically you did not answer the question of "Why..." but instead posted comments regarding its validity.
by Max Power on October 18th, 2005
Well, I believe that you have contributed well to the debate, so I am rating this as 'useful'
by Grandma Roses - my avatar is my real dog on October 20th, 2005
Shallea, don't hide behind rating others, stick your own opinion out there.
by TulsaDavid on October 28th, 2005
Thinly veiled biased opinion, only mentions they have reasons, not saying them, then attacks their credibility.
by Anonymous on November 13th, 2005
This answer is correct
by Autumn Riley on December 7th, 2005
Answers the question from a neutral perspective.
by RedJohn on January 20th, 2006
Good answer! The NT is translated false with regard to Jesus to support their false doctrine!
by ViceGrip on November 16th, 2006
Very well put!
by Abbyguy on December 23rd, 2006
Then why is the Nw tranlation used by historins.... Oyea i forgot becous it is curently the best translation avalible and is regarded by the world as the most presise and the best translation. by the way Jw's can use any bible to prove there belives even those in hebrew and greek.
by Anonymous on January 28th, 2008
Anonymous: What nonsense! So what if a few find it okay to use, there are far more that fin it completely bastardized. However, even though many of the scriptures at the heart of the debate like John 1:1 are blatantly wrong, we can still find the real truth in the bible if we truly want to find it, I did. Never again will I believe the lies that the Witnesses put forth as absolute truth, because in fact, it isn't, plain and simple.
by Abbyguy on January 28th, 2008
Watch this AB guy. He is an apostate.
by pepe09 on January 29th, 2008
I was never baptized, I wized up before it was to late. Doesn't that prove you have no love in you pepe08, you are warning people to "watch out" for me, why? What are you afraid of? That someone might actually find out what a controlling ( as just witnessed) organization the Witnesses are and truly find salvation? Yes, I can see why my telling the truth is a bad thing.
by Abbyguy on January 29th, 2008
Wised up? Love. You are a stalker.
by pepe09 on January 29th, 2008
I'm the stalker you have JUST followed me on about 10 questions bashing me and down rating me. Who is the stalker bucko?
by Abbyguy on January 29th, 2008