Jehovhah's Witnesses: NWT Bible?

Question

Not to offend anyone, but I have a criticism / question regarding your New World Translation.

In 1950, the Watch Tower Society came out with their own translation of the Bible, the New World Translation. Jehovah’s Witnesses are told that this translation is the most accurate, unbiased translation available. The Society claims that the New World Translation Committee was made up of highly trained Greek scholars who did their best to “transmit his [God’s] thoughts and declarations as accurately as possible. But these scholars chose to remain anonymous.

One may wonder, is this the real reason why they desire to remain anonymous? Over the years, further investigation has revealed who the translators of the New World Translation were, and the facts show that they were totally unqualified for the task of translation. Five of the six Watchtower Governing Body members who were on the Translation Committee had no formal training whatsoever in the Biblical languages. The fifth one, Fred Franz, (former Governing Body member and Watchtower president from 1977-1992) claimed to have some education, but in the Douglas Walsh Trial in Scotland, he gave this testimony under oath:

Tuesday, 23rd November, 1954:
Frederick William Franz, Examined:

Q. Have you also made yourself familiar with Hebrew?
A. Yes....
Q. So that you have a substantial linguistic apparatus at your command?
A. Yes, for use in my biblical work.
Q. I think you are able to read and follow the Bible in Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Spanish, Portuguese, German, and French?
A. Yes.
Q. It is the case, is it not, that in 1950 there was prepared and issued what is called the New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures?
A. Yes....
Q. I think that it was your duty, was it not, before the issue of that New World Translation by your Society to check that translation for accuracy?
A. That is true.
Q. In light of your studies and in light of your knowledge?
A. That is true.
Q. And did you do so?
A. I did so....
Q. And was it your duty on behalf of the Society to check the translation into English from the original Hebrew of that first volume of the Old Testament Scriptures?
A. Yes....
Q. In so far as translation of the Bible itself is undertaken, are you responsible for that?
A. I have been authorised to examine a translation and determine its accuracy and recommend its acceptance in the form in which it is submitted.
Q. Are the translators members of the Editorial Committee?
A. That is a question which I, as a member of the Board of Directors, am not authorised to disclose....
Q. When did you go to the University?....
Q. Did you graduate?
A. No, I did not....
Q. Had you done any Hebrew in the course of your University work?
A. No, I had not, but in the course of my editorial work, my special research work for the president of the Society, I found it was very necessary to have knowledge of Hebrew, and so I undertook a personal study of that.

Wednesday, 24th November, 1954:
Frederick William Franz, Cross Continued:

Q. You, yourself, read and speak Hebrew, do you?
A. I do not speak Hebrew.
Q. You do not?
A. No.
Q. Can you, yourself, translate that into Hebrew?
A. Which?
Q. That fourth verse of the Second Chapter of Genesis? A. You mean here?
Q. Yes?
A. No, I won’t attempt to do that.
— Douglas Walsh Trial, Pursuer’s Proof, 1954, pp. 7-9, 88, 91-92, 102-103

This exercise which Franz was unable to do is something which the average first or second year Hebrew student could have accomplished without any difficulty.

Would you put your trust in a doctor who refused to give his credentials? If you want the most accurate rendition of the Bible why would you trust someone who isn't able to read basic Hebrew and has no major Greek language credentials? Is it any wonder the Watchtower Society refuses to publicly reveal the people who were involved in the translation of their Bible? So basically the NWT was translated by a "self-taught" person who was unable to translate a single line in Genesis??? And by five other people who didn't know anything about it whatsoever?

Doesn't it seem a bit reckless to believe this version of the Bible??? No offense, but the Mormons golden plates are starting to look really good right now.

Answer 1

JWs don't explain their errors.....they think errors are cool.

Answer 2

Read the book truth in translation. The person who wrote it is not one of Jehovah's Witnesses.

Here are his credentials.Jason David BeDuhn, Ph.D. is an historian of religion and culture, currently Professor of Religious Studies at Northern Arizona University.



Beduhn holds a B.A. in Religious studies from the University of Illinois, Urbana, an M.T.S. in New Testament and Christian Origins from Harvard Divinity School, and a Ph.D. in the Comparative Study of Religions from Indiana University, Bloomington.



Google it and read the reviews. Here is what one person said.



With so many different translations floating around, and oftentimes they condradict each other blatently, it can make it a challenge to bypass man's bias and distortion of the original transcripts and find the clear truth of the Bible. But, after reading this Book written by a Religious Scholar with many impressive credentials, it is encouraging to see that there IS a way to recognize which verses have been altered by men seeking to justify their own pre-conceived religious ideas, and find the true meaning of the verses. It also is very helpful to learn which translations have more inaccuracies than others. And it may be suprising to many to learn that the New World Translation, compiled by a dedicated committee of translators who are Jehovah's Witnesses, many years ago, is ranked as one of the most accurate translations available today, with virtually none of the discrepancies that plague so many of the other well-known translations. After reading this book, you will learn which verses in the Bible to beware of that may have been altered in your own Bible, and what the original wording of these verses is SUPPOSE to be. You also may decide to add the New World Translation to your library to make it a lot easier to derive the truth from the Word without having to worry about inaccurate verses. I feel this book would be a good addition to anyone's library who is more interested in seeking for the true message originally written in the Bible, than blindly following man's traditions which have biased and changed the Word of God.





Here is a great article that will help any sincere one searching for truth.





HOW CAN YOU CHOOSE

A GOOD

BIBLE TRANSLATION?



http://www.watchtower.org/e/20080501a/article_01.htm

Answer 3

One thing you may want to ask yourself, who are those who disagree with the NWT? Trinitarians who worship the trinity man-god. They taught one other how to translate. They translate with a Trinitarian bias.



I think TJ answered your question well. He also gave you two Jehovah's Witnesses who read and teach Hebrew. I know of others as well. Edgar Foster is one that comes to mind

Answer 4

Thanks for the question. Read the transcript again. Franz was asked to translate English into Hebrew, NOT Hebrew into English. Do you realize the difference there? Had he attempted to translate a translation back into its source language that would have opened him up to unfair criticism by simply comparing his translation-of-a-translation to the original Hebrew. If I asked any Hebrew scholar to translate an English verse back into Hebrew, they likely would not match it exactly with the original Hebrew. So in the immortal words of Admiral Ackbar, "It's a trap!" Franz wisely said, "I won't attempt to do that"...not that he *couldn't* do that.



And I'm sorry, but if you're swallowing wholesale everything you've read on the internet that the translators "didn't know anything", I have some wonderful beachfront property I'd like to tell you about. Think about it. Jehovah's Witnesses are *the* most proficient translating organization in the history of the world (see how many times we show up on the list linked to below, which isn't even up-to-date). Yet to some we'll never, ever know "anything" about translating. Don't fall for that.



Furthermore, a translation should be judged on its own merits, not by *who* translated it. Or would you judge Jesus by his academic credentials too? In regards to accuracy itself, Dr. Jason BeDuhn took on an investigation of bias in nine popular English translations including the NWT, KJV, and NIV. His conclusion? "While it is difficult to quantify this sort of analysis, it can be said that the N[ew] W[orld Translation] emerges as the most accurate of the translations compared. (Truth in Translation, p. 163) And even the renowned translator Edgar Goodspeed, who may have even given some advice during the translating, said of the NWT that he was "much pleased with the free and vigorous translation. It exhibits a vast array of sound serious learning, as I can testify."



Feel free to ask me about any specific rendering in the NWT that you *sincerely* believe to be in error, and I'd be happy to explain the reasoning behind it so that you may judge for yourself its merits.

______________________________________

@PM

Ah, so you're not sincere. I thought maybe, just maybe, you might be. But hey, at least now I know not to waste my time on you in the future.



I already gave a couple scholarly recommendations for the work of the original anonymous committee of translators for the NWT, but that's merely a small part of the literally thousands of translators we have working in teams around the world on an on-going basis to put out continuous Bible-based material in hundreds of languages. We currently have publications in over 500 languages, the bi-monthly Watchtower magazine is nearing 200, and the NWT is available in over 100 languages, with more being released every year. But yes, your carefully thought out argument consisting of 'they know nothin 'bout translatin and you know nothin too' just totally devastates those facts. Well done.



Two examples of Witnesses that have studied Hebrew: Hal Flemings, who teaches it on the collegiate level, and Dr. Rolf Furuli of the University of Oslo, who wrote his dissertation on the Hebrew verbal system. Both have written books on the subject. But I also know enough about these tired arguments to know that you got virtually your entire 'question' above, even each of the 'off-the-cuff' observations/objections, straight from the internet, including the lame accusation that Franz '*couldn't* do what a 1st-or-2nd-year Hebrew student could do' (gasp!). Resting your laurels on such an astonishing achievement, you then take it upon yourself to astutely accuse Micah of "parroting". Again, well done.



But in all seriousness Mr. Poopyface, if you're going to put all this time and energy into being the very best borderline-obsessed JW internet-board critic you can be, aiming for all the glory and riches that goes with that, *at least* come with something new and original. Otherwise you'll just get lost in the mix.

Answer 5

It's a bit reckless to believe most bibles today haven't done something to God's word in translating.

Let's be grateful God has protected his word enough or none of us would have enough accuracy to understand what is required of us.



Many leave out things like the most High God's name which is in the original manuscripts. By the way The Apostles also quoted from the Hebrew scriptures I don't think they left the name out like we did. They would have been questioned on it from the Jews at the time and we would have heard about that. . I don't know how many times it was in but I am sure a lot more than most put in now.

And I guess if you really want to know--than you or I have to do our own deep studying on it. Not some web page or so and so said this. I got all these Opinions-Popularity of what people print doesn't mean it's right.

I studied Science for a good long time --trust this, many things sound right by even many scientists but aren't. Ask any museum how hard it is to get the information they need on some things to be sure it is accurate. They like to be accurate. And they do that with not just professionals but with the help of many dedicated students who spend hours on their own studying and often know more than many so called professionals. .



I'll give you an example one of many different kinds of omitting or adding of one created by another community. The NIV

Some even said it wouldn't help the sales of their bible if they did (which maybe true but not a good reason I don't think) I wonder if this is a big reason with many bibles today--Sales/Money



The Reason NIV remove God's Name

""Here is why we did not : You are right - that Jehovah is

a distinctive name for God and ideally we should have

used it. But we put 2 1/4 million dollars into this

translation and a sure way of throwing that

down the drain is to translate, for example,

Psalm 23 as, 'Yahweh (Jehovah) is my shepherd.'

Nobody would have used it (or purchased it).

Oh, maybe you and a handful [of] others.

But a Christian has to be also wise and practical.

We are the victims of 350 years of the King James tradition.

It is far better to get two million to read it to us-

and to follow the King James, than to have just a few thousand

buy it and have the correct translation of Yahweh(Jehovah)

. . . It was a hard decision, and many of our translators

agree with you."

- The Reason NIV removed Jehovah's Name

Edwin H. Palmer, Th.D.,

Executive Secretary for the NIV's committee



So sales was more important than be accurate in the truth the way God wanted it to be. Not important? God's name which he used many times himself in HIS word is not important? Says who-us?



They have some now that are leaving out the word homosexual or certain things pertaining to that. Or watering it down some as not so bad. It offends some



Some added books that the early Christians did not accept.



Some adding sentences and whole chapters to support a doctrine. What the hay?



I'm not going to print all these errors made by many (and committees) one can look them up themselves like we all need to do. Yes it is a study. Nor am I going to give a free pass to some but not others. I understand what you are questioning, I have questions in that area too for many.



So many have added, some have subtracted in many many many many ways. Committees many who were not qualified . Do you question them as well? I do everyone and I don't mind others doing it neither if they are seriously questioning and not just attacking.

The Jews in the beginning took to translating God's word very serious. They became know for their dedication as copyist. They took great care. GREAT Care despite even their own superstitions. It was to God they worked so hard. To bad most lost that kind of great dedication where they feel "ohhh mine isn't as bad as that one". And I am doing it for God. Are they serious?



. IN reply to your question--"Would you put your trust in a doctor who refused to give his credentials?" I don't trust many doctors who have so called credentials-and with good reason-many shouldn't be doctors at all looking at the many case of very bad decisions and Mal-Practice cases we have. Many shouldn't be teachers, scientists, managers, in our government and many other things some piece of papers says they are qualified for. That's a FACT.

In writings of the bible we need people like the first copyists--not so much their credentials many are well learned without it but their zeal for the truth and nothing but that truth.



I have a whole shelf of bibles including Greek-isn't that sad the need to have so many to compare?



Seems we both have feelings on the writings of God Word and people who are going to disagree with both. And I am sure it offends some. And some like sheep it's not like they know anything for sure they just accept what they what they want to hear

Answer 6

I don't think it takes a clever person to realise that Jehovas Witnesses are not so very credible with facts, anything written as near back a s1950 and claiming to be the most accurate is garbage particulaly as it came out of post war American thinking which was notorious for modern radical ideals.

Answer 7

"I am an Xtian and study the bible and have done for 10 years"



"How is your greek and Hebrew?"



"Gibber...Meep!"

Answer 8

What a lot of gibbersih from someone that hasn't read the bible...