nwt

The New World Translation

Can we trust it?

Anyone who seeks to know and learn about the ways of God want an accurate, reliable, and truthful translation of the Word of God.

Can we in fact TRUST the New World Translation?

What scholars have said about the New World Translation

Scholar: Dr. Julius Mantey one of the leading Greek scholars of the world, author if the Hellenistic Greek Reader and co-author of A Manual Grammar of The Greek New Testament had this to say about the New World Translation:

Note: DR. MANTEY: "Well, as a backdrop, I was disturbed because they (Watchtower) had misquoted me in support of their translation. " (1)
Remarks:" I have never read any New Testament so badly translated as The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of The Greek Scriptures.... it is a distortion of the New Testament. The translators used what J.B. Rotherham had translated in 1893, in modern speech, and changed the readings in scores of passages to state what Jehovah's Witnesses believe and teach. That is a distortion not a translation."(2)

Scholar: Dr. Metzger, professor of New Testament language and literature at Princetown Theological Seminary and author of The Text of The New Testament, observes. Remarks: " The Jehovah's Witnesses have incorporated in their translations of the New Testament several quite erroneous rendering of the Greek."(3)

Scholar: Dr. Robert Countess wrote his dissertation for his Ph.D. in Greek in the New World Translation. He concluded the the Jehovah's Witness's translation: Remarks: "Has been largely unsuccessful in keeping doctrinal considerations from influencing the actual translation.It must be viewed as a radically biased piece of work. At some points it is actually dishonest. Ant others it is neither modern nor scholarly. And interwoven throughout its fabric is inconsistent application of its own principles."(4)

Did The Translators of The New World Translators Have Any Greek Scholars ?

"I don't know whether you're aware of it, but there is not a single Greek scholar in the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. I did everything I could to find out the names of the translating committee of the NWT, and the Watchtower wouldn't tell me a thing." DR. MARTIN(5)

What Kind Of People Contributed to the New World Translation ?

For years the Watchtower organization used Johannes Greber as a scholarly source to support the New World Translation's rendering of John 1:1 calling Jesus "a god". They referenced him as support at least 7 times in various Watchtower publications from 1962 through 1976. On page 31 of the April 1, 1983 Watchtower magazine, the Society said that the 1980 edition of Greber's New Testament indicated a close rapport with spiritism, and the Watchtower deemed it improper to make use of that translation. If a close rapport with spiritism makes Greber improper to use in 1983, why was it proper in 1962? A few months later, in the February 15, 1956 Watchtower magazine, pages 110 and 111 said, in part: "Under this impression Greber endeavors to make his translation read very spiritualistic. ... Very plainly the spirits in which ex-priest Greber believes helped him in his translation."(6)

Would you like to know more about the New World Translation?

* includes sites

Apendix B: The New World Translation

Answers to Jehovah's Witnesses

BACK

(1) *These words were excerpted from the tape, "Martin and Mantey on The New World Translation"

(2) Julius Mantey, Depth Exploration in The New Testament (N.Y.: Vantage Pres, 1980), pp.136-137

(3) Bruce M. Metzger, "The Jehovah's Witness and Jesus Christ: A Biblical and Theological Appraisal," Report of Theology Today article, April 1953 (Princetown, JN: Theological Book), p 74.

(4) Robert Countess, The Jehovah's Witness New Testament: A Critical Analysis of The New World Translation of The Christian Greek Scriptures (Phillipsburg, N.J: Presbyterian & Reformed, 1987), pp 91,93.

(5) *These words were excerpted from the tape, "Martin and Mantey on The New World Translation"

(6) JCW@eskimo.com, Dishonesty of the Watchtower Society