Bible New World Translation Views

General Goods

In the 1984 edition of the New World Translation, the English word “other” is added in brackets to indicate that the word does not occur in the Greek text. The translators of the New World Translation added the word “other” in “gave him the name that is above every [other] name” to support the Watchtower teaching that the name “Jehovah” is superior to the name “Jesus.” Only in recent editions of the New World Translation do we see the word inserted with brackets surrounding it. All editions from 1950 to 1981 had “other” added without brackets making it seem as if this word is in the original Greek text. On page 27 of the February 1, 1992 Watchtower magazine, we again see Philippians 2:9 being quoted without the brackets being used around the word “other.” This again demonstrates the deep rooted bias of the Watchtower Society against Jesus possessing a name equal and superior to name “Jehovah.”

The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (NWT) is a translation of the Bible published by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society in 1961; it is used and distributed by Jehovah's Witnesses.[3] Though it is not the first Bible to be published by the group, it is their first original translation of ancient Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic biblical texts. As of 2011, the Watch Tower Society has published more than 165 million copies of the New World Translation in 91 languages.[4]

Until the release of the NWT, Jehovah's Witnesses in English-speaking countries generally used the King James Version[5] or American Standard Version of the Bible. According to the publishers, one of the main reasons for producing a new translation was that most Bible versions in common use, including the Authorised (King James) Version, employed archaic language. The stated intention was to produce a fresh translation, free of archaisms.[6] Additionally, over the centuries since the King James Version was produced, more copies of earlier manuscripts of the original texts in the Hebrew and Greek languages have become available. The publishers claimed better manuscript evidence had made it possible to determine with greater accuracy what the original writers intended, particularly in more obscure passages. They said linguists better understood certain aspects of the original Hebrew and Greek languages than previously.[7]

In October 1946, the president of the Watch Tower Society, Nathan H. Knorr, proposed a fresh translation of the New Testament, which Jehovah's Witnesses usually refer to as the Christian Greek Scriptures.[8] Work began on December 2, 1947 when the New World Bible Translation Committee , composed of anointed Jehovah's Witnesses,[9] was formed. The Watch Tower Society is said to have become aware of the committee's existence a year later. The committee agreed to turn over its translation to the Society for publication[10] and on September 3, 1949, Knorr convened a joint meeting of the board of directors of both the Watch Tower Society's New York and Pennsylvania corporations where he again announced to the directors the existence of the committee[11] and that it was now able to print its new modern English translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures. The directors were read several chapters from the translation and then voted to accept it as a gift.[10]