My JW elder friend said to me that the NWT is the best translation of the bible and that scholars have said as much. Is this true and is it the best? Are there scholars who disagree?
New World Translation, is it the best bible translation?
by littlebuddy 177 Replies latest watchtower bible
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donny
I have not read one really good review from any credible scholar. The Old Testatment has not been altered much, but the New testament is loaded with many biased renderings and outright mistranlations.
Donny
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Nosferatu
Of course it's the best. All JWs tell me that. Just like how Microsoft tells me that they have the best computer operating system.
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yknot
Here is a segment (pg 27) from Crisis of Conscience (authored by Fred Franz' (chief translator of the NWT) nephew and former Governing Body member Ray Franz).
When I pointed out that the Society’s New World Translation rendering of Acts, chapter fourteen, verse 23, evidently inserted the words “to office” in connection with the appointment of elders and that this somewhat altered the sense, he [Fred Franz] said, “Why don’t you check it in some other translations that may not be as biased.” 26 I walked out of his office wondering if I had actually heard what I had heard.
You can discreetly purchase his book in PDF and ISoCF from http://www.commentarypress.com/Publication/English.html
Personally I can't google find one single 'scholar' who endorses the NWT as a 'best translation'.
For better investigation why not google all the scholars quoted to read the full context of their quotes (Lord only knows how the WTS loves to print endorsements out of context!)
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passwordprotected
Welcome!
You ask a great question. It's possible to make your own mind up by looking at the WTS's Kingdom Interlinear. Just compare John 3:16 and John 17:3 as they read in the Greek with how the NWT translates them into English.
Also, anytime you see [ ] in the NWT, this is where they're inserted a word into the original language. Many times this is done just to make the wording clearer in English. However, oftentimes it's done to change the original text to better suit the Watch Tower's doctrinal stance, particularly towards Jesus himself.
There's an entry on Wikipedia for the NWT;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_World_Translation_of_the_Holy_Scriptures#Critical_review
Here's a sample;
New Testament
Theologian and televangelist John Ankerberg accused the translators of rendering the NWT to conform "to their own preconceived and unbiblical theology." [ 39 ] To support a view of theology overriding appropriate translation, Drs. John Ankerberg and John Weldon cite several examples, such as the NWT's use of "for all time" in Hebrews 9:27: “And as it is reserved for men to die once for all time, but after this a judgment.” Ankerberg and Weldon cite Dr. Julius Mantey on this text as saying, “Heb. 9:27, which without any grounds for it in the Greek, is mistranslated in the J. W. Translation… the phrase “for all time” was inserted in the former versions without any basis in the original for it.” [ 40 ] Strong's Concordance defines the involved Greek term ?παξ ("apax" or "hapax") as either "once" or "once for all". [ 41 ] [ 42 ]
Dr. William Barclay concluded that "the deliberate distortion of truth by this sect is seen in the New Testament translation…. It is abundantly clear that a sect which can translate the New Testament like that is intellectually dishonest." [ 43 ]
Edgar J. Goodspeed, translator of the Greek “New Testament” in An American Translation, wrote in a letter to the Watchtower Society: “I am interested in the mission work of your people, and its world wide scope, and much pleased with the free, frank and vigorous translation. It exhibits a vast array of sound serious learning, as I can testify.” [ 44 ]
Dr. Bruce Metzger stated for the NWT of the Greek Scriptures that "on the whole, one gains a tolerably good impression of the scholarly equipment of the translators." [ 45 ] However, Metzger also cites NWT renderings as instances of translating to support doctrine, stating, "the Jehovah's Witnesses have incorporated in their translation of the New Testament several quite erroneous renderings of the Greek." [ 46 ] He cites the NWT’s comma placement at Luke 23:43 as “In the interest of supporting the doctrine of "soul sleep" held by Jehovah’s Witnesses.” [ 47 ] Another example Metzger offers is the insertion of the word “other” four times in Colossians chapter 1 “thus making Paul say that Jesus Christ is one among ‘other’ created things.” Of this insertion, Metzger states it is “In the interest of providing support of [Jehovah’s Witnesses’] Unitarianism” and that the insertion is “totally without warrant from the Greek”. [ 48 ] Dr. Bruce Metzger characterizes the NWT’s use of “Jehovah” in the New Testament as an “introduction.” He writes, “The introduction of the word ‘Jehovah’ into the New Testament text, in spite of much ingenuity in an argument filled with a considerable amount of irrelevant material (pp. 10–25), is a plain piece of special pleading.” [ 49 ]
Charles Francis Potter has stated about the NWT: "Apart from a few semantic peculiarities like translating the Greek word stauros, as "stake" instead of "cross," and the often startling use of the colloquial and the vernacular, the anonymous translators have certainly rendered the best manuscript texts, both Greek and Hebrew, with scholarly ability and acumen." [ 50 ]
Reachout Trust writer Tony Piper concludes it is not a "faithful translation of the Scriptures…", giving as examples Acts 2:42, 46 and 20:7, 11 and he objects that “the NWT translates it to read that the church simply shared meals together” rather than using the phrase “breaking of bread [...] to disguise the fact that the early church celebrated the Lord's Supper more than once a year.” [ 51 ]
Alexander Thomson wrote: “The translation 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. ... We heartily recommend the New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures, published in 1950 by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society.” [ 52 ]
Thomas Winter considers the Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures (part of the NWT project) as a “highly useful aid toward the mastery of koine (and classical) Greek”. Winter relates that the translation "is thoroughly up-to-date and consistently accurate.” [ 53 ]
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Farkel
:My JW elder friend said to me that the NWT is the best translation of the bible and that scholars have said as much. Is this true and is it the best?
It is the best translation to support Watchtower doctrine when all others in existence don't. In other words, it is the best translation Watchtower money could buy.
Farkel
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bluecanary
Wikipedia also mentions the positive review that Jason BeDuhn did:
Summary: "... it can be said that the NW emerges as the most accurate of the translations compared...the translators managed to produce works relatively more accurate and less biased than the translations produced by multi-denominational teams, as well as those produced by single individuals." "Jehovah's Witnesses... really sought to re-invent Christianity from scratch... building their system of belief and practice from the raw material of the Bible without predetermining what was to be found there.
Some critics, of course, would say that the results of this practice can be naive. But for Bible translation, at least, it has meant a fresh approach to the text, with far less presumption than that found in may of the Protestant translations."
"...Most of the differences are due to the greater accuracy of the NW as a literal, conservative translation of the original expressions of the New Testament."You can read more about it here: http://acts18910.blogspot.com/2007/05/jehovahs-witnesses-and-new-world.html
Anyone have thoughts on this?
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oompa
frankly....i consider it one of the very worst and have good reasons for it.........are you a jw?........do you have an Insight on the Scriptures book?........and a Reference Bible??......if so i can help you answer your question very easily.....for one thing.......they have ADDED....not RESTORED the name JEHOVAH 237 times in the New Testament/christian greek scriptures.........they claim they restored it when it quotes from the OT/hebrew scriptures......but just check out Revelation.......not a single use of the name jehovah is from an old testament quote!!!!........and check out REV. 22:17-19.............YOU CANT CHANGE ANYTHING!!!!..............DUH.............oompa
you change it......you lose me.....esp if you wont answer my questions about it......
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besty
you might find a few helpful articles here
http://www.freeminds.org/doctrine/publications/index.php
and here