ÿþ<html> <head> <title>Miscellaneous Questions about the New World Translation</title> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=unicode"> <meta http-equiv="Content-Language" content="en-gb"> <meta name="keywords" content="New World Translation, Neue-Welt-Übersetzung, Traduction du Monde Nouveau, Traduccion del Nuevo Mundo, Jehovah's Witnesses, proskyneo, proskuneo, phronema, beduhn, truth in translation, ?5@52>4 =>2>3> <8@0, !2845B5;8 53>2K, !B>@>6520O 0H=O"> <meta name="description" content="An answer to some questions about renderings in the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures."> <link rel=stylesheet type="text/css" href="style.css"> <style> <!-- .msg {display:inline-block}.mb {font-size:80%;padding:6 8 0 14;width:100%}.cb {background-image:url('http://gmail.google.com/gmail/images/card_left.gif');background-position: left 50%;background-repeat:repeat-y;border-right:1px solid #e8e8e8;}.st0 {background:#ffff88}span.st01 {background:#FFFF88} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} span.MsoFootnoteReference {vertical-align:super;} --> </style> </head> <body bottommargin="0" leftmargin="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" rightmargin="0" topmargin="0" background="background.jpg"> <table width="100%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0"> <tr valign="top"> <td width="148" height="111"> <FONT face="Trebuchet MS" style="font-size: 11pt"><IMG height=111 alt="" src="topleft.jpg" width=148 border=0></FONT></td> <td width="100%" height="111" background="topbg.jpg"> <font face="Trebuchet MS"><span style="font-size: 11pt"><!----- Insert your logo below ------------------------------------------> </span><font color="#0080ff" size="7"><em><strong>Bible Translation and Study&nbsp;<!-----------------------------------------------------------------------> </strong></em></font> </font> </td> </tr> </table> <table width="100%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0"> <tr valign="top"> <td width="96"><FONT face="Trebuchet MS" style="font-size: 11pt"><IMG height=1 alt="" src="spcr.jpg" width=96 border=0></FONT></td> <td width="100%"> <table width="100%" cellpadding="15" cellspacing="0" border="0"> <tr valign="top"> <td><font face="Trebuchet MS" style="font-size: 11pt"><!------------------------ Content zone, add your content below ----------------------------> </font> <h3 align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS" size="5"> Miscellaneous Questions about the <i>New World Translation</i>.</font></h3> <p class="MsoNormal"> <font face="Trebuchet MS" style="font-size: 11pt"><BR><BR><!------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------> <img border="0" src="int.jpg" width="138" height="200" align="left" hspace="8" vspace="8"></font></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <font face="Trebuchet MS" style="font-size: 11pt">There are many specific renderings in the <i>New World Translation</i> that have attracted the attention of critics.&nbsp; Often these criticisms involve a comparison of the interlinear reading in the Watch Tower Society&#39;s <i> Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures, </i> which has the original Greek text with a word-for-word English interlinear reading, as well as the <i>New World Translation</i> in a separate column on the right.&nbsp; On this page, we will discuss some of the questions commonly raised by critics of the <i>New World Translation</i>.</font></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> &nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> &nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Trebuchet MS">In the case of an interlinear translation, it is important to remember that the English word under each Greek word is only one possible meaning of the Greek word.&nbsp; Frequently, for the sake of consistency, the same English word is used each time a Greek word appears in the text.&nbsp; Yet, the standard <i>New World Translation</i>, taking into account the context and the way the word is used in a sentence, will use a different word or expression.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Note how this is so in the examples below.</font></p> <hr> <h1 style="margin-bottom: 12pt" align="center"> <font face="Trebuchet MS" size="4">&#39;Now&#39; in Romans 8:1- Is it Missing?</font></h1> <p class="MsoNormal"> <b><font color="#0000FF">The <i>Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures</i>, published by Jehovah&#39;s Witnesses, has the word &#39;now&#39; in its interlinear reading (page 696), but the word &#39;now&#39; does not appear in the NWT itself.&nbsp; Has the word been omitted from the <i> New World Translation</i>, perhaps for doctrinal reasons?</font></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> &nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center"> <img border="0" src="Ro8.jpg" width="450" height="89"></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center"> <font face="Trebuchet MS">Romans 8:1 in the <i>Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures.</i></font></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS">In this verse, the NWT hasn&#39;t missed out the word &#39;now&#39;; it has merely translated the Greek expression &#39;<span lang="el">±Á± ½Å½, </span><i>ara nun</i>&#39; as &#39;therefore&#39;. &nbsp;</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS"><b>Lexicons: </b>The renowned Greek-English Lexicon (Bauer - Arndt - Gingrich - Danker) [BAGD] translates &#39;<span lang="el">½Å½, </span><i>nun</i>&#39; - among other possibilities - as &quot;as far as the present<img border="0" src="ara-nun.GIF" width="236" height="97" align="right" hspace="14" vspace="14" alt="ara nun"> situation is compared&quot; or as &quot;for now I tell you this.&quot; Abbot-Smith&#39;s lexicon defines &#39;<span lang="el"><i>½Å½</i>, </span>nun&#39; as &quot;Now, presently...presently, forthwith, ...now, therefore, now, however, as it is...&quot; &nbsp;Arndt and Gingrich&#39;s &nbsp;Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 1957 edition, on page 547, under the word &#39;nun&#39; says: &quot;[nun] used w. other <script> <!-- D(["mb","articles...[\'ara nun\'] so or thus now Ro.8:1.&quot;<br><br>It is clear that the \'now\' in the Greek of this verse has the sense of<br>\'as it is\' or \'therefore\'. &nbsp; Under the Law of Moses, God\'s worshippers<br>were subject to condemnation, now, however, since Christ is the end of<br>the Law, under Christ, there is no such condemnation. - See Romans<br>7:6.<br><br>The New English Bible &nbsp;translates the passage in question: &quot;The<br>conclusion of the matter is this: there is no condemnation for those<br>who are united with Christ.&quot; &nbsp;Likewise, Goodspeed\'s translation reads:<br>&quot;So there is no condemnation any more for those who are in union with<br>Christ Jesus.&quot; &nbsp;There are at least a dozen other English translations<br>that don\'t use the word \'now\' in this verse. &nbsp;Surely you don\'t think<br>they\'ve all \'deliberately missed out\' the word!<br><br>In any case, the omission or inclusion of the word \'now\' in English<br>makes no real difference to the meaning. &nbsp;Since the verb is in the<br>present tense (there is) the reference is obviously to the present<br>time. &nbsp;Jehovah\'s Witnesses don\'t dispute that the verse applies now,<br>as you appear to think. &nbsp;Commenting on this verse, one of our<br>publications says: &quot;They [Christians] are no longer condemned sinners,<br>in the way of death.&quot; (Insight on the Scriptures, Volume 2, page 249)<br><br>[Question]<br><br>In Romans 8 verse 6 (page 697) the greek [sic] has been translated as<br>\'minding\' in verse 6 and 7, yet the exact same greek in verse 27 is<br>wrongly deliberately translated \'meaning\' in the N.W.T. YET THE GREEK<br>WORD IS THE SAME AND SHOULD BE TRANSLATED \'MIND\' or \'MINDING\'. I know<br>it is deliberate as the N.W.T. has undergone 4 revisions without these<br>watchtower \'scholars\' making a correction. Please check as verse 27 in<br>your greek interlinear will confirm that the supposed impersonal<br>Spirit has a \'mind\' if the greek is translated accurately.<br><br>[Answer]<br><br>There is no reason to make a correction, because the rendering of<br>",1] ); //--> </script>articles...<span lang="el">±Á± ½Å½, </span>[&#39;ara nun&#39;] so or thus now Ro.8:1.&quot;</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS"><b>Context:</b> It is clear that the &#39;now&#39; in the Greek of this verse has the sense of &#39;as it is&#39; or &#39;therefore&#39;.&nbsp;&nbsp; Under the Law of Moses, God&#39;s worshippers were subject to condemnation, now, however, since Christ is the end of the Law, under Christ, there is no such condemnation. - See Romans 7:6.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS"><b>Other Translations:</b> The New English Bible &nbsp;translates the passage in question: &quot;The conclusion of the matter is this: there is no condemnation for those who are united with Christ.&quot; &nbsp;Likewise, Goodspeed&#39;s translation reads: &quot;So there is no condemnation any more for those who are in union with Christ Jesus.&quot; &nbsp;There are at least a dozen other English translations that don&#39;t use the word &#39;now&#39; in this verse. &nbsp;Surely they haven&#39;t all &#39;deliberately missed out&#39; the word!</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS">In any case, the omission or inclusion of the word &#39;now&#39; in English makes no real difference to the meaning. &nbsp;Since the verb is in the present tense (there is) the reference is obviously to the present time. &nbsp;Jehovah&#39;s Witnesses don&#39;t dispute that the verse applies now, as some appear to think. &nbsp;Commenting on this verse, one of our publications says: &quot;They [Christians] are no longer condemned sinners, in the way of death.&quot; (<i>Insight on the Scriptures</i>, Volume 2, page 249)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS"><b>What we learn:</b> Before jumping to conclusions about a particular rendering, it&#39;s good to look the Greek words up in one or more authoritative lexicons. &nbsp;We can spare ourselves much embarrassment that way, as we begin to realise that there is more than one way to translate a particular word or expression.</span></p> <hr> <h1 style="margin-bottom: 12pt" align="center"> <font face="Trebuchet MS" size="4"><i>Minding</i> or <i> Meaning</i></font></h1> <p class="MsoNormal"> <font color="#0000FF"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-weight: 700">In Romans 8:6, the New World Translation renders the Greek word &#39;<i>phronema</i>&#39; as &#39;minding&#39; but in verse 27, as &#39;meaning&#39;.&nbsp; The Kingdom Interlinear Translation defines &#39;<i>phronema</i>&#39; as &#39;minding&#39; in both cases.&nbsp; Why are different words used in the English New World Translation to translate the same original Greek word?</span></font></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> &nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS"><b>Other translations:</b> &nbsp;First let us say that the <i> <span lang="en-us">New World Translation</span></i> is by no means unique in using this expression. &nbsp;The <i>New English Bible</i> &nbsp;(1960) and the <i>Revised English Bible</i> &nbsp;(1990) both use the expression &#39;God knows & what the Spirit means.&quot;&nbsp; William Barclay, in his New Testament, uses similar wording.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS">Good translation does not necessarily require that the same English word be used every time a particular Hebrew or Greek word is used. Precisely the same phenomena are found in many other translations. For example, the King James Version translates the Greek word &#39;<span lang="el">»¿³¿Â, </span><i>logos</i>&#39; as account, cause, communication, intent, manner, thing, question, reason, fame, rumour, tidings, saying, show, speech, treatise, utterance, and word. &nbsp;I make that 17 different ways of translating the same Greek word! &nbsp;But there is nothing particularly wrong with that. It all depends on the context.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS"><b>Context:</b> In this case, the same Greek word is used in different contexts. Verse 6 is talking about human minds and what they think about. &nbsp;The translation &#39;minding&#39; is appropriate. &nbsp;But verse 27 is talking <img border="0" src="phronema.GIF" width="275" height="97" align="left" hspace="14" vspace="14" alt="phronema">about God&#39;s spirit and its purpose or meaning. &nbsp;I understand this passage to be saying that when we don&#39;t know what to pray for, God&#39;s spirit makes it possible for us to pray nonetheless, and God will understand the meaning or purpose of our prayers, because of the spirit&#39;s help. &nbsp;As commentator Heinrich Meyer puts it, &quot;God would in every case know the purpose of the Spirit.&quot;</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS">It&#39;s obvious that this rendering, while different from that of many other translations, is legitimate.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS"><b>What we learn: </b>&nbsp;Consistency in translation doesn&#39;t always mean one English word for each Greek word.</span></p> <hr> <h1 style="margin-bottom: 12pt" align="center"> <font face="Trebuchet MS" size="4">God in Christ?</font></h1> <p class="MsoNormal"> <font color="#0000FF"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-weight: 700">In 2 Corinthians 5:19, the interlinear rendering of the <i> Kingdom Interlinear Translation</i> says &quot;God was <i>in</i> Christ,&quot; yet the New World Translation of the same verse says &quot;God was <i>by means of</i> Christ&quot;.&nbsp; Is this a deliberate mistranslation to avoid the conclusion that God dwells in Christ?</span></font></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS"><b>Lexicons:</b>&nbsp; The Greek word in 2 Corinthians 5:19 that some feel should be translated as &#39;in&#39;, rather than &#39;by means of&#39;, is &#39;<span lang="el">µ½, </span> <i>en</i>&#39;.&nbsp; Liddell and Scott&#39;s Greek -English Lexicon gives the following possible meanings for the word &#39;<span lang="el">µ½, </span><i>en</i>&#39;: &nbsp;in, at, on, upon, in the number, amongst, in the presence of, before, within, according to, in accordance with, with, by, by means of, etc (and that&#39;s just the abridged version!)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS"><b>Other translations:</b> Similarly, the King James Version translates the Greek preposition &#39;en&#39; as &#39;by&#39; in Matthew 12:24 (&quot;by Beelzebub&quot;), Luke 11:19 (&quot;by whom&quot;), also as &#39;through&#39; in John 17:17 (&quot;through thy truth&quot;) - see also John 17:19; 20:31, where the King James Version translates &#39;<span lang="el">µ½, </span><i>en</i>&#39; as &#39;through&#39;).</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS">The Greek preposition &#39;en&#39; can mean &#39;in&#39;, but it can just as well mean &#39;by means of&#39;, showing <img border="0" src="en.GIF" width="114" height="97" align="left" hspace="14" vspace="14" alt="en">agency.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;It certainly doesn&#39;t have to mean that God was &#39;in&#39; Christ in the sense of residing in him or being inside him. &nbsp;It can and does mean that God through Christ was working out his will. &nbsp;As Romans 5:10 says: &quot;we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son&quot;.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS">Interestingly, the <i>Good News Translation</i> (<span lang="en-us">formerly known as </span><i>Today&#39;s English Version</i>)<span lang="el"> </span>renders the verse: &quot;God was making all human beings his friends <b>through</b> Christ.&quot;</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS">So the NWT is not &quot;deliberately mistranslating&quot;; it is simply using a different and equally correct rendering.&nbsp; </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <b>What we learn:</b>&nbsp; <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS">Critics who don&#39;t know the original languages would do well to refrain from using expressions like &#39;deliberately mistranslating&#39;.&nbsp; Otherwise they risk giving the impression of being presumptuous and immodest.&nbsp; Even for those who know the original languages, accusations of deliberate mistranslation should be a last resort.</span></p> <hr> <h1 style="margin-bottom: 12pt" align="center"> <font face="Trebuchet MS" size="4">&#39;Was&#39; or &#39;Meant&#39;?</font></h1> <p class="MsoNormal"><font color="#0000FF"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-weight: 700">In 1 Corinthians 10:4, the interlinear rendering of the <i> Kingdom Interlinear Translation </i>says &quot;the rock-mass ... <i>was</i> the Christ.&quot;&nbsp; So why does the New World Translation read &quot;that rock-mass <i>meant</i> the Christ&quot;?</span></font></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS">Again, we have to realise that words frequently have not just one meaning but a range of meaning. <script> <!-- D(["mb","<br>The word translated \'meant\' in 1 Corinthians 10:4 is a form of the<br>Greek \'eimi\', literally meaning \'to be\', but also, by extension,<br>meaning \'to stand for, mean, represent.\' &nbsp;That is the sense in which<br>it is used in 1 Corinthians 10:1<br><br>A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament says under EIMI: &quot;2.<br>Explicative, as in parable, figure, type, etc.: Mt 13:19ff; 1 Cor.9:2,<br>10:4, 11:25, Ga.4:24, Re.17:15&quot;. &nbsp;Note that 1 Corinthians 10:4 is here<br>cited as a case where \'eimi\' is used in a figurative sense.<br><br>A look at the verses cited in the above lexicon should be enough to<br>convince us that \'eimi\' does not always literally mean \'to be\'. &nbsp;A<br>person is not literally a seed; he/she is represented by a seed.<br>People are not literally a seal; they are like a seal. &nbsp;A cup is not<br>literally a covenant; it stands for &nbsp;a covenant. &nbsp;The two women are<br>not literally two covenants; they represent two covenants. The waters<br>are not literally peoples; they stand for peoples, etc.<br><br>Look also at what W.E. Vine\'s Expository Dictionary of New Testament<br>Words says about 1 Corinthians 10:4. &nbsp;&quot;PETRA...denotes a mass of rock,<br>as distinct from PETROS, a detached stone or boulder, or a stone that<br>might be thrown or easily moved. .....1 Cor.10:4 (twice),<br>figuratively, of Christ.&quot; &nbsp;Note that Vine describes the use as<br>\'figurative\'.<br><br>So the word \'meant\' is a suitable translation for the Greek \'en\' in 1<br>Corinthians 10:4. &nbsp;I think that if you pause to think for yourself,<br>instead of just repeating other people\'s arguments, you\'ll come to<br>realise very quickly that Christ is certainly not a literal piece of<br>rock, but he was represented by the rock mass from which the<br>Israelites drank in the desert.<br><br>I think your connection to Deuteronomy 32:4 is rather tentative. &nbsp;When<br>Moses describes Jehovah as \'the Rock\', he is not referring to the<br>incidents when Israel drank water from a rock. &nbsp;1 Corinthians 10:4, on<br>",1] ); //--> </script>&nbsp;The word translated &#39;meant&#39; in 1 Corinthians 10:4 is a form of the Greek &#39;eimi&#39;, literally meaning &#39;to be&#39;, but also, by extension, meaning &#39;to stand for, mean, represent.&#39; &nbsp;That is the sense in which it is used in 1 Corinthians 10:1</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS"><b>Lexicons:</b> A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament says under EIMI: &quot;2. Explicative, as in parable, figure, type, etc.: Mt 13:19ff; 1 Cor.9:2, 10:4, 11:25, Ga.4:24, Re.17:15&quot;. &nbsp;Note that 1 Corinthians 10:4 is here cited as a case where &#39;eimi&#39; is used in a figurative sense.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS">A look at the verses cited in the above lexicon should be enough to convince us that &#39;eimi&#39; does not always literally mean &#39;to be&#39;. &nbsp;A person is not literally a seed; he/she is represented by a seed. People are not literally a seal; they are like a seal. &nbsp;A cup is not literally a covenant; it<img border="0" src="en2.GIF" width="98" height="97" align="right" alt="en (long 'e')"> stands for &nbsp;a covenant. &nbsp;The two women are not literally two covenants; they represent two covenants. The waters are not literally peoples; they stand for peoples, etc.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS">Look also at what W. E. Vine&#39;s <i>Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words</i> says about 1 Corinthians 10:4. &nbsp;&quot;PETRA...denotes a mass of rock, as distinct from PETROS, a detached stone or boulder, or a stone that might be thrown or easily moved. .....1 Cor.10:4 (twice), figuratively, of Christ.&quot; Note that Vine describes the use as &#39;figurative&#39;.&nbsp; So the word &#39;meant&#39; is a suitable translation for the Greek &#39;<span lang="el">·½, </span><i>en</i>&#39; in 1 Corinthians 10:4. &nbsp;</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS"><b>Context: </b>&nbsp;Christ is certainly not a literal piece of rock, but he <i>was</i> represented by the rock mass from which the Israelites drank in the desert.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS">Any connection to Deuteronomy 32:4 is rather tentative. &nbsp;When Moses describes Jehovah as &#39;the Rock&#39;, he is not referring to the incidents when Israel drank water from a rock. &nbsp;1 Corinthians 10:4, on <script> <!-- D(["mb","the other hand, is referring to those incidents, when it says they<br>\'drank\' from the rock. &nbsp;They didn\'t drink from Jehovah himself but<br>from a literal rock mass.<br><br>[Question]<br><br>John 8: 58 the greek says \'Before Abraham...I am\' but the N.W.T says<br>\'I have been\'.<br><br>[Answer]<br><br>Actually, &quot;I am&quot; and &quot;I have been&quot; are legitimate translations of the<br>Greek ego eimi. &nbsp;Where we would use the present perfect tense (\'I have<br>been\'), Greek uses the present tense. &nbsp;This isn\'t unique to Greek; the<br>majority of European languages do the same thing; it\'s English that\'s<br>the \'odd man out\'. &nbsp;When you talk about an action that began in the<br>past and continues into the present time, in Greek you use the present<br>tense. &nbsp;J. H. Moulton\'s Grammar of New Testament Greek states: &quot;The<br>Present which indicates the continuance of an action during the past<br>and up to the moment of speaking is virtually the same as Perfective,<br>the only difference being that the action is conceived as still in<br>progress (Burton§ 17).It is frequent in the NT: Luke 2:48; 13:7;<br>15:29; Jn 5:6; 8:58; 14:9; 15:27; Acts 15:21; 26:31; 2 Cor.12:19,2<br>Ti.3:18; 2 Pt.3:4; 1 Jn 2:9;3:8.&quot;<br><br>Note that Moulton includes John 8:58 in this category.<br><br>By the way, in John 14:9, the vast majority of translations, including<br>the King James Version, translate \'eimi\' as \'have been\'. &nbsp;With equal<br>justification, the New World Translation renders \'eimi\' as \'have been\'<br>in John 8:58.<br><br>[Question]<br><br>A basic problem. Page 1150 my 1985 Kingdom Interlinear appendix<br>presents an illustration taken from Justus Lipsius of the 16th century<br>of Jesus crucified on a stake...\'crux simplex\'. In your 1969 K.I.T. I<br>was informed that on page 1155 there was the following quote: &quot; We<br>represent herewith a photographic copy of his illustration on page<br>647, column 2, of his book De Cruce Liber Primus. This is the manner<br>in which Jesus was impaled.&quot;<br>",1] ); //--> </script>the other hand, is referring to those incidents, when it says they &#39;drank&#39; from the rock. They didn&#39;t drink from Jehovah himself but from a literal rock mass.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS"><b>What we learn:</b> It is enlightening to look throughout the New Testament to get a feel for the range of meaning of a particular Greek word.</span></p> <hr> <h1 style="margin-bottom: 12pt" align="center"> <font face="Trebuchet MS" size="4">&#39;I am&#39; or &#39;I have been&#39;?</font></h1> <p class="MsoNormal"> <font color="#0000FF"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-weight: 700"> According to the <i>Kingdom Interlinear Translation </i> (interlinear reading), Jesus said at John 8:58, &quot;Before Abraham to become, I am&quot;.&nbsp; But the <i>New World Translation</i> reads, &quot;Before Abraham came to be, I have been.&quot;&nbsp; Surely this is a mistranslation to avoid giving the impression that Jesus is Jehovah, who identifies himself in Exodus 3:14 as &quot;I am&quot;.</span></font></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS">Actually, &quot;I am&quot; and &quot;I have been&quot; are legitimate translations of the Greek <span lang="el">µ³É µ¹¼¹, </span><i>ego eimi</i>. &nbsp;Where we would use the present perfect tense (&#39;I have been&#39;), Greek uses the present tense. &nbsp;This isn&#39;t unique to Greek; the majority of European languages do the same thing; it&#39;s English <img border="0" src="ego-eimi.GIF" width="253" height="97" align="left" alt="ego eimi">that&#39;s the &#39;odd man out&#39;. &nbsp;When you talk about an action that began in the past and continues into the present time, in Greek you use the present tense. &nbsp;J. H. Moulton&#39;s Grammar of New Testament Greek states: &quot;The Present which indicates the continuance of an action during the past and up to the moment of speaking is virtually the same as Perfective, the only difference being that the action is conceived as still in progress (Burton<span lang="el"> </span>§ 17).It is frequent in the NT: Luke 2:48; 13:7; 15:29; Jn 5:6; 8:58; 14:9; 15:27; Acts 15:21; 26:31; 2 Cor.12:19,2 Ti.3:18; 2 Pt.3:4; 1 Jn 2:9;3:8.&quot;</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS">Note that Moulton includes John 8:58 in this category.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS">By the way, in John 14:9, the vast majority of translations, including the <i> King James Version</i>, translate &#39;<span lang="el">µ¹¼¹, </span><i>eimi</i>&#39; as &#39;have been&#39;. &nbsp;With equal justification, the New World Translation renders &#39;<span lang="el">µ¹¼¹, </span><i>eimi</i>&#39; as &#39;have been&#39; in John 8:58.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS"><b>What we learn:&nbsp; </b>Greek is not English.&nbsp; They have different grammatical structures and different tenses.&nbsp; One Greek tense does not correspond to one English tense.&nbsp; You have to consider the context.</span></p> <hr> <h1 style="margin-bottom: 12pt" align="center"> <font face="Trebuchet MS" size="4">&#39;Cross&#39; or &#39;Stake&#39;?</font></h1> <p class="MsoNormal"><font color="#0000FF"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-weight: 700"> The Appendix to the <i>Kingdom Interlinear</i>, on page 1150, presents an illustration taken from Justus Lipsius of the 16th century of Jesus crucified on a stake or &#39;crux simplex&#39;. The 1969 edition of the <i>Kingdom Interlinear </i>on page 1155 states: &quot; We represent herewith a photographic copy of his illustration on page 647, column 2, of his book <i>De Cruce Liber Primus</i>. This is the manner in which Jesus was impaled.&quot; <script> <!-- D(["mb","<br>This I found this interesting as such a dogmatic statement as I have<br>an original copy of \'The Harp of God\' 1921 published by the<br>watchtower. Page 114 there is a picture of a representation of Christ<br>crucified on an upright cross with his hands nailed either side. This<br>was the understanding of J F Rutherford...hence the picture in this<br>book \'The Harp of God\'. &nbsp; However in the Watchtower book \'Paradise<br>Lost\' Page 141 a picture shows ONE nail driven through both the hands<br>of Christ impaled on a stake<br><br>Is it proper to use a picture so dogmatically as to say: THIS IS THE<br>MANNER WHICH JESUS WAS IMPALED? If you could check Justus Lipsius book<br>De Cruce Liber Primus on page 647 you will indeed see the illustration<br>as the K.I.T. BUT that is found in column 2. In column 1 you will see<br>Jesus depicted hanging on a tree. There are seven other illustrations<br>in the book and each with a form of cross beam. Did you realise that<br>on page 47 of Lipsius\' book he quotes Innocent: \'In the Lord\'s cross<br>there were four pieces of wood. The upright beam, the crossbar, a tree<br>trunk (piece of wood) placed below, and the title (inscription) placed<br>above\'. Two of the pictures are as the cross depicted in the<br>watchtower book, \'The Harp Of God\' page 114. Now Lipsius does say:<br>&quot;When a man, hands stretched out, worships God with a pure heart he<br>resembles a cross.&quot;<br><br>SO....How do I know the book \'Paradise Lost\' page 141 is a false<br>presentation...well because I believe scripture ( Sola scriptura)<br>above the counsel of men. John 20: 25 \'nails\' being plural<br><br>[Answer]<br><br>Where does it say that Lipsius\' drawing is intended as proof, rather<br>than just an illustration? &nbsp;Actually, Lipsius\' drawing is not been<br>presented to prove &nbsp;that Jesus was put to death on a stake, only to<br>illustrate the type of instrument used by the Romans to execute him.<br>It should be obvious that a 16th century scholar can not be an<br>authoritative source of information about something that happened in<br>",1] ); //--> </script>&nbsp;Is it proper to use a picture so dogmatically?&nbsp; Furthermore, Lipsius also has other pictures of executions on crosses (with cross beams).&nbsp; Lipsius even said: &quot;When a man, hands stretched out, worships God with a pure heart he resembles a cross.&quot;&nbsp; And in John 20:25, the word &#39;nails&#39; (plural) is used.</span></font></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS">The<i> Kingdom Interlinear</i> does not say<i> </i>that Lipsius&#39; drawing is intended as proof of how Jesus died, but only to illustrate the type of instrument used by the Romans to execute him. It should be obvious that a 16th century scholar can not be an authoritative source of information about something that happened in <script> <!-- D(["mb","the 1st century. &nbsp;All the Kingdom Interlinear says is that the method<br>illustrated in the photograph &quot;is the manner in which Jesus was<br>impaled&quot;. &nbsp;In that context (a mere illustration rather than a piece of<br>evidence) Lipsius\' own view is irrelevant. &nbsp;Abundant evidence is<br>provided in the Appendix that the Greek word stauros originally meant<br>\'stake. &nbsp;Indeed, that is the basic meaning found in most lexicons.<br><br>When you say \'sola scriptura\' (scripture alone), what you really mean<br>is \'my interpretation of scripture alone\'. &nbsp;I don\'t really see how you<br>can be dogmatic about how many nails were used in Jesus\' hands on the<br>basis of \'scripture alone\'. &nbsp;True, John 20:25 mentions \'nails\'<br>(plural) but that could refer to nails in his hands and feet, not just<br>his hands. &nbsp;(In Luke 24:39, he told his disciples to look, not just at<br>his hands but also at his feet.) In any case, it is understood that<br>illustrations in our publications are just artists\' impressions. &nbsp;None<br>of us were there at Jesus\' execution, and the Bible doesn\'t describe<br>it in detail, so we simply don\'t know many of the details.<br><br>What is really surprising is that you think that the number of nails<br>used is a matter of sufficient importance even to discuss.<br><br>[Question]<br><br>The word &quot;proskuneo&quot; occurs 55 times in the Watchtower Kingdom<br>Interlinear. Of those 55, 15 are in reference to Jesus with 40 used of<br>others. 27% of the usage is of Jesus and not a single reference is<br>translated as &quot;worship&quot; even though in reference to the devil, demons,<br>idols, etc., they do translate it as worship. If this doesn\'t<br>demonstrate their bias, then what does?<br><br>As you can see, the NWT is very bias [sic] in how it translates the<br>word &quot;proskuneo.&quot; Whenever it is in reference to Jesus, they<br>absolutely will not let it be translated as worship. Why? Because they<br>erringly deny that Jesus is God in flesh and their Bible reflects<br>",1] ); //--> </script>the 1st century. &nbsp;All the <i>Kingdom Interlinear</i> says is that the method illustrated<img border="0" src="stauros.GIF" width="235" height="97" align="right" alt="stauros"> in the photograph &quot;is the manner in which Jesus was impaled&quot;. &nbsp;In that context (a mere illustration rather than a piece of evidence) Lipsius&#39; own view is irrelevant. &nbsp;Abundant evidence is provided in the Appendix that the Greek word stauros originally meant &#39;stake. Indeed, that is the basic meaning found in most lexicons.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS">We can not be dogmatic about how many nails were used in Jesus&#39; hands on the basis of &#39;scripture alone&#39;. &nbsp;True, John 20:25 mentions &#39;nails&#39; (plural) but that could refer to nails in his hands and feet, not just his hands. &nbsp;(In Luke 24:39, he told his disciples to look, not just at his hands but also at his feet.) In any case, it is understood that illustrations in our publications are just artists&#39; impressions. &nbsp;None of us were there at Jesus&#39; execution, and the Bible doesn&#39;t describe it in detail, so we simply don&#39;t know many of the details.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS">What is really surprising is that some people think that the number of nails used is a matter of sufficient importance even to discuss.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS">For a further discussion of how the Greek word <span lang="el">&#39;ÃıÅÁÌÂ, </span><span lang="en-us">stauros&#39; should be translated, please see the <a href="http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/newworldtranslation/stauros.htm"> Defence of the New World Translation</a> website.</span></span></p> <hr> <blockquote> <h1 style="margin-bottom: 12pt" align="center"> <font face="Trebuchet MS" size="4">Qualified to Pass Judgment?</font></h1> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS">In his book <i>Truth in Translation,</i> Jason BeDuhn states:</span></p> <blockquote> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS">In order to have any ability to make a judgement about the accuracy of a translation of the New Testament from its original Greek into modern English, you have to know how to read Greek ... I am sure this seems obvious to you. &nbsp;Yet, amazingly, the majority of individuals who publicly pass judgement on Bible translations -- in print, on television and radio, on the internet, and in letters they send to me -- do not know how to read Greek.</span></p> </blockquote> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS">Does that sound familiar?! &nbsp;He continues:</span></p> <blockquote> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS">The obvious question to be asked here is: then how can they tell what is a good translation and what is not? &nbsp;The fact is that they cannot. Their opinions are based not on the accuracy of translating Greek words into English words, but on the agreement of the final product with their own beliefs about what the Bible must say ...<img border="0" src="Truth.jpg" width="125" height="195" longdesc="Truth in Translation by Jason Beduhn" align="right" hspace="14" vspace="14" alt="Truth in Translation by Jason Beduhn"></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS">So the first question you should ask anyone who claims to have the credentials to speak about the translation of the New Testament is: Do you know how to read Koine Greek? &nbsp;If not, then you have no basis to render an opinion, other than to rely on other people who do read Koine Greek. &nbsp;If we Greek readers disagree among ourselves, then you must examine our arguments and evidence and decide who has the better case. &nbsp;(Page xvii)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> &nbsp;</p> </blockquote> </blockquote> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS">Beduhn isn&#39;t a Jehovah&#39;s Witness, and actually disagrees with a number of translation decisions made by the NWT translation committee. &nbsp;This book provides more accurate information than all the sum of all the anti-Witness books and websites, which, as you can see for yourself, are all too often prejudiced and plain wrong. &nbsp;If Witness critics want to be taken seriously, they really do need to be a lot more careful about using emotive expressions such as &#39;biased&#39;, &#39;missing out&#39; words, &#39;deliberately mistranslating&#39;, &#39;changing the Bible&#39;, etc.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS" lang="en-us"> Beduhn&#39;s book is worth a read</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS">: <a target="_blank" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline; text-underline: single" href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0761825568/"> http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec<wbr>/obidos/ASIN/0761825568/</a></span></p> <hr> <h1 style="margin-bottom: 12pt" align="center"> <font face="Trebuchet MS" size="4">Summary</font></h1> <p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Just because the <i>New World Translation</i> is different in certain verses from some other translations doesn&#39;t make it automatically wrong.</font></p> <ul> <li> <p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Words can have more than one meaning.</font></li> <li> <p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Phrases can often be translated more than one way.</font></li> <li><font face="Trebuchet MS">More often than not, you&#39;ll find that at least some other translations agree with the <i>New World Translation</i>.</font></li> <li><font face="Trebuchet MS">Don&#39;t be hasty to condemn the <i>New World Translation </i>as incorrect, or to impute bad motives to its translators.&nbsp; Look into it.&nbsp; Get out dictionaries, check other translations, ask people who speak the Bible languages.&nbsp; Have an open mind.&nbsp; You may not agree in all cases with the <i>NWT</i> rendering.&nbsp; But at least you&#39;ll understand <i>why</i> the translation choice was made and will know <i>why</i> you disagree.</font></li> </ul> </td> </tr> </table> </td> <td width="178"> <table width="178" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0"> <tr valign="top"> <td><font face="Trebuchet MS"><!------------------------ Menu section, links go below ----------------------------><!-- this is the code for a button below, just copy and paste the code to make multiple buttons, you will notice we have did this six times for example --><!--button code start--> </font> <table width="178" height="41" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0"><tr valign="top"><td width="178" height="11"> <FONT face="Trebuchet MS" color=#0000ff size=2><IMG height=11 alt="" src="buttontop.jpg" width=178 border=0></FONT></td></tr><tr valign="top"><td width="178" height="20" background="buttonbg.jpg"> <FONT face="Trebuchet MS" color=#0000ff size=2 ><IMG height=1 alt="" src="buttonspcr.gif" width=15 border=0>&nbsp;&nbsp; <A href="index.html">Front Page </A> </FONT> </td></tr><tr valign="top"><td width="178" height="12"> <FONT face="Trebuchet MS" color=#0000ff><IMG height=12 alt="" src="buttonbottom.jpg" width=178 border=0></FONT></td></tr></table> <table width="178" height="41" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0"><tr valign="top"><td width="178" height="11"> <FONT face="Trebuchet MS"><IMG height=11 alt="" src="buttontop.jpg" width=178 border=0></FONT></td></tr><tr valign="top"><td width="178" height="20" background="buttonbg.jpg"> <FONT face="Trebuchet MS" size=2 ><IMG height=1 alt="" src="buttonspcr.gif" width=15 border=0><FONT color=#0080ff>&nbsp; <a title="Was Frederick W. 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Is what they say valid?" href="mi.html"> </a> </FONT> </td></tr><tr valign="top"><td width="178" height="12"> <FONT face="Trebuchet MS" color=#0000ff size=2><IMG height=12 alt="" src="buttonbottom.jpg" width=178 border=0></FONT></td></tr></table> <table width="178" height="41" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0"><tr valign="top"><td width="178" height="11"> <FONT face="Trebuchet MS" color=#0000ff size=2><IMG height=11 alt="" src="buttontop.jpg" width=178 border=0></FONT></td></tr><tr valign="top"><td width="178" height="20" background="buttonbg.jpg"> <FONT face="Trebuchet MS" color=#0000ff size=2 ><IMG height=1 alt="" src="buttonspcr.gif" width=15 border=0>&nbsp; <a title="Should Jesus be worshipped? Why does the NWT say the disciples 'did obeisance' to Jesus?" href="wo.html"> Worshipping Jesus </a> </FONT> </td></tr><tr valign="top"><td width="178" height="12"> <FONT face="Trebuchet MS" color=#0000ff size=2><IMG height=12 alt="" src="buttonbottom.jpg" width=178 border=0></FONT></td></tr></table> <table width="178" height="41" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0"><tr valign="top"><td width="178" height="11"> <FONT face="Trebuchet MS" color=#0000ff size=2><IMG height=11 alt="" src="buttontop.jpg" width=178 border=0></FONT></td></tr><tr valign="top"><td width="178" height="20" background="buttonbg.jpg"> <FONT face="Trebuchet MS" color=#0000ff size=2 ><IMG height=1 alt="" src="buttonspcr.gif" width=15 border=0>&nbsp; </FONT> <FONT face="Trebuchet MS" size=2 > <a title="Has the New World Translation correctly rendered 'theotes' in Colossians 2:9?" href="theotes.html"> Divine Quality - <i>theotes</i></a></FONT><FONT face="Trebuchet MS" color=#0000ff size=2 ><a title="Should Jesus be worshipped? 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