New World Translation

From Textus Receptus

Revision as of 12:28, 30 June 2009

The New World Translation of the Jehovah's Witnesses.

The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (NWT) is a corruption of the Bible published by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society for Jehovah's Witnesses in 1961. It is not the first 'bible' to be published by the group, but is their first original translation of ancient Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic biblical texts.

As of 2008, the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania has published more than 159 million copies of their Bible in 74 languages.

History

Until the release of the NWT, Jehovah's Witnesses in English-speaking countries generally used the King James Version or American Standard Version of the Bible. In the literature they have produced, Jehovah's Witnesses have quoted liberally from the King James Version and many other translations of the Bible over the years.

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. 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.

In October 1946, the president of the Watch Tower Society, Nathan H. Knorr, proposed a fresh translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures. Work began on December 2, 1947 when the "New World Bible Translation Committee" was formed. 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 to announce that work on a modern-language English translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures was completed and had been turned over to the Society for printing. It was assigned to the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania for publication.

The New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures (New Testament) was released at a convention of Jehovah's Witnesses at Yankee Stadium, New York, on August 2, 1950. The translation of the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) was released in five volumes in 1953,<ref>Life Magazine, July 1, 1953, Photo here</ref> 1955, 1957, 1958, and 1960, and the complete New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures was released as a single volume in 1961. Since then, it has undergone minor revisions, with the addition of marginal (cross) references in 1984. These had been included in the six volumes released between 1950 - 1960 but not in the single-volume editions since 1961.<ref>Foreword, New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, 1984.</ref> The basic layout style much resembles the American Standard Version 1901 edition.

Translators and Editor

The New World Translation was produced by the New World Bible Translation Committee. This committee, comprising members of multinational background, was formed about 1947.<ref>New York Times, August 3, 1950 p. 19.</ref> The New World Bible Translation Committee requested that the Watch Tower Society not publish names of its members,<ref>The Watchtower, September 15, 1950, p. 320</ref><ref>Walsh vs Honorable James Latham, Court of Session Scotland, 1954, cross examination of Frederick Franz pp. 90-92</ref> stating that they did not want to "advertise themselves but let all the glory go to the Author of the Scriptures, God"<ref>The Watchtower, November 15, 1950, p. 454</ref> adding that the translation, "should direct the reader, not to the translators, but to the Bible’s Author, Jehovah God".<ref>The Watchtower, December 15, 1974, p. 768.</ref> Jehovah's Witnesses believe that "the particulars of their [the New World Bible Translation Committee's members] university or other educational training are not the important thing" and that "the translation testifies to their qualification".<ref>The Watchtower, December 15, 1974, p. 768</ref> Former high ranking Watch Tower staffers have claimed knowledge of the identities of the translators.<ref>Martin W, Kingdom of the Cults, Expanded Anniversary Edition, October 1997, Bethany House Publishers, p. 123. "While the members of the [NWT] committee have never been identified officially by the Watchtower, many Witnesses who worked at the headquarters during the translation period were fully aware of who the members were. They included Nathan H. Knorr (president of the Society at the time), Frederick W. Franz (who later succeeded Knorr as president), Albert D. Schroeder, George Gangas, and Milton Henschel (currently the president)."</ref><ref>Wills T, M.A., A People For His Name - A History of Jehovah's Witnesses and An Evaluation, Lulu, 2006. Originally published in 1967 by Vantage Press. "[Frederick] Franz is a language scholar of no mean ability-he supervised the translation of the Bible from the original languages into the New World Translation, completed in 1961." (p. 253) Of author Tony Wills, the Preface reads "The Author has been intimately associated with Jehovah's Witnesses for many years, close enough to be able to think as one, but never, at the same time, losing his objectivity." </ref>

External Links

• The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures Read Online