Tag: new-world-translation

Twisting Scripture

2 Peter 3:15-16 (ESV)  And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, 16 as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.

Sometimes I get questions from other Christians asking how those of certain non-Christian organizations can call themselves Christian and keep their followers in the dark concerning what the Bible plainly says.  So, I thought it might be good to look at one specific passage in Colossians 1:15-19 that is often abused and see some of the deception the Watchtower uses to persuade its followers that what the organization teaches is actually biblical.

Col. 1:15-19 (NWT)  He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; because by means of him all other things were created in the heavens and on the earth, the things visible and the things invisible, whether they are thrones or lordships or governments or authorities. All other things have been created through him and for him. Also, he is before all other things, and by means of him all other things were made to exist, and he is the head of the body, the congregation. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might become the one who is first in all things; because God was pleased to have all fullness to dwell in him,

First, I should say the Watchtower organization teaches that Jesus is a created being in order to deny His deity. A Jesus who isn’t God is a Jesus who can’t save you: “Since Jesus as the firstborn of all creation is a created person, he cannot be Almighty God.” (Awake 4/8/79, p. 29)

The first point I need to make in the passage here is the meaning of the word Firstborn.  We have talked about the equivocation fallacy here before.  Equivocation is to assign a single meaning to a word when it has more than one definition.  We intuitively recognize this in humor: “The difference between a hippo and a Zippo is one is very heave and the other is a little lighter.”   The word lighter has more than one meaning, of course.  We know that and so might laugh at how it is implied here.

The same fallacy is at work with “firstborn” in the mind of a Jehovah’s Witness.  They think firstborn always means the first one born.  In both Greek and Hebrew culture, the firstborn was both the first one born and the preeminent one in a family or over a particular group.  Jesus was Mary’s firstborn son (Luke 2:7), the first son born to Mary.  That is a clear definition as the first one born.  But does it always mean that?

In Psalm 89, the word is used differently:  Ps. 89:27 And I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth. Who was the firstborn mentioned here?  It was David, the youngest of Jesse’s eight sons.  So, what does firstborn mean in Psalm 89?  It means that although David was not the first son born of Jesse, he will have preeminence over the kings of the earth as God’s firstborn.

In Genesis 48:14, we’re told Manasseh is the firstborn son and Ephraim, his brother is the youngest, yet Jeremiah 31:9 tells us Ephraim has become the firstborn, the preeminent one.

So, how do we know there true meaning of the word in a specific passage?  We look at the context.  Colossians 1:18-19 (ESV) says this:  And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,

Verse 18 says the passage is speaking not of birth order but of preeminence. It also can’t mean the first one born of the dead, since there were others raised from the dead before Jesus. He Himself raised Lazarus, for instance.

Now, on to another change made by the Watchtower’s translation to mislead the reader.  The word other has been inserted into the passage four times.  It is not in the Greek, yet in the original 1950 publication of their New Testament, it was inserted as if it were supposed to be there, making Jesus one of the things created. 

In the 10/15/1950 Watchtower Magazine (p. 400) they said this about their translation:  “This translation, accomplished by the New World Bible Translation Committee, is highly accurate, taking into account the latest Bible research.”

Yet, in their comment on Colossians 1:16 in New World Translation Study Edition, they admit they have changed the text to suit their own doctrine:  “A literal rendering of the Greek text would be “all things.” (Compare Kingdom Interlinear.) However, such a rendering could give the impression that Jesus was not created but was the Creator himself.” They wouldn’t want anyone to understand the true meaning of the text.

Why is this important?

There are many groups out there who are more than willing to change Scripture to suit their bias and need for power over others.  Jehovah’s Witnesses are constantly telling us how dedicated they are to God’s name, Jehovah.  Scripture tells us God values His name above or on an equal level with His own Word:

Ps. 138:2 (NKJV)  I will worship toward Your holy temple, And praise Your name For Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.

Yet the Watchtower is willing to change the very Word of God to support doctrines that aren’t in the text.

The New World Translation

A couple of weeks ago, the post on this blog was about translations, their types, styles, and purposes.  This week, I thought I’d give you a sense of what can be done to a translation that will mislead the reader into believing things the Bible just doesn’t teach.  I will be using the New World Translation (NWT, henceforth) published by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (Jehovah’s Witnesses).  It falls into the category of “Confessional/Theologically Guided Translations: Doctrine influences this translation type and so may adjust wording to align with theology.”

I will call this a translation only for convenience.  Raymond Franz, a member of the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses from 1971 until he resigned in 1980, tells us the  following about the translation committee in his book, Crisis of Conscience:

“The New World Translation bears no translator’s name and is presented as the anonymous work of the ‘New World Translation Committee.’ Other members of that committee were Nathan Knorr, Albert Schroeder and George Gangas. Fred Franz, however, was the only one with sufficient knowledge of the Bible languages to attempt translation of this kind. He had studied Greek for two years at the University of Cincinnati but was only self-taught in Hebrew.” (p. 94)

According to Mr. Franz, the NWT is not a work produced by scholars, but by those seeking a Bible that would support their views without the usual explanations of why other translations do not.  Let me give a couple of examples. 

Jehovah’s Witnesses believe the Holy Spirit is not the third Person of the Trinity but only God’s active force.  Hence, their translation of Genesis 1:2 is as follows:

Gen. 1:2 (NWT)  Now the earth was formless and desolate, and there was darkness upon the surface of the watery deep, and God’s active force was moving about over the surface of the waters.

Sound unfamiliar?  If it does to most Bible readers because a modern, word-for-word, peer-reviewed translation like the English Standard Version (ESV henceforth) translates the same passage like this:

Gen. 1:2 (ESV)  The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

You can see what the NWT translation committee has done here: they have inserted their doctrine into the passage so their followers might more readily accept it.  But this is not how you translate the Bible honestly.  The Hebrew word is ruh and is universally translated as spirit except in the NWT.  So the Watchtower organization wants the reader to think God’s spirit is a force like electricity or a laser beam.

You might ask, “But have they ever influenced important doctrines this way?”  Funny you should ask.  They’ve done just that in Colossians:

Col. 1:16-18 (NWT)  because by means of him all other things were created in the heavens and on the earth, the things visible and the things invisible, whether they are thrones or lordships or governments or authorities. All other things have been created through him and for him. Also, he is before all other things, and by means of him all other things were made to exist, and he is the head of the body, the congregation. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might become the one who is first in all things;

Now look at the same passage in the ESV:  For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

Do you notice the difference between the two?  The NWT has inserted the word other into their translation four times in these three verses.  The word other is not there in the Greek.  It was inserted on purpose to make their readers believe Jesus was one of the things created rather than the almighty Creator.  This is a push to try and influence those who know no better that Jesus is not God the Son.

Why is this important?

Today’s culture has worked hard to give truth a very low priority, and translators such as those of the NWT have joined in that crusade.  “Truth is different for you than it is for me,” or “my opinion is just as valid as your facts” are statements that are more and more acceptable.  To keep from being fooled, we need to look at original sources, not what others say the original source says.

The NWT and others like it are a plea for Christians to do their homework, to check things, to look at respected translations and scholars and not just one or two but dozens.  The Bible commands us to test ALL things, and that means even the Bible in which that command appears.  It is God’s command, and He honors it.

1 Thess 5:21 (ESV)  but test everything; hold fast what is good.