All similar questions on YA I have found are outdated, has the answer changed as of 2010?
Watchtower.Org and the NWT Bible itself reference only a “translating committee”
Some have said the original translating committee was made of up of 5 Jehovah's Witnesses, Nathan H. Knorr, Frederick W. Franz; Albert D. Schroeder; George Gangas; and Milton Henschel. But this is not proven, and remains only conjecture and rumor. Or has this been substantiated?
The last Watchtower article I was able to find on the matter said no names were given because the committee “wished to remain humble”
You are assured and believe that it is the most accurate translation in the world. Has the Watchtower changed its stance on releasing the names? Have you recently been made aware of who the people who translated it are and their credentials?
Update:@YouKnow Your argument might be relevant if the NWT had not ADDED Jehovah where it did not appear in the original texts. The NWT went from one extreme to the other.
@BrustingWolfe that is not true that only controversial scriptures are discussed. I have seen many scriptures of no real doctrinal importance that I can see have been documented as mistranslated in the NWT than the majority of other bibles. For example in the NWT John 3:16 reads “taking in knowledge” vs. other bibles “knowing you”. Also in Philippians 2:9 the NWT inserts “other” before name, again of no real doctrinal importance. These are just two but I believe you get the point.
Also, there is a large difference in having faith in God and having faith in men. NO TRANSLATION of the bible will ever be able to be 100% accurate but each must be examined closely.
@ SteveT Again, those scholars you say support the accuracy of the NWT are far outweighed by the number of those who do not. Regardless, in respect to Dr. BeDuhn,
Update 3:@ BrustingWulfe I am sorry you wasted your time explaining the NWT translation of the two verses I mentioned as I said: I have seen them documented as mistranslated and as I ALSO said the changing of these words does not alter the meaning substantially. I was answering your charge that only controversial verses are discussed which they are not. Individual mistranslations is an extensive topic and one for another post.I would be interested in the source of your information however for a matter of record.
Update 5:@Bar-Anerges Your answer, while appreciated is mostly opinion. I would be interested in the sources that have "proven false" the claim the NWT has been mistranslated as there are just as many, if not more that have "proven" that claim correct.
Answers & Comments
Verified answer
There are alot of websites you can go to and find out who the translators were ( or have you done that already ? )
Either you believe what these sites say or you dont.
Actually I recall reading that ex- governing body member in WT BS the late ' Raymond Franz ' revealed all the names of the NWT translation committee.
The watchtower society has neither confirmed or denied this.
What is the real reason the watchtower society wont reveal the translation committees names ? Is it because they were not qualified in biblical Hebrew or Greek -- could this be the reason ?
Remember also, their magazines ' watchtower ' and ' awake ' follow a similar rule - the writers of these mags remain anonymous -- why ?
The average JW is taught not to question this -- after all these people are anointed men of Jehovah who wish to give all the glory to Jehovah.
Convenient isn't it ?
Outsiders cannot check these writers qualifications !
Anyway, if you think the NWT is a reliable, accurate, and trustworthy English translation -- that is your choice.
The bible tells me, Jesus is God - not A god like the NWT says in ( John 1:1 )
In the NWT they have changed and altered hundreds of verses -- not found in any Greek text.
God warns any person who adds or changes his words that they shall receive the plagues written in his book ( Rev 22:18-19)
Kittel’s Biblia Hebraica, the 7th, 8th, and 9th editions (1951-55), provided the basic text used for the Hebrew section of the New World Translation in English. A new edition of the Hebrew text, namely Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, dated 1977, was used for updating the information presented in the footnotes of the New World Translation published in 1984. Westcott and Hort Text. A Greek master text that has attained wide acceptance is that produced by the Cambridge University scholars B. F. Westcott and F. J. A. Hort, in 1881. More Greek / Hebrew textbooks were used, also.
Nothing has changed - the translators remain anonymous. But it doesn't really matter because all translations are graded by the way they're translated, and not by who translated them. For example, the translators of the Septuagint are anonymous, but it is still studied and sheds much insight on OT matters. Septuagint scholars study the individual books of the Septuagint and compare them with the Hebrew text, and from that determine the worth of the books. Not knowing the translators is not a hindrance to their research.
Another example: A Hebrew scholar is reading his favorite passage in Psalms in a popular English translation, and he comes across a rendering that doesn't sound right to him. What does he do to check the accuracy of the verse? 1) He does some research to determine who the translators were. 2) He checks the Hebrew text for himself. Answer: #2.
Likewise with the NWT, it's worth can be determined by comparing it with the original language texts. Most criticisms are geared towards controversial, highly theological verses, by scholars holding different theologies. No one points out the flaws of non-controversial verses. If the NWT were so inadequate - like many claim - then errors should abound throughout the NWT, since 99% of the renderings are non-controversial. Seeing that NWT critics basically say that all controversial NWT verses are translated incorrectly because the NWT translators were inadequate (a 100% translation failure rate), then logically the other 99% of the NWT should all be translated incorrectly.
As for the Watchtower Society releasing the names of the translators: it seems everyone always forgets that the NWT translators released the printing rights to the Society on the condition that they would remain anonymous. So the WTB&TS is - if not legally bound - morally bound to never release the names of the translators.
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Also, your position is logically flawed if you believe the Bible is inspired by God, for most of the books of the Bible are anonymous. You state: "Are you truly suggesting one should blindly accept something as the truth not knowing where such “truth” has come from?"
Now, if you believe the Bible is inspired, do you "blindly accept it as truth," not knowing who wrote it?
Through various forms of evidence and comparison, one can see that the Bible is indeed the word of God, and is trustworthy. Likewise with the NWT. JWs don't "blindly" accept it as truth. JW publication have published much about the various controversial renderings of the NWT over the years. They present the evidence, and one can accept or reject it. However, the premise that a book/translation cannot be trusted unless the authors/translators are known cannot be held by a Bible believing Christian.
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John 17:3 is not inaccurately translated. The word in question is γινώσκωσιν, which is in the Greek Present Tense and denotes continuing action (taking in . . . ). Other translations do not bring out that subtlety of the Greek. The NWT is more accurate, not less accurate, in this instance. As for the meaning of the word, the Louw-Nida Greek lexicon lists "to have knowledge of" as an option. Thayer's Greek lexicon says: "1. to learn to know, come to know, get a knowledge of; passive to become known." "2. to know, understand, perceive, have knowledge of." Strong's lists one of the meanings as "(have) know(-ledge)." In no way can the the NWT be accused of being inaccurate in this verse.
Phillipians 2:9 is not translated incorrectly. The Greek word for "all" has many uses, and one is "all other." This is a translation procedure recognized by biblical scholars. For example, in Luke 21:29 the Greek just states "all the trees." However, the NAB, NET, and TEV say "all the other trees." Similarly, the NIV and TEV both translate "all the other herbs" in Luke 11:42, with the Greek just saying "all the herbs." And by reading those verses, one can see for oneself that "all other" is meant. (Also see 1 Corinthians 15:27, where the Greek "all" is used in a similar way.)
Greetings,
The fact of the matter is that the translators of the NWT have chosen to not reveal their names so absolutely no one knows who the translators were. There are some names which are good guesses, but there is no evidence to confirm these assumptions. Nor, can the translators be limited to these guesses.
The fact that we do not know the NWT translators has absolutely no bearing on the correctness of the translation.
Over the years other translation committees have taken a similar view. For example, the original jacket of the Reference Edition of the NASB stated: "We have not used any scholar's name for reference or recommendations because it is our belief God's Word should stand on its merits." Similarly, The Twentieth Century New Testament's translators were unknown until 50 years after its release.
Though we can now find the names of these translators, how could anyone have appraised the accuracy of the NASB or the TCNT when they were first released? Not by the names or credentials of the translators but by looking at the translation itself. And now that we know the translators, does that change the judgment regarding accuracy? No. Incidentally, the TCNT is recognized as a good translation despite the fact that the translators did not have the expected formal training in original languages and translation work.
Therefore, the names and credentials of the New World Translation Committee is not crucial to determining accuracy. Indeed, the names and credentials of translators behind any Bible translation has never been necessary in determining whether a translation can be trusted.
Scholar Alan S. Duthie says: "If we know who the translators or the publishers of a particular Bible translation are, does it help us to decide whether that translation is good or bad? Not directly. There is no substitute for examining the characteristics of each translation itself."
Therefore, those who insist that we must know the names and education of translators to determine a translation's accuracy are mistaken. This argument is actually a logical fallacy (Appeal to Authority). The implication is that evidence for an accurate translation is contingent on someone with University degrees. This is manifestly false as proven by many bad translations by University trained scholars and good ones by those without degrees in Hebrew and Greek. Nor do University degrees save a translation from criticism by theologically prejudiced and uninformed individuals–just look at the criticisms against the NIV and other modern versions by so-called experts.
The fact is that the NWT has been praised by many scholars even when they don't agree with the Witnesses belief:
The most recent is Jason BeDuhn in his book "Truth in Translation, Accuracy and Bias in English Translations of the New Testament." He chose the NWT as most accurate in comparison with several other well-known versions (Jason David BeDuhn, University Press of America).
"The translation is evidently the work of skilled and clever scholars..."-- Alexander Thompson, The Differentiator (British religious Journal)
"...the anonymous translators have certainly rendered the best manuscript texts...with scholarly ability and acumen."-- Charles Francis Potter, The Faith Men Live by
"The New Testament translation was made by a committee...that possessed an unusual competence in Greek."-- S. MacLean Gilmore, the Andover Newtion Quarterly, September 1966, Vol. 7, Number 1, pages 25-6.
What I personally found over the years is that in every case where the NWT is criticized by so-called "scholars" it has usually proved to be accurate, and at the very least its rendering is solidly based on the laws of translation such as following the original grammar and word definitions. In almost all cases I found that the NWT was more accurate than the vast majority of other translations. *Most* criticisms brought against it are usually themselves *unwarranted and unfairly biased. *
The accuracy of the NWT is proven by facts such as standard definitions, rules of grammar, and translation principles. EVERY claim of so-called mistranslation by the NWT has been proven false. EVERY rendering by the NWT has been proven to be accurate and supported by translation principles and standard lexical references. There isn't a single verse rendering that cannot be supported by non-Witness original language lexicons & scholars.
And that includes the two examples which you cited!
This is something that is being repeatedly proved even in this forum. That is why you mainly hear prejudicial comments, and unsupported accusations against the NWT by regular posters here. They know that when they raise a specific translation difference they will receive a scholarly response proving that the NWT translation is an accurate rendering of the original.
The NWT always proves to be an accurate and faithful translation.
Yours,
BAR-ANERGES
A Bible's accuracy is what is important, rather than the name/s of who translated it:
Professor Benjamin Kedar of Israel comments on The NWT of the Hebrew Scriptures http://web.archive.org/web/20071206112508/mysite.w...
Thomas Nelson Winter, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Reviews The New World Bible Translation Committee's,
"Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures"
http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/classicsfacpub/27/
Dr. Jason BeDuhn --Associate Professor of Religious Studies, & Chair Department of Humanities, Arts, & Religion at Northern Arizona University-- says the following regarding
"The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of The Greek Scriptures":
"It Is The Best Interlinear New Testament Available"
http://web.archive.org/web/20050524003945/mysite.w...
'How You Can Choose a Good Bible Translation'
http://watchtower.org/e/20080501a/article_01.htm
.
I don't know what the problem is here. Outside sources that are not Jehovah's witnesses have confirmed that the NWT is one of the most accurate translations out there and that the KJV which most of you live by is one of the least accurate. There names are not important. What is, is the accuracy of the translation. Nobody knows who the names of the scribes were that were used by king james, but that doesn't seem to matter. The NWT has been gone through by many a scholar and it upholds. I challenge you to read a book by a non-biased linguist named Jason BeDuhn, it's called Truth in Translation, and it compares many translations to check there accuracy.
There is no way anyone can say that it is the most accurate translation in the world. It is simple one of many translations. If you like it, you will accept it and carry on. If you don't like if, you can look for another.
The names you have is Right.
The JW's don't want you to know who translated their bible, because you may discover that they were totally unqualified to do so.
The reason there are so many different translations of the Bible, is because each denomination and religious organization makes a translation to suit, and to fit their own chosen beliefs, whether they are right or wrong, and without any regard as to whether they are pleasing to God, or not.
The great majority of Bible scholars over the years has all agreed that the Authorized King James version is the most accurate translation available.
That is why I use it exclusively, If you will put aside all other translations, and all church doctrines and dogmas, and pray for understanding, and study the KJV Bible believing that it says what it means, and means exactly what it says God will truly give you guidance, truth, and enlightenment.
But by all means; Stay Away From The Jehovah witnesses.
They are like pure poison to your soul
Why do you need to know who actually are from the translating commitee? Its better to not know so that one does not ascribe honor to a group of people; but have trust in the faithful and discreet slave whom Jehovah is using to provide food at the proper.
And about their credentials, remember 1 Corinthians 1:27-29...
the new world translation was compiled by over 59 linguistic experts under control of the governing body of Jehovah's witnesses, and seeing all the Information comes from god Jehovah through men inspired by Jehovah we give the blessing Fromm mankind back Jehovah work which is spreading gods truth