Watchtower releases 2013 revision of their New World Translation

[CutlerB]

The Watchtower (Jehovah’s Witnesses) has published another revision of their infamous “New World Translation”. I don’t think it deserves the term “translation”, but I use it as a proper name here.

The 2013 revision has been updated (compared to the last one from 1984) with some different language, layout, appendices and renderings of verses. You can take a look at it here: assets.jw.org/assets/a/nwt/nwt_E/nwt_E.pdf (it may take time to load, since it’s a 50 MB download)

One thing of particular interest is their rendering of Colossians 1:15-18. Here is how it reads in the Douay-Rheims version.

Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For in him were all things created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominations, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him and in him. And he is before all, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he may hold the primacy:

Now take a look at how the 1984 version used to render this verse:

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;

Note that the word “other” is in no way in the Greek text of the Epistle to the Colossians. They acknowledged this by putting brackets around it.

Interestingly, the Watchtower has now reverted to their initial 1950 way of putting this verse, which received strong criticism:

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;

The word “other” has to be added, since if it is not there, these verses contradict their fabricated doctrine that Our Lord was not God, the Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity. They believe He was created, and through Him God made all other creation.

Maybe you find some other changes they made, or other points from the appendices worth examining.

 

[tjones80]

The Watchtower (Jehovah’s Witnesses) has published another revision of their infamous “New World Translation”. I don’t think it deserves the term “translation”, but I use it as a proper name here.

The 2013 revision has been updated (compared to the last one from 1984) with some different language, layout, appendices and renderings of verses. You can take a look at it here: assets.jw.org/assets/a/nwt/nwt_E/nwt_E.pdf (it may take time to load, since it’s a 50 MB download)

One thing of particular interest is their rendering of Colossians 1:15-18. Here is how it reads in the Douay-Rheims version.

Now take a look at how the 1984 version used to render this verse:

Note that the word “other” is in no way in the Greek text of the Epistle to the Colossians. They acknowledged this by putting brackets around it.

Interestingly, the Watchtower has now reverted to their initial 1950 way of putting this verse, which received strong criticism:

The word “other” has to be added, since if it is not there, these verses contradict their fabricated doctrine that Our Lord was not God, the Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity. They believe He was created, and through Him God made all other creation.

Maybe you find some other changes they made, or other points from the appendices worth examining.

I read the JW bible many year ago. I was not impressed.

 

[ProdglArchitect]

I read the JW bible many year ago. I was not impressed.

It’s hard to be impressed by a work of fiction; because that’s basically what the JW Bible is. They’ve removed so much of the Truth from it with their flawed / misleading translations that it can hardly be considered the same text.

 

[pacloc]

You gotta love Acts 7:59-60

59 And they went on casting stones at Stephen as he made appeal* and said: “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”+ 60 Then, bending his knees, he cried out with a strong voice: “Jehovah,* do not charge this sin against them.”+ And after saying this he fell asleep [in death].

Doesn’t Stephen know it is wrong to talk to Jesus, you have to address all prayers to Jehovah. He realized it mid sentence and correctly addressed Jehovah.

It’s funny how they know that when Stephen said Lord, that it was Jehovah and not Jesus and that they should insert Jehovah into the text.

1 Peter 1:11 is also changed, they don’t want anyone to think that the spirit in the old testament prophets was Jesus’ spirit, that would look a little too much like as if Jesus was God, can’t have that, put it in a footnote hopefully no one reads.

11 They kept on investigating* what particular season+ or what sort of [season] the spirit+ in them was indicating concerning Christ*+ when it was bearing witness beforehand about the sufferings for Christ+ and about the glories+ to follow these.

 

[CutlerB]

You gotta love Acts 7:59-60

59 And they went on casting stones at Stephen as he made appeal* and said: “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”+ 60 Then, bending his knees, he cried out with a strong voice: “Jehovah,* do not charge this sin against them.”+ And after saying this he fell asleep [in death].

Doesn’t Stephen know it is wrong to talk to Jesus, you have to address all prayers to Jehovah. He realized it mid sentence and correctly addressed Jehovah.

It’s funny how they know that when Stephen said Lord, that it was Jehovah and not Jesus and that they should insert Jehovah into the text.

1 Peter 1:11 is also changed, they don’t want anyone to think that the spirit in the old testament prophets was Jesus’ spirit, that would look a little too much like as if Jesus was God, can’t have that, put it in a footnote hopefully no one reads.

11 They kept on investigating* what particular season+ or what sort of [season] the spirit+ in them was indicating concerning Christ*+ when it was bearing witness beforehand about the sufferings for Christ+ and about the glories+ to follow these.

I didn’t know they had changed 1 Peter 1:11 as well, wow! They omitted, rather than changed, correct?

 

[pacloc]

Omitted, correct. The nwt I quoted is the older one, new one changed a few words and got rid of the footnote that unmasks their sneaky plan