Mary Ortiz asks: Hi! My boyfriend is a Jehovah's Witness. He says that the NWT is the most accurate translation, and that the other translations are corrupt. Is this true? Thanks.

Hi there Mary,

While the Bible translations (ESV, NIV, KJV, NKJV etc.), have been verified as accurate time and time again by large groups of scholars and linguists, the same does not hold true for the NWT (New World Translation). Instead, Dr. Bruce Metzger, professor of the New Testament at Princeton, states the NWT is a "frightful mistranslation" as well as "erroneous" and "reprehensible". Dr. William Barclay states that the translators of the NWT themselves are "intellectually dishonest".

While the Jehovah's Witnesses originally used the KJV until the 1950, they decided to publish their own bible (the NWT). Rather than having competent scholars and linguists translate the dead sea scrolls (or any accepted manuscript), they had their own "committee" of about five individuals translate the NWT. In order to have validity of having a proper "committee of translators", Watchtower kept their names secret.

Frederick W. Franz, Nathan H. Knorr, George D. Gangas, Albert D. Schroeder, and Raymond Franz, who after leaving the Jehovah's Witnesses, wrote a book called "The Crisis of Conscience" (1983), where he speaks about his uncle stating: "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 in the University of Cincinnati but was only self-taught in Hebrew."

Therefore, when we look at ability and credibility, what we find is totally untrustworthy. Four out of the five translators had no Greek or Hebrew studies, and the more capable Frederick Franz, in a court of law, when asked if he could translate, he said he could not.

(Douglas Walsh v. The Right Honorable James Latham Clyde, Scotland, 1954).

Lastly, it is imperative to understand that the NWT, was simply and intentionally mistranslated in order to match their teachings. According to Jehovah's Witnesses, Jesus was created by God as the archangel Michael, who was made human, and became an immaterial spirit after his crucifixion.

Thus, the deity of Jesus is purposely mistranslated from Greek from "God" to "a god" in John 1. He is also demoted from the Creator of all things to a creature who created all "other" things in Colossians 1; and while the word "other" was placed within brackets, meaning that it was added by the translators, in their 2013 revision, they removed the brackets as if it were parts of the original manuscripts (an intentional mistranslated addition).

This type of intentional mistranslation can be seen throughout the entire NWT. Even to the point where they replace the cross of Christ, to torture stake (disregarding the well-documented instrument death in Roman Crucifixion). Instead, they hold to this:

Matthew 10:30 - "And whoever does not accept his torture stake and follow after me is not worthy of me". (NWT)

As final words, in our current day and age, questioning the NWT can be easily done through biblehub.com, where you can see all translations, as well as the original Greek, Hebrew and Lexicon. Hope this helps and God bless you.

Comment:

Mary Ortiz: Wow, that is something I definitely don't want to be a part of. But what do I do? Do I show him this information? Should I leave him?

BRC Hosts Joey and Chris: We cannot advise you on personal matters. But he probably will not want to read or verify the information on this site (especially, the court case, which is public records, and has the transcripts of what was said). Reason for this is, Watchtower will excommunicate members for reading material and questioning against their beliefs.

Donnie Brook: That is not at all true. I've been a Jehovah's Witness for 2 years. There is no excommunicating members for not accepting our teachings. You can simply leave.

BRC Hosts Joey and Chris: Donnie, can you go ahead and read through the court case and then come back to this website and tell me I'm lying? Can you copy and past the transcripts to show you actually read through it? What happens if your wife needed a blood transfusion, and gets it done at the local hospital? Would she be accepted back in the congregation?

Donnie Brook: I'm not searching for any court case. The names of the authors were kept secret to ensure the divinity of God. Members who accept a blood transfusion do get excommunicated, but that is because it is a great sin. Would your Pastor allow a continuous prostitute in the church?

BRC Hosts Joey and Chris: But you just said, "There is no excommunicating members for not accepting our teachings"? Again, if you cannot or will not search the court case, then you will never know if you are being lied to or not. Not being allowed to search this simple court hearing is kind of cultic. Why are you not allowed to look at this court case so that you can prove me wrong? If you prove me wrong, I'll delete this whole post and re-evaluate my understanding of your religion. As far as my Pastor is concerned, I'll have to ask him. But I'm pretty sure his answer would be that the prostitute needs repentance forgiveness and salvation, not excommunication from her friends and family.

Donnie Brook: You guys can believe what you want. I will not continue in this argument.

Mary Ortiz: I will talk with him and see what comes out of our discussion. Thank you guys sooo much!! You guys are truly making a difference.

BRC Hosts Joey and Chris: Donnie, God bless you.

BRC Hosts Joey and Chris: Thanks for your kind words Mary. God Bless you.

Matthew 16:24

"Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me".