The New World Translation has added to the Word of God

Fri, May 11. 2012

Editor: Simeon James did not collect his $500. He couldn’t find 20 Greek New Testament manuscripts that had the word Jehovah in it. Not sure until I pointed it out that he knew the difference between Old and New Testament, since he thought the Septuagint was the New Testament.{{more}}

There are four steps in handling of God’s word. Each is a complete step: Inspiration (original writings), Preservation (copies), Translation and Interpretation. I am sure that Mr. James doesn’t know this as he blends them all together without distinction.

So now he wants us to believe the God of the Bible is too weak, and unknowing or uncaring to preserve his word to us. He does not believe that the Greek New Testaments of today are accurate and scholars along the way dropped the name Jehovah out 237 times. And they must have done it all at once, because there are NO Greek NT manuscripts with the word Jehovah. NOT ONE. Without any proof as to when, who or where these texts were changed, he is saying we cannot trust the present day copies, they have errors in them and they must add “Jehovah”. I submit that is not so.

Who am I to believe, Mr. Simeon? Am I to believe your “expert” on 4 May “When the Hebrew form for the divine name was eliminated in favor of Greek substitutes in the Septuagint…” Or your “expert” you quoted April 13? He said “”However, some very old fragments of the Septuagint Version that existed in Jesus’ day have survived down to our day and it is noteworthy that God’s personal name appeared in them in the form of the tetragrammation”? Both experts can’t be right and you quoted them Mr. Simeon.

That means for almost 2,000 years, until the JW’s came, we didn’t have a “correct manuscript”, and THEY ALONE have “corrected” the Word of God. That would be hard to believe that God would allow that to happen. (Matthew 16:18) Am I not to believe: Psalms 119:89 “For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.”

Or should I believe when Jesus said of the Old Testament in Matthew 5:18 “… Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” So Mr. Simeon has a far lesser view of the accuracy of the Old Testament, than Jesus!! Mr. Simeon believes that Jesus lied to us, because not only were a “jot” or a “tittle” (like a comma, or period in the English -in size) passed from the law, but the entire name Jehovah was dropped out of the sacred texts. He quotes his “experts” without one shred of proof. I would rather believe Jesus than Mr. Simeon.

We have manuscripts of the New Testament going back less than 200 years AD. We have Old Testament copies going back hundreds of years before Christ. Maybe Mr. Simeon would enlighten us as to what other words were dropped out of the Bible? Just how many other mistakes are there Mr. Simeon? And if there are mistakes, I am sure that you alone know where they are.

Logic and reason are not followed when the Greek word Kurios, he says, should be translated – Jehovah.

But if that is so, maybe he could explain why the New World Translation doesn’t follow its’ own translation system? He points out that “Paul would have written God’s Name at Romans 10:13 “For everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved” (NWT). Jehovah is in no Greek manuscript, but the word is kurios (translated Lord in King James Bible). They say it is correct to put in Jehovah. So why 4 verses earlier were they not consistent, where the same word kurios is used? The New World Translation should read (according to their translation, insertion rules) Rom. 10:9 “For if you publicly declare that word in your own mouth, that Jesus is Jehovah… “ Same word, but they didn’t translate it according to their own rules – because it doesn’t go with their belief system. Again, correcting the NWT to follow their rules of insertion of Jehovah – Phil. 2:11 “and every tongue should openly acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Jehovah…” (same Greek word, kurios) But again it doesn’t get translated that way because it doesn’t support their belief system. In the NWT – 2 Thess. 2:1 it should read slightly different than they have it – “ However, brothers respecting the presence of our Jehovah Jesus Christ… “ . And in (NWT) it should read Rev. 22:21 “:May the undeserved kindness of the Jehovah Jesus Christ be with the holy ones.” If they followed their own translation rules, it would be obvious, Jesus is Jehovah!! But they don’t believe that, so they have to alter their own rules. But they provide no explanation or warning that they have tampered with the Word of God. In the King James Bible they believe Jehovah was taken out and the word Lord was inserted. Just try reading the NT and inserting Jehovah every time you see Lord, and it becomes overwhelming that JESUS IS JEHOVAH, according to their own translation efforts – but they didn’t insert it where it would state that, clearly. And this occurs hundreds of times I haven’t mentioned.

In fact, the Greek word kurios is found 667 times. The NWT inserted Jehovah only 237 times. That means 430 times they were inconsistent with their insertion of the word Jehovah. That makes for a VERY BAD TRANSLATION. They insert a word 237 times without a single Greek manuscript of the NT, and FAIL to insert it another 430 times according to their own rules. And this is just one word. Trust me, they have inserted other words also without any merit, other than to uphold their twisted doctrines (especially about Jesus Christ).

He wants to state that apostacy has changed Jehovah to Lord or God. I offered the $500 over a preservation issue – and he thinks that God hasn’t preserved His word. Now he is talking about translation as though it were preservation, but they are not the same. We have the best manuscripts available, and Jehovah’s name is in the Old Testament, but not in the New, that is preservation, not translation. I am not sure Mr. Simeon knows the difference.

From the Internet I quote: “The New World Translation (NWT), the JWs’ own Bible version, was created between 1950-61 in several parts, beginning with New Testament. The translation was made by an “anonymous” committee, which transliterated and altered passages that were problematic for earlier JWs. Nathan Knorr, Fred Franz, Albert Schroeder, George Gangas, and Milton Henschel were later identified as the men that created the text, which is used by no other sect. Franz studied non-biblical Greek for two years, and taught himself Hebrew. The rest had no formal training in any biblical language. … This can be seen in key verses that the WTS changed in order to fit its doctrines.”

If A=B, and B=C, then A=B=C. If you have a equal lateral triangle you have one triangle with three corners all equal, but only one triangle. Figure that out if you can Mr. Simeon, in theological terms.

In the name of Jesus, every knee will bow,

Alan Berry