DEADLY DECEPTION

 DEADLY DECEPTION

We find deliberate deception in the New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses).  About their “Bible,” here are some responses:

Dr. Robert Countess, who wrote a doctoral dissertation on the Greek text of the New World Translation, concluded the translation " . . . has been sharply unsuccessful in keeping doctrinal considerations from influencing the actual translation . . . It must be viewed as a radically biased piece of work. At some points it is actually dishonest.” 

British scholar H.H. Rowley: “From the beginning to end this volume is a shining example of how the Bible should not be translated. This translation is an insult to the Word of God.”

Dr. Julius Mantey, author of A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament, calls the New World Translation “a shocking mistranslation.” 

Dr. Bruce M. Metzger, professor of New Testament at Princeton University, calls the New World Translation “a frightful mistranslation,” “erroneous,” “pernicious,” and “reprehensible.” 

Dr. William Barclay concluded, "It is abundantly clear that a sect which can translate the New Testament like that is intellectually dishonest.”

It is interesting that the Jehovah’s Witness organization has always resisted efforts to identify members of the translation committee. The reason was they preferred to remain anonymous and humble, giving God the credit and glory for this translation. However, as former Jehovah witness David Reed says, “An unbiased observer will quickly note that such anonymity also shields the translators from any blame for errors or distortions in their renderings. And it prevents scholars from checking their credentials.”

The Jehovah’s Witnesses should have blushed in shame when the names of the translators of The New World Translation were revealed. The reason for their shame was the translation committee was completely unqualified for the task. Four of the five men in the committee had no Hebrew or Greek training whatsoever (they had only a high school education). The fifth, Fred W. Franz, claimed to know Hebrew and Greek, but upon examination under oath in a court of law in Edinburgh, Scotland, he failed a simple Hebrew test.

In court, Franz was asked if he knew Hebrew and he said, "Yes." He said he had a command of various languages including Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Spanish, German, and French. When asked if he speaks Hebrew, he said, "No." He was then asked if he could translate the fourth verse of Genesis into Hebrew. His answer was, "No." The fact was that Franz, like the others on the committee, did not have the knowledge to translate Hebrew or Greek. The truth is that Franz dropped out of the University of Cincinnati after his sophomore year and even while there, he had not studied anything related to theological issues.

The New World Translation is not a translation. It is filled with additions to and subtractions from the Word of God. It is a tampering with the Bible to force it to fit the heresies of the cult. The deception of the Jehovah's Witnesses can only be classified as deadly.