{{Bible translation infobox | image = | translation_title=New World Translation | full_name=New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures | abbreviation=NWT | complete_bible_published=1961 | NT_published=1950 | textual_basis= OT: Biblia Hebraica.NT: Westcott & Hort. | translation_type=Formal Equivalence with occasional ventures into Dynamic equivalence | copyright=Copyright 1961, 1981, 1984 Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania | genesis_1:1-3=In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth proved to be formless and waste and there was darkness upon the surface of the watery deep; and God's active force was moving to and fro over the surface of the waters. And God proceeded to say: "Let light come to be." Then there came to be light. | john_3:16=For God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son, in order that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life. |}}

The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (NWT) is a translation of the Bible published by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society in 1961; it is used and distributed by Jehovah's Witnesses. Though it is not the first Bible to be published by the group, it is their first original translation of ancient Classical Hebrew, Koine Greek, and Old Aramaic biblical texts. As of 2011, the Watch Tower Society has published 168 million copies of the New World Translation in 106 languages.

History

Until the release of the NWT, Jehovah's Witnesses in English-speaking countries generally used the King James Version or American Standard Version of the Bible. According to the publishers, one of the main reasons for producing a new translation was that most Bible versions in common use, including the Authorized Version (King James), employed archaic language. The stated intention was to produce a fresh translation, free of archaisms. Additionally, over the centuries since the King James Version was produced, more copies of earlier manuscripts of the original texts in the Hebrew and Greek languages have become available. The publishers claimed better manuscript evidence had made it possible to determine with greater accuracy what the original writers intended, particularly in more obscure passages. They said linguists better understood certain aspects of the original Hebrew and Greek languages than previously.

In October 1946, the president of the Watch Tower Society, Nathan H. Knorr, proposed a fresh translation of the New Testament, which Jehovah's Witnesses usually refer to as the Christian Greek Scriptures. Work began on December 2, 1947 when the "New World Bible Translation Committee", composed of anointed Jehovah's Witnesses, was formed. The Watch Tower Society is said to have "become aware" of the committee's existence a year later. The committee agreed to turn over its translation to the Society for publication and on September 3, 1949, Knorr convened a joint meeting of the board of directors of both the Watch Tower Society's New York and Pennsylvania corporations where he again announced to the directors the existence of the committee and that it was now able to print its new modern English translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures. The directors were read several chapters from the translation and then voted to accept it as a gift.

thumb|200px|left|New World Translation volumesThe New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures was released at a convention of Jehovah's Witnesses at Yankee Stadium, New York, on August 2, 1950. The translation of the Old Testament, which Jehovah's Witnesses refer to as the Hebrew Scriptures, was released in five volumes in 1953, 1955, 1957, 1958, and 1960. The complete New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures was released as a single volume in 1961, and has since undergone minor revisions. Cross references which had appeared in the six separate volumes were updated and included in the complete volume in the 1984 revision.

In 1961 the Watch Tower Society began to translate the New World Translation into Dutch, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish; the New Testament in these languages were released simultaneously on July 1963 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. By 1989 the New World Translation was translated into eleven languages, with more than 56,000,000 copies printed.

Translators

The New World Translation was produced by the anonymous New World Bible Translation Committee, formed in 1947. This committee is said to have comprised unnamed members of multinational background. The New World Bible Translation Committee requested that the Watch Tower Society not publish the names of its members, stating that they did not want to "advertise themselves but let all the glory go to the Author of the Scriptures, God," adding that the translation, "should direct the reader... to... Jehovah God". The publishers believe that "the particulars of [the New World Bible Translation Committee's members] university or other educational training are not the important thing" and that "the translation testifies to their qualification". Former high ranking Watch Tower staff have claimed knowledge of the translators' identities.

Translation Services Department

In 1989 a Translation Services Department was established at the world headquarters of Jehovah's Witnesses, overseen by the Writing Committee of the Governing Body. The goal of the Translation Services Department was to accelerate Bible translation with the aid of computer technology. Previously, some Bible translation projects lasted twenty years or more. Under the direction of the Translation Services Department, translation of the Old Testament in a particular language may be completed in as little as two years. During the period from 1963 to 1989, the English version of the New World Translation became available in ten additional languages. Since the formation of the Translation Services Department in 1989, there has been a significant increase in the number of languages in which the New World Translation has been made available.

Translation

According to the Watch Tower Society, the New World Translation attempts to convey the intended sense of original-language words according to the context. The New World Translation employs nearly 16,000 English expressions to translate about 5,500 biblical Greek terms, and over 27,000 English expressions to translate about 8,500 Hebrew terms. Where possible in the target language, the New World Translation prefers literal renderings, and claims that it does not paraphrase the original text.

Textual basis

The master text used for translating the Old Testament into English was Kittel's Biblia Hebraica. The Hebrew text, Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (1977), was used for updating the footnotes in the 1984 version of the New World Translation. Other works consulted in preparing the translation include Aramaic Targums, the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Samaritan Torah, the Greek Septuagint, the Latin Vulgate, the Masoretic Text, the Cairo Codex, the Codex Petropolitanus, the Aleppo Codex, Christian David Ginsburg's Hebrew Text, and the Leningrad Codex. The Greek master text by the Cambridge University scholars B. F. Westcott and F. J. A. Hort (1881) was used as the basis for translating the New Testament into English. The committee also referred to the Novum Testamentum Graece (18th edition, 1948) and to works by Catholic Jesuit scholars José M. Bover (1943) and Augustinus Merk (1948). The United Bible Societies' text (1975) and the Nestle-Aland text (1979) were used to update the footnotes in the 1984 version. Additional works consulted in preparing the New World Translation include the Armenian Version, Coptic Versions, the Latin Vulgate, Sixtine and Clementine Revised Latin Texts, Textus Receptus, the Johann Jakob Griesbach's Greek text, the Emphatic Diaglott, and various papyri.

Other languages

Translation into other languages is based on the English text, supplemented by comparison with the Hebrew and Greek. As of 2011, the New World Translation has been published in 106 languages.

Translators are given a list of words and expressions commonly used in the English New World Translation with related English words grouped together (e.g. atone, atonement or propitiation); these are intended to alert the translators to various shades of meaning. A list of vernacular equivalents is then composed. If a translator has difficulty rendering a verse, the computer research system can provide information on Greek and Hebrew terms and provides access to supplemental publications. Using a search-and-replace tool, vernacular terms in the target language are then automatically inserted into the Bible text. Further editing and translation is then performed to produce a final version.

The complete New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures is available in 66 languages as of August 2011: Afrikaans, Albanian, Arabic, Armenian, Bulgarian, Cebuano, Chichewa, Chinese (Standard, Simplified, Pinyin), Cibemba, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Efik, English (also Braille), Finnish, French, Georgian, German, Greek, Hungarian, Igbo, Iloko, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Kinyarwanda, Kirghiz, Kirundi, Korean, Lingala, Macedonian, Malagasy, Maltese, Norwegian, Ossetian, Polish, Portuguese (also Braille), Romanian, Russian, Samoan, Sepedi, Serbian (Cyrillic and Latin scripts), Sesotho, Shona, Sinhala, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish (also Braille), Swahili, Swedish, Tagalog, Tsonga, Tswana, Turkish, Twi (Akuapem), Twi (Asante), Xhosa, Yoruba, and Zulu.

The New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures is available in an additional 40 languages as of August 2011: American Sign Language (DVD), Amharic, Azerbaijani (Cyrillic and Latin scripts), Brazilian Sign Language (DVD), Cambodian, Chitonga, Colombian Sign Language (DVD), Estonian, Ewe, Fijian, Gun, Haitian Creole, Hiligaynon, Hindi, Hiri Motu, Italian Braille, Italian Sign Language (DVD), Kannada, Kazakh, Kiribati (Gilbertese), Lithuanian, Luganda, Luvale, Malayalam, Mexican Sign Language (DVD), Myanmar, Nepali, Pangasinan, Punjabi, Russian Sign Language (DVD), Sango, Sranantongo, Tamil, Thai, Tok Pisin, Tumbuka, Ukrainian, Uzbek, and Vietnamese.

When the Writing Committee approves the translation of the Bible into a new language, it appoints a group of baptized Jehovah's Witnesses to serve as a translation team. Team members generally have experience in translating the Watch Tower Society's publications, and receive additional training in the principles of Bible translation and in the use of computer programs developed specifically for the task. These systems do not perform actual translation, but assist the translators by keeping track of their translation decisions.

Features

The layout resembles the 1901 edition of the American Standard Version. The translators use the terms "Hebrew-Aramaic Scriptures" and "Christian Greek Scriptures" rather than "Old Testament" and "New Testament", stating that the use of "testament" was based on a misunderstanding of 2 Corinthians 3:14. When referring to dates in the supplemental material, the abbreviations "B.C.E." (Before the Common Era) and "C.E." (Common Era) are used rather than BC and AD.

The pronoun "you" is printed in small capitals (i.e., YOU) to indicate plurality, as are some verbs when plurality may be unclear. Square brackets [ ] are added around words that were inserted editorially, but were removed from the 2006 revision. Double brackets are used to indicate sources considered doubtful. Running headings are included at the top of each page to assist in locating texts and there is an index listing scriptures by subject.

The Old Testament of the New World Translation uses various circumlocutions intended to indicate progressive rather than completed actions, such as "proceeded to rest" rather than "rested" in Genesis 2:2. Greek verbs suggesting progressive action are treated in a similar way, for instance "keep on asking" rather than "ask" at Matthew 7:7.

Use of Jehovah

The name Jehovah is a translation of the Tetragrammaton (, transliterated as YHWH). According to Jewish tradition, the name of God was not spoken and the original pronunciation is unknown. The New World Translation uses the name Jehovah 6,973 times in the Old Testament, and also inserts the name 237 times in the New Testament where the original texts use terms for 'Lord' or 'God'. The translators believe that because the name was used liberally in the Greek and Hebrew manuscripts of the Old Testament available at that time, that the New Testament writers also used the name when quoting from them. They conclude that the lack of references to Jehovah in those quotations were the result of paraphrasing on the part of later copyists, as with the removal of God's name from the Old Testament.

Editions

The New World Translation is distributed in print editions commonly referred to as "Large Print" (four volumes), "Reference", "Regular (or Standard) Hard Cover", "Regular (or Standard) Soft Cover", and "Pocket". (As of 2011 the "Pocket" and "Soft Cover" editions are no longer being produced.) The regular editions incorporate the booklet, Bible Topics for Discussion (previously published separately in 1977 but updated for the 1981, 1984 and 2006 editions), which provides references to scriptures relating to various topics; several appendices containing arguments for various translation decisions, maps, diagrams and other information; and over 125,000 cross references. The reference edition contains the cross references and adds footnotes about translation decisions and additional appendices that provide further detail relating to certain translation decisions. Many of the non-English translations lack footnotes and some add language-specific footnotes.

Kingdom Interlinear

The New World Bible Translation Committee included the English text from the NWT in its 1969 and 1985 editions of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures. It also incorporates the Greek text published by Westcott and Hort in The New Testament in the Original Greek and a literal word-for-word translation.

Non-print editions

In 1978, the Watch Tower Society began producing recordings of the NWT on audio cassette, with the New Testament released by 1981 and the Old Testament in three albums released by 1990. In 2004, the NWT was released on compact disc in MP3 format in major languages. Since 2008, audio downloads of the NWT have been made available in 18 languages from the Worldwide Association of Jehovah's Witnesses website in MP3 and AAC formats, including support for Podcasts.

In 1983, the English Braille edition of the NWT's New Testament was released; the complete English Braille edition was released by 1988. NWT editions have since become available in several additional Braille scripts. Production of the NWT in American Sign Language began in 2006, with the complete New Testament made available by 2010; sign language editions are available for download from Jehovah's Witnesses' publication download website.

In 1992 a digital edition, New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures—With References, was released, as a set of seven 3½-inch 720 KB diskettes or four 5¼-inch 1.2 MB diskettes, using Folio View software. In 1993, New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures—With References/Insight on the Scriptures was released in English, as a set of 5¼-inch 1.2 MB or 3½-inch 1.44 MB diskettes, containing the New World Translation and the two volumes of Insight on the Scriptures. Since 1994, the NWT has been included in the digital research tool, Watchtower Library on CD-ROM, available only to baptized Jehovah's Witnesses. The NWT is available online at the Watch Tower Society's official website in various languages, and for download in English in PDF and EPUB formats.

Critical review

Overall review

In its review of Bible translations released from 1955 to 1985, The HarperCollins Bible Dictionary listed the New World Translation as one of the major modern translations.

The New Catholic Encyclopedia says of the NWT reference edition: "[Jehovah's Witnesses'] translation of the Bible [has] an impressive critical apparatus. The work is excellent except when scientific knowledge comes into conflict with the accepted doctrines of the movement." It criticizes the NWT's rendering of Kyrios as "Jehovah" in 237 instances in the New Testament.

Old Testament

Samuel Haas, in his 1955 review of the 1953 first volume of the New World Translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, in the Journal of Biblical Literature, stated that "this work indicates a great deal of effort and thought as well as considerable scholarship, it is to be regretted that religious bias was allowed to colour many passages."

Professor Benjamin Kedar, a Professor of History and Director of the Institute for Advanced Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said in 1989: "In my linguistic research in connection with the Hebrew Bible and translations, I often refer to the English edition of what is known as the New World Translation. In so doing, I find my feeling repeatedly confirmed that this work reflects an honest endeavor to achieve an understanding of the text that is as accurate as possible."

Regarding the NWT's use of English in the 1953 first volume of the NWT (Genesis to Ruth), Dr. Harold H. Rowley (1890–1969) was critical of what he called "wooden literalism" and "harsh construction." He characterized these as "an insult to the Word of God", citing various verses of Genesis as examples. Rowley concluded, "From beginning to end this [first] volume is a shining example of how the Bible should not be translated." Rowley's published review is dated January 1953, six months before the volume was actually released; Rowley did not update his review following the July 1953 release or the 1961 revision, and he died before the release of later revisions in 1970, 1971, and 1984.

New Testament

A 2003 study by Jason BeDuhn, associate professor of religious studies at Northern Arizona University in the United States, of nine of "the Bibles most widely in use in the English-speaking world," including the New American Bible, The King James Bible and The New International Version, examined several New Testament passages in which "bias is most likely to interfere with translation." For each passage, he compared the Greek text with the renderings of each English translation, and looked for biased attempts to change the meaning. BeDuhn reported that the New World Translation was "not bias free", but emerged "as the most accurate of the translations compared", and thus a "remarkably good translation", adding that "most of the differences are due to the greater accuracy of the NW as a literal, conservative translation". BeDuhn said the introduction of the name "Jehovah" into the New Testament 237 times was "not accurate translation by the most basic principle of accuracy", and that it "violate[s] accuracy in favor of denominationally preferred expressions for God", adding that for the NWT to gain wider acceptance and prove its worth its translators might have to abandon the use of "Jehovah" in the New Testament.

Theologian and televangelist John Ankerberg accused the NWT's translators of renderings that conform "to their own preconceived and unbiblical theology." Dr. John Weldon and Ankerberg cite several examples wherein they consider the NWT to support theological views overriding appropriate translation. Ankerberg and Weldon cite Dr. Julius R. Mantey, co-author of A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament and A Hellenistic Greek Reader, who also criticized the NWT, calling it "a shocking mistranslation."

Dr. William Barclay, Professor of Divinity and Biblical Criticism, concluded that "the deliberate distortion of truth by this sect is seen in the New Testament translation. ... It is abundantly clear that a sect which can translate the New Testament like that is intellectually dishonest."

Edgar J. Goodspeed, translator of the New Testament in An American Translation, wrote in a letter to the Watch Tower Society: "I am interested in the mission work of your people, and its world wide scope, and much pleased with the free, frank and vigorous translation. It exhibits a vast array of sound serious learning, as I can testify."

Robert McCoy stated "One could question why the translators have not stayed closer to the original meaning, as do most translators ... In not a few instances the New World Translation contains passages which must be considered as 'theological translations.' This fact is particularly evident in those passages which express or imply the deity of Jesus Christ."

Former American Bible Society board member Dr. Bruce M. Metzger concluded that "on the whole, one gains a tolerably good impression of the scholarly equipment of the translators," but identified instances where the translation has been written to support doctrine, with "several quite erroneous renderings of the Greek." Metzger noted a number of "indefensible" characteristics of the translation, including its use of "Jehovah" in the New Testament.

Unitarian theologian Charles Francis Potter stated about the NWT: "Apart from a few semantic peculiarities like translating the Greek word stauros, as "stake" instead of "cross", and the often startling use of the colloquial and the vernacular, the anonymous translators have certainly rendered the best manuscript texts, both Greek and Hebrew, with scholarly ability and acumen."

Religion writer and editor Alexander Thomson said of the NWT: "The translation is evidently the work of skilled and clever scholars, who have sought to bring out as much of the true sense of the Greek text as the English language is capable of expressing. ... We heartily recommend the New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures, published in 1950 by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society."

Thomas Winter, an instructor of Greek at the University of Nebraska, considered the Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures to be a "highly useful aid toward the mastery of koine (and classical) Greek," adding that the translation "is thoroughly up-to-date and consistently accurate."

Rendering of John 1:1

The New World Translation has been criticized for its rendering of John 1:1. Most English translations render this verse: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." By contrast, the NWT renders the verse: "In [the] beginning the Word was, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god." Controversy regarding the translation of John 1:1 is not unique to the NWT, but involves similar rendering of John 1:1 in such translations as Wilson's Emphatic Diaglott and Goodspeed's An American Translation.

See also

Bible translations by language

Jehovah's Witnesses publications

List of Watch Tower Society publications

References

Further information

Online edition

New World Translation - Jehovah's Witnesses' Official Web Site

New World Translation for download in digital audio formats

New World Translation for download in digital text formats

Supportive

Stafford, Greg: Jehovah's Witnesses Defended. [ISBN 0-9659814-7-9]

Furuli, Rolf: The Role of Theology and Bias in Bible Translation: With a special look at the New World Translation of Jehovah's Witnesses, 1999. [ISBN 0-9659814-9-5]

Byatt, Anthony and Flemings, Hal (editors): 'Your Word is Truth', Essays in Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (1950, 1953), 2004. [ISBN 0-9506212-6-9]

The Coptic Evidence

In Defense of the New World Translation

Neutral

BeDuhn, Jason: Truth in Translation - Accuracy and Bias in English Translations of the New Testament [ISBN 0-7618-2556-8]

The Names of God. Their Pronunciation and Their Translation. A Digital Tour of Some of the Main Witnesses.

Critical

Tetragrammaton in the New Testament

Robert Countess: Jehovah's Witnesses' New Testament: A Critical Analysis, [ISBN 0-87552-210-6]

NWT and the Deity of Christ - A table showing NWT changes to key Christological passages, written from an evangelical perspective

Hiding the Divine Name Article critical of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation

Category:1961 books Category:Jehovah's Witnesses literature Category:English Bible translations Category:German Bible translations Category:Chinese-language Bible translations Category:1961 in religion

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