Who wrote the Jehovah Witness Bible and when?

Answer 1

Jehovah's Witnesses did not rewrite The Bible. They brought out their own version starting in the 1950s. Prior to this they used Byington's version and the King James. In fact the WTBTS owns printing plates to the the King James version.

We use many translations, but the one we generally use is the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, a modern English translation which accurately translates the thoughts of the original Biblical languages of Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek.

It has many fine features, the most notable of which is the fact that it restores the divine Name יהוה, YHWH or Yahweh in Hebrew, Jehovah in English, to the text where the majority of translators blasphemously removed it from their versions, replacing it with LORD or GOD usually in all upper uppercase letters, which proves a deliberate action of deceit on their part.

other perspective

Contrary to the above, the Watchtower organisation developed the New World Translation of the Bible in 1961. As a 'translation, it is panned by almost all Greek scholars and Biblical historians. Adjectives used have included:"a frightful mistranslation,.. Erroneous...pernicious...reprehensible...intellectually dishonest...from beginning to end a shining example of how the Bible should not be translated...a shocking mistranslation...Obsolete and incorrect...It is neither scholarly nor reasonable...a distortion not a translation... and many others.

Its insistence on calling God 'YHWH' is offensive to Jews for whom a superstition became law that the name of God was deemed so holy that it should never be uttered. Thus they replaced it in speech with 'Adonai', which we translate as 'Lord'. JWs do not realise the offence they cause by their mistranslation of the Bible as none of the panel who translated the NWT were Greek or Biblical scholars, but were, themselves, JWs who translated verses incorrectly to back up their theology.

Such examples are:

1. The complete removal of whole verses for various reasons, most of which are to do with upholding JW theology and removing verses that disagree with it:

eg. Matthew 17:21, Matthew 18:11, Matthew 23:14, Mark 7:16, Mark 9:44, Mark 9:46 Mark 11:26, Mark 15:28, Mark 16:9-20 (all 12 verses!!), Luke 1:28, Luke 17:36, Luke 23:17, John 5:4, Acts 8:37, Acts 15:34, Act 24:6-8, Acts 28:29, Romans 16:24,

2. The removal of parts of phrases so as to dismiss the divinity of Jesus Christ as recorded in scripture so that they can then back up their bogus theology with 'scripture':

eg

• Colossians 1:2 this phrase removed: "and the Lord Jesus Christ"
• Colossians 2:2 another phrase removed: "and of the Father, and"
• I John 5:13 this phrase removed: "and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God"
• Rev 1:11 this phrase, commenting on the divinity of Jesus Christ, completely removed: "I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last"
• Rev 2:15 -- important phrase COMPLETELY removed "which thing I hate"
• Rev 21:24 removed: "of them which are saved"

Especially: I John 5:7 -- A vitally important phrase that was completely removed. In the Jehovah's Witness "New World Translation" it says, "For there are three witness bearers". The original Greek and the Christian Bible states: "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one." This is one of the greatest verses testifying of the trinity. That is why the Jehovah's Witnesses leave it out. They do not believe in the trinity and they do not believe that Jesus is God.

Of course JWs would have us believe that their 'scripture' is right and the others wrong and that Trinitarian theology is wrong and a work of Satan (as they believe it is).

Yet they cannot argue that the original Greek of 1 John 5:7 irrefutably mentions the Father (petra) the Son or Word (ie Jesus - logos) and the Holy Spirit (pneuma) and that these three are one in a Trinitarian Godhead.

Therefore, to all intents and purposes the JW organisation rewrote scripture to back up their own beliefs.

Additional Comment on 1 John 5:7 - Ask almost any clergy of Christendom and they will acknowledge that this verse was not in the original manuscripts, and is in truth, spurious.

Answer 2

The Bible Jehovah's Witnesses use today is based on the same ancient scrolls that all modern day Christian Bibles are based on.

In fact, this year they announced a museum quality display with many copies of older Bible translations. (See related links).

Initially, Jehovah's Witnesses used the King James Version of the Bible.

As translation has improved in recent years, it made it available for others to translate into more current language being used which makes it easier for translation into other languages.

Jehovah's Witnesses have great appreciation for all versions of the Bible, and have taken great care in helping millions of people learn more about the Bible.

Their recent release of a revised english Bible has made it the most current translation possible, using 21st century english.

Answer 3

Jehovah's Witnesses don't have their own bible. They prefer to use a translation from the Hebrew-aramic and greek scriptures that was originally writted by famous bible figures such as Moses, Paul, John and Joshua.

So in reality, the bible that Jehovah's witnesses use is the same as the ones that was written long ago, just translated in English.

But then there are different versions of the bible. New international Version does not have more complicated translation and some scripture is left out. King James Version has also removed a few things to fit the Catholic's needs.

Jehovah's Witnesses DO NOT use a version. They use a translation. A translation is different, it is from one language to the next and no change. A version is a slight deviation from the original concept.

Like playing a game. Pac-man version two, its not pac-man the original, its another game entirely, so too is the versions of the bible.

But lets say pac-man was in Spanish only. Then it would be Translated into English. Same game, different language. So too is the "New world Translation of the Holy Scriptures" Which is the translation Jehovah's Witnesses used.

When was the first copy? I did a little research. A old 1984 Translation was considered the most accurate of the time. What is the difference between this and the King James. Modern English. Now one uses 'Thou','art' and 'thine' any more. Even spell check does not recognize the words. New World translation uses 'You', 'are' and 'I'. It is easy to read.

Now who translated it is a good question. I don't know them by name, but I know they are intelligent, using computers to translate everything to another language and even making sure its accurate.

Answer 4

In 1961 the Jehovah Witness released it's own "translation" of the Bible, which they call the "NWT".