Why in 1971 was Hebrews chapter 1 verse 6 from the New World Translation altered from 'worship' to 'do obeisance to' yet originally it had been translated 'worship' in 1950 1961 and 1970?

Answer 1

The Greek word pro·sky·ne·sa′to·san actually means to prostrate one in the presence of, or to bow down to. It has a connotation of the actual act of doing the bowing down to, or obeisance. The term worship can refer to a broader sence, since we also worship by our everyday actions such as by our obedience. In other words, when we worship, we are not always doing so in a prostrated position, yet the Greek word found in that passage literally has reference to someone in a prostrated position, or bowing down to. In order to remain consistent with the correct shade of the meaning of the word found in the ancient Greek text, it was seen fit to use the terminology in our language that best fits what the Greek word actually means. But since it can also mean to do an act of worship, the NWT Refernce Edition contains a footnote on that scripture that says "or worship." See comments moved to discussion page