Why do Jehovah Witness endorse there translation?

Question

Some JW's say there are secular scholars endorsments, but what are there name?

What about a reputable(well known for his/her work) one?

Answer 1

Jehovah's Witnesses attach no particular infallibility or inspiration to the New World Translation, which they print and distribute. Witnesses actually use many different translations in their personal bible reading and research. As many householders are well-aware, Jehovah's Witnesses are happy to use any translation which an interested person may prefer, and in fact Jehovah's Witnesses themselves distribute other translations besides NWT.

Incidentally, there are about 6.5 million active Jehovah's Witnesses around the globe. By comparison there are over 130 million copies of NWT in print. Even if every Witness has four bibles, that still implies that 80% of these bibles are being used by non-Witnesses. A printed copy can be requested using the online form or by writing to a local branch address:
https://watch002.securesites.net/contact/submit.htm
http://watchtower.org/how_to_contact_us.htm

The entire text of NWT is freely available at the official website of Jehovah's Witnesses:
http://watchtower.org/bible/

The NWT easily stands on its own merits. Since the same manuscripts used by the NWT translators are still widely available for study, and since there are dozens of alternate translations for comparison, anyone who chooses to use NWT does so informedly.

When critics of Jehovah's Witnesses extend their criticism to the New World Translation, their blind hatred for this Christian religion is exposed. Since its publishing, secular experts of Hebrew and Greek have consistently refused to condemn any particular verse or phrase as an unacceptable translation. Instead, it is religionists with preconceived theologies who bigotedly insist upon particular wordings, since these are necessary to prop up the shakey tenets of their false worship.

(2 Timothy 4:3-5) For there will be a period of time when they will not put up with the healthful teaching, but, in accord with their own desires, they will accumulate teachers for themselves to have their ears tickled; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, whereas they will be turned aside to false stories. You, though, keep your senses in all things, suffer evil, do the work of an evangelizer, fully accomplish your ministry.

It seems signficant that the relatively small religion of Jehovah's Witnesses are the ones best known for their worldwide preaching work. Yet Jesus commanded that ALL who would call themselves "Christian" perform this public work:

(Matthew 28:19,20) Go therefore and make disciples of people of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit, teaching them to observe all the things I have commanded you. And, look! I am with you all the days until the conclusion of the system of things.

Learn more:
http://watchtower.org/library/pr/article_04.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/na/
http://watchtower.org/e/20020915/article_01.htm
http://www.watchtower.org/e/20050715/article_02.htm

Answer 2

Jason BeDuhn, reviewed these scriptures:

John 1:1; John 8:58; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:15-20; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 1:8; 2 Peter 1:1

in these bibles:

King James Version,
New American Standard Bible,
New International Version,
New Revised Standard Version,
New American Bible,
Amplified Bible,
Today's English Version (Good News Bible),
Living Bible,
and the New World Translation.

and found that only the NWT translated all these verses correctly and without bias.

He said the other bibles compared were hindered by "Protestant Burden"

Edwin H. Palmer, Th.D., Executive Secretary for the NIV’s committee calls it " We are the victims of 350 years of the King James tradition."

Which means that if a bible doesn't agree with the KJV, people will consider it "Untruth", or "Inaccurate"

Jason BeDuhn also said the problem with the other bibles considered was that the translators are headed by theologians.

I appreciated his comment that you would think a bible produced by one organization (NWT) would be bias, where a bible that had 100 theologians (NIV) would be the most accurate.

But he found the opposite to be true.

Answer 3

The Jehovah Witnessess are not a Christian religion first off.
The NWT translation is not a good translation. It has changed the text to suit its own theological bias in many places.
Many Jehovah's Witnesses will tell you that they derive their doctrines from the Bible and only from the Bible. In reality, they derive their doctrines from what the Watchtower says about the Bible.

Additionally, the Watchtower says only its organization understands the Bible
"Only this organization functions for Jehovah's purpose and to his praise. To it alone God's Sacred Word, the Bible, is not a sealed book." (The Watchtower; July 1, 1973, pp. 402.)
"All who want to understand the Bible should appreciate that the "greatly diversified wisdom of God" can become known only through Jehovah's channel of communication, the faithful and discreet slave." (The Watchtower; 10/1/1994; p. 8.)

The Watchtower Organization is the only way to understand the Bible.

Only this organization functions for Jehovah's purpose and to his praise. To it alone God's Sacred Word, the Bible, is not a sealed book. The Watchtower; July 1, 1973, pp. 402.

"We all need help to understand the Bible, and we cannot find the Scriptural guidance we need outside the ‘faithful and discreet slave' organization." (The Watchtower, Feb. 15, 1981.)

"...people cannot see the Divine Plan in studying the Bible by itself...if he then lays them [Scripture Studies] aside and ignores them and goes to the bible alone, though he has understood his Bible for ten years, our experience shows that within two years he goes into darkness. On the other hand, if he had merely read the Scripture Studies with their references, and had not read a page of the Bible, as such, he would be in the light at the end of the two years, because he would have the light of the Scriptures." The Watchtower, Sept. 15, 1910, p. 298.

"Thus the Bible is an organizational book and belongs to the Christian congregation as an organization, not to individuals, regardless of how sincerely they may believe that they can interpret the Bible." The Watchtower, Oct. 1, 1967. p. 587.

"The world is full of Bibles, which Book contains the commandments of God. Why, then, do the people not know which way to go? Because they do not also have the teaching or law of the mother, which is light. Jehovah God has provided his holy written Word for all mankind and it contains all the information that is needed for men in taking a course leading to life. But God has not arranged for that Word to speak independently or to shine forth life-giving truths by itself. His Word says: "Light is sown for the righteous." (Ps. 97:11) It is through his organization that God provides this light that the proverb says is the teaching or law of the mother. If we are to walk in the light of truth we must recognize not only Jehovah God as our Father but his organization as our mother." The Watchtower, May 1, 1957, p. 274.

Channel to understanding the Bible... All who want to understand the Bible should appreciate that the "greatly diversified wisdom of God" can become known only through Jehovah's channel of communication, the faithful and discreet slave. The Watchtower; 10/1/1994; p. 8.

Answer 4

I think the biggest reason is that I've bought Interlinear Greek Translations of the New Testament at Bible book stores. By comparing it, I found how much is right with the NWT.

Answer 5

In my humble opinion... the JW bible is translated conveniently close to there particular believes that are contrary to Orthodox christianity. For example, they say that early manuscripts do not use comma's... and then go on to place commas in unusual places to alter a scriptural meaning.

EXAMPLE Verily I say unto you, this day yea shall be with me in Paradise. VS Verily I say unto you this day, yea shall be with me in Paradise

Answer 6

Some, like certain apostates today, are disloyally working as Satan's agents to undermine the faith of newly associated members of the Christian congregation. (2 Corinthians 11:13) Rather than simply use the Bible as the basis for true teachings, they concentrate on trying to discredit the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, as if Jehovah's Witnesses were wholly dependent on it for support. But this is not so. For the best part of a century, the Witnesses used primarily the King James Version, the Roman Catholic Douay Version, or whatever versions were available in their language, to learn the truth about Jehovah and his purposes. And they used these older versions in proclaiming the truth about the condition of the dead, the relationship between God and his Son, and why only a little flock go to heaven. Informed persons are also aware that Jehovah's Witnesses continue to use many translations of the Bible in their worldwide evangelizing work. Since 1961, however, they have additionally enjoyed the use of the New World Translation, with its updated, accurate translation and fine readability.

Jesus said he would disown many who profess faith in him. He acknowledged that they might prophesy, expel demons, and "perform many powerful works" in his name. Still, he identifies these as works of "lawlessness." (Matthew 7:21-23) Why? Because they are not doing the will of his heavenly Father and are worthless as far as Jehovah God is concerned. Unusual, even seemingly miraculous, works today can still originate with the archdeceiver, Satan. The apostle John, writing his first general letter over 60 years after Jesus' death and resurrection, counseled that Christians should "not believe every inspired expression, but test the inspired expressions to see whether they originate with God." We need to do the same.-1 John 4:1.

"British Bible scholar Alexander Thomson" noted that the New World Translation is outstanding in accurately rendering the Greek present tense. To illustrate: Ephesians 5:25 reads "Husbands, continue loving your wives" instead of saying merely "Husbands, love your wife." (King James Version) "No other version appears to have exhibited this fine feature with such fulness and frequency," said Thomson regarding the New World Translation

Certain unfamiliar terms supposedly invented by Jehovah's Witnesses are supported by other Bible translations or reference works. At Luke 23:43, the New World Translation records Jesus' words to the criminal executed with him: "Truly I tell you today, You will be with me in Paradise." In the original Greek, there were no punctuation marks such as commas; but usually some kind of punctuation is inserted by translators to help with the reading. Most, however, make Luke 23:43 read as though Jesus and the criminal were bound for Paradise that very day. The New English Bible reads: "I tell you this: today you shall be with me in Paradise." Not all convey this thought, however. """"Professor Wilhelm Michaelis""""" renders the verse: "Truly, already today I give you the assurance: (one day) you will be together with me in paradise." This rendering is much more logical than that of The New English Bible. The dying criminal could not have gone with Jesus to Paradise that same day. Jesus was not resurrected until the third day after his death. In the meantime he was in Hades, mankind's common grave.-Acts 2:27, 31; 10:39, 40.

"Professor Benjamin Kedar", a Hebrew scholar in Israel, 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."

ACCORDING to classical Greek scholar "Dr. Rijkel ten Kate", Dutch Bible translations fail to render certain words accurately. For example, in Luke chapter 2, we find three different Greek words (bre´phos, pai·di´on, and pais) employed to describe the successive stages of Jesus' growth. Each of these words has a different shade of meaning. However, in many Bibles, two or all three of these words are vaguely rendered "child." What is the correct translation?

"Dr. ten Kate" explains that in verse 12 the Greek word bre´phos means "a newborn, or baby." Pai·di´on, used in verse 27, means "little boy or child," and pais, found in verse 43, should be rendered "boy." "As far as I know," wrote Dr. ten Kate in the March 1993 issue of Bijbel en Wetenschap (Bible and Science), "not one Dutch translation has rendered this adequately, that is to say, completely in harmony with the original text."

Later, "Dr. ten Kate" was shown the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, which is available in 12 languages, including Dutch. His reaction? "I am very surprised," he said, "that there is actually one Dutch Bible in which the different use of the three Greek words bre´phos, pai·di´on, and pais is rightly taken into account." Does the New World Translation translate these verses in harmony with the original Greek text? "Completely in agreement," responds Dr. ten Kate.

"Jason BeDuhn", associate professor of religious studies at Northern Arizona University, in Flagstaff, Arizona, U.S.A., examined and compared for accuracy eight major translations, including the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, published by Jehovah's Witnesses. The result?

While critical of some of its translation choices, "BeDuhn" called the New World Translation a "remarkably good" translation, "better by far" and "consistently better" than some of the others considered. Overall, concluded BeDuhn, the New World Translation "is one of the most accurate English translations of the New Testament currently available" and "the most accurate of the translations compared."-Truth in Translation: Accuracy and Bias in English Translations of the New Testament.

BeDuhn noted, too, that many translators were subject to pressure "to paraphrase or expand on what the Bible does say in the direction of what modern readers want and need it to say." On the other hand, the New World Translation is different, observed BeDuhn, because of "the greater accuracy of the NW as a literal, conservative translation of the original expressions of the New Testament writers."

As the New World Bible Translation Committee acknowledges in the foreword to its work, it is "a very responsible thing" to translate the Holy Scriptures from their original languages into modern speech. The Committee goes on to say: "The translators of this work, who fear and love the Divine Author of the Holy Scriptures, feel toward Him a special responsibility to transmit his thoughts and declarations as accurately as possible."

Answer 7

Because they deny Jesus Christ as their LORD.

There translation says what they want it to say.