What makes a Bible translation accurate? Why do Jehovah's Witnesses claim their's is most accurate?

Question

Would it be one that was written by people uneducated in biblical language such as Greek? What if the people never graduated college and never studied anything regarding translation or biblical studies and basically had no credentials to translate? What if this bible had drastic differences when compared to all of the other mainstream creditable bibles that strangely seemed to have words inserted and changed to fit their sects doctrines?

What bible could I be talking about...

http://www.contenderministries.org/jehovahswitnesses/nwt.php#Notes

P.S. for those of you that say this site is bias, go buy 5 different versions of bibles from a book store and find these same passages and compare them to the New World Translation. You will see for yourself how absurd the changes are. You will also notice that no one is sited for constructing the NWT, they tried to keep the people secret. Gee I wonder why...

*Correction, some may have graduated college I'm unsure, however they didn't have any degree related to the creditials required to create a proper bible translation.

Answer 1

"What makes a Bible translation accurate?" - That would be the ability to transfer the meaning of the original text to the language being translated into.

"Why do Jehovah's Witnesses claim their's is most accurate?" - Because the Watchtower Society told them that it is.
.

Answer 2

Jesus said his Father was looking for ones who would worship Him in spirit and truth. :) If truth is what you're after, you may want to check out a book called "Truth in Translation, Accuracy and Bias in English Translations of the New Testament" by Jason David BeDuhn. The author gives some interesting answers to the questions you've posed.

The author is a highly regarded associate professor of religious studies at NAU in Flagstaff, Arizona. He is not one of Jehovah's Witnesses and voices criticism of their use of God's name in the New Testament, but he explains that the reason the New World Translation seems so much different from most English bibles is that it is not based on the King James Version as most are, whereas the NWT adheres closely to the original manuscripts on which translations should be based.

Apparently, many translations do not indicate that words have been inserted even when these change the meaning of the text. Jason BeDuhn noted that the NWT at least marks the places where words have been added and that the "words are fully justified by what is implied in the Greek". Translation of any material requires that words be chosen so that the reader can understand the context based on their own language and rules of grammar, punctuation, etc.

As for the fact that the translators of the NWT are anonymous, other bible translators have also chosen to remain unknown. It is not the imperfect human translators that need our recognition but He that gave us His light.

Answer 3

Not only that, if you buy bibles that were published going back every 10 years (the King James versions), you will find numerous corrections from mistranslations. The History Channel aired a show about this, one exampled of a mistranslation they talked about was how Moses and the Israelites crossed the "Reed Sea" not the "Red Sea". The Reed Sea is a lot less steep, and a crossing of it wouldn't have been as dramatic or miraculous. This poses a question, "Could translators purposely said it was the "Red Sea" for effect. Wouldn't be the first time followers of a religion acted overzealous. Doesn't mean the book isn't inspirational to a lot of people and helped them to become better people, improving their lives. But the statement people make that "God" wouldn't let mistranslations happen just isn't true.

Answer 4

A Bible translation is accurate based on translating the thoughts included into the current language, in a manner that maintains the understanding. The NWT was NOT translated by persons "uneducated in Biblical langauge such as Greek". I've noticed that most people with a bias against witnesses like to slip in completely untrue statements into their question, in order to make their false point seem more realistic.

As for our Bible having some differences, we maintain that it is a more accurate translation. Why? Those who put forth the effort to translate it did so, with a view towards gaining accurate knowledge, not supporting current doctrines. Also bear in mind, that the Tetragrammaton, the four consonants representing God's name (YHWH) translated today as Yahweh or Jehovah, occured in the Bible over 6,000 times. This was not a titlem, such as God. This was a name. and this name was removed over 6,000 times. Right there, we have at least 6,000 points of accuracy the NWT contains that others do not.

And lastly, the writers of the books didn't translate the books to get credit for it, or to make a name for themselves. If you research the books, you can find the names of those who took part in the translation. It's not a secret.

Answer 5

Only people schooled in the language and understanding of the people who first wrote the Biblical books can make an accurate translation.

This is no different than asking who can translate a book written in Spanish more accurately. Somebody who knows Spanish well, obviously.

Answer 6

I am able to read the New Testament in the original Greek langauge, and with an interlineral version (Hebrew with the English word over each Hebrew word to help with words I am not that familiar with) to read the Hebrew Old Testament.

Comparing the New Word (JW's translation) with the original language, it is a very poorly translated version. It skips whole sections of verses, add lengthy sections that are not there in the original, rearranges words in an order not support by the original language, and is inconsistent in how it translates words, often using 15-20 different English words in places for translating the same Greek or Hebrew word.

There are a couple areas in which the NWT is superior to most others, that it is very careful to always translarte the word היה as Jehovah, not Lord. And it is very careful to distinquish between the words Shoel, Hades and Gehenna, which are all normally translated Hell in other versions. (But then both are translates that they actively use to "prove" that all other versions of the Bible are inaccurate).

But after comparing the NWT with the standard Greek text, and with a copy I found of the Greek text they claim to have translated it from published by them (which is word for word the same as the one used for the King James), I would have to the the translation an "F" for accuratcy. It violates ever rule of translation (Bible or otherwise).

Answer 7

I understand your pain and your confussion. I don't blame you for trying so hard to promote something that isn't there. Well, like what Anna had stating above Dr this and Dr that and with all the different Bible translations quoting about John 1:1. These all men's thoughts and thinkings, and these men they have something in common. They are travel on the broad and spacious road; whereas NWT is traveling through the narrow road. --Matthew 7:12,13.

Here's another good scriptures for you. Isaiah 55:8,9 states: “For the thoughts of YOU people are not my thoughts, nor are my ways YOUR ways,” is the utterance of Jehovah. 9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than YOUR ways, and my thoughts than YOUR thoughts."

I'm pretty sure all of JWs are really happy to go through the narrow gate into the narrow and cramp road. What really matter is what is awaiting us at the end of road.

No one is excluded to travel on the narrow road (even you).

Answer 8

I am civil engineer with a M.D and Jehovah´s witness i have a greek bible and is very obvious the change in John 1:1 you don´t have to be a genious only know how to read.

The word god written two times in different ways. is very easy to see it.

Jason David BeDuhn, Ph.D. is an historian of religion and culture, currently Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Northern Arizona University. He first gained brief national attention at the age of 18 when remarks he made in a speech to the high school graduating class of Rock Island, Illinois, sharply critical of oppressive attitudes towards youth by older generations of Americans, were widely reported in the American press. He defended his remarks in subsequent radio and television appearances by pointing to the historical contribution of youth to social idealism and cultural innovation. Pursuing the historical study of religion, he received his doctorate from Indiana University in 1995. He won the Best First Book Award from the American Academy of Religion in 2001 for his book The Manichaean Body in Discipline and Ritual (ISBN 0-8018-6270-1), notable for its analysis of religions as goal-oriented systems of practice rationalized within particular models of reality.

He subsequently wrote Truth in Translation: Accuracy and Bias in English Translations of the New Testament (ISBN 0-7618-2556-8), which generated controversy when he found the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (published by Jehovah's Witnesses) and the New American Bible (published by the American Catholic Church) to be more accurate than other respected translations linked to Protestant constituencies. He had criticisms for every translation he reviewed, finding a consistent pattern of anachronistically imposing of modern Christian views onto the biblical text. He has also been active on the www in discussions (two of which can be read online still) notably with evangelicals/trinitarians where he has argued against certain translations (not interpretations) often used by such in support of their belief that Jesus Christ is "God," maintaining that a wide variety of views about the nature and status of Christ were held by early Christians and are discernible in the Bible.

Answer 9

The New World Translation was translated directly from Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek into modern day English by a panel. These are the comments from them "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. They also feel a reponsibility toward the searching readers who depend upon a translation of the inspired Word of the Most High God for their everlasting salvation."

As a basis for translating the Hebrew Scriptures, the text of Rudolf Kittel's Biblia Hebraica, editions of 1951-1955 was used. The 1984 revision of the NWT benefited from updating in harmony with the Biblia Stuttgartensia of 1977. Additionally, the Dead Sea Scrolls and numerous early translations into other languages were consulted. For the Christian Greek Scriptures, the master Greek text of 1881 as prepared by Westcott and Hort was used primarily, but several other master texts were consulted as well as numerious early versions in other languages.

Since the translators have chosen to remain anonymous, because that are not seeking prominence for themselves, but only to honor the Divine Author of the Holy Scriptures. The question cannot here be answered in terms of their educational background. The translation must be appraised on its own merits.

The NWT is a accurate , largely literal translation from the original languages. It is not a loosely paraphrase, in which the translators leave out details that they consider unimportant and add ideas that they feel will be helpful.

Why is the name Jehovah used? It should be noted that the NWT is not the only translation to do this. The Emphatic Diaglott (1864) contains the name Jehovah 18 times. Versions of the Christian Greek Scriptures in at least 38 other languages also use the vernacular form of the divine name.

According to Jerome of the fourth century C.E., the apostle Matthew wrote his Gospel first in Hebrew, and that Gospel makes numerous quotations of passage from the Hebrew Scriptures that contain the divine name.

Professor George Howard of the University of Georgia wrote: "Since the Tetragram was still written int he copies of the Greek Bible which made up the Scriptures of the early church, it is reasonable to believe that the New Testament writers, when quoting from Scripture, preserved the Tetragram within the biblical text." Journal of Biblical Literature March 1977 pg 77.

Why some verses missing? Those verses, found in some translations, are not in the oldest available Bible manuscripts. So other modern translations, such as The New English Bible and the Catholic Jerusalem Bible, shows that other translators have also recognized that the verses in questions do not belong in the bible.

Answer 10

I believe you are referring to the New World Translation. You are correct. Other translations do differ slightly due to time, place , dialect, and history but they do not differ substantially in meaning because they all use original source material as much as possible and are typically done ecumenically to avoid doctrinal insertions. The NWT is used exclusively by Jehovah's Witnesses and was done exclusively by Jehovah's Witnesses. No one else that knows what that book is and where it came from considers it a legitimate translation.

Answer 11

How many of the original writers of the Bible had any education, let alone advanced religious education?

Answer: 1 Saul of Tarsus, later called Paul, but his advanced education told him that these uneducated followers of an uneducated ex-carpenter who was executed for cause, were a cult, going house to house trying to teach their fellow Jews that the rituals, beliefs, and holiday observance, dating back hundreds of years was no longer valid. Worse, they were writing their own scriptures to support their strange beliefs, rather than relying on the Holy Torah.

With all his education, Saul of Tarsus could not see the light of truth. It took being blinded for him to see the light. So, having an education doesn't really mean much. It does not give you any special sense of the truth.