Is the JW belief of a paradise earth unsubstantiated by Psalm 37 if the word earth should be translated land?

Question

I notice most translations of Ps 37:9,11,27 & 29 say the meek will possess/inherit the land, not the earth. This is because the Hebrew word can mean either land OR earth and context determines which it should be. Ps 37 says wicked people will not triumph over godly people, who will stay on the land - the Promised Land sworn to Abraham's descendants, their rightful inheritance with its boundaries as stated by God to Moses. In contrast, Ps 47:7 & 9 correctly means 'earth' in the sense of the whole world for it speaks of God's rule over all nations.

Now, I know other verses in the Bible speak of God's plans for the whole earth (Isa 45:18 Rev 21:3 etc) but I just want to check if the New World Translation is placing a wrong emphasis on Ps 37 which speaks of a Jewish inheritance, as does Isa 57:13 & 58:14. If that's also prophetic it must surely mean literal Jews who believe in Christ, NOT a future global paradise after Armageddon for JWs and the resurrected?

I think the JWs are correct to point out that Jesus quoted Ps 37 in the beatitudes, where it's rendered 'The meek shall inherit the earth'. I was just hoping one of them might have been open enough to admit that in Ps 37 it COULD be rendered 'land' even though they prefer to say 'earth' (meaning the world). They don't seem open to the idea that our planet Earth could be destroyed by fire, literally, then God will create a NEW Earth which will be an inhabited paradise. However all these prophecies pan out, could I suggest that the key word is not 'earth' but 'meek'? That involves a fair degree of humility, I suspect. Any adamant insistence that one has The Truth and Sole Interpretation Rights when it comes to understanding God's Word might disqualify that one from any inheritance, anywhere. Worth pondering?

For that reason I'm going to pick a JW answer (despite the many excellent non-JW answers) so that at least 1 JW might read this edit and... ponder! May God bless all who do.

Answer 1

I suppose at first blush, it might be seen that way. Consider the context, however. What else is promised according to these verses? The wicked will be no more. Verse 29 says the wicked will be destroyed and the just will possess the "land" and live in it forever. Did this take place for the Jews? No, it did not.

Moreover, this promises was reiterated by Christ himself at Matthew 5:5: "The meek will inherit the earth." (King James) One meaning for the Greek word here rendered earth, as given in the KJV New Testament Greek Lexicon, is: the inhabited earth, the abode of men and animals.

So, no, there is no reason to suggest that Jehovah's Witnesses or the NWT is placing wrong emphasis on the promises concerning earth.

Hannah J Paul

Answer 2

You see, actually, the words land and earth somehow have the same meanings. Even in the world of science, we use these two words interdependently depending on what the situation is. Different versions of the Bible use these words differently. Some are written in them, Adam was created out of the earth, some say, Adam came out of the land whilst some even use the word soil. The Bible tells us that before judgment, the earth would be destroyed and the righteous would be taken to heaven whilst the sinners would be thrown into the lake of fire that would be rained onto the earth. hence, I believe paradise would not be on earth but in a heavenly place where God had prepared for us.

Answer 3

The book of Revelation and 2 Peter 3:13 speak of "new heavens and a new earth." I believe that there will be a paradise Earth where Christians will rule and reign with Christ forever.

Answer 4

I'd never thought about this before, so I checked it out and the New International Version and the Good News Bibles both say land and not earth. Interestingly, the King James Version uses earth in Psalm 37:9 and 11, says neither earth nor land in verse 27 but uses land in verse 29. The footnote on Psalm 37:9 talks about God's people receiving secure entitlement to the promised land as the created and redeemed sphere and bountiful source of provision for the life of God's people.

Psalm 47:7-9 is a reference to the enthronement of God as world ruler, seated on his holy throne, in the Most Holy Place of the temple, where he takes the reins of world rule into his hands. Verse 9 is explicit in saying that God's promises to Abraham will be fulfilled.

2 Peter 3:10-13 talks about the day of the Lord coming like a thief: "The heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be lade bare. Since everything in it will be destroyed in this way... That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise (in Isaiah 65:17 and 66:22) we are looking forward to a new earth, the home of righteousness." It is very clear that the heavens (plural) and the earth (our planet) will be destroyed and God will create a new heavens and a new earth. Bible scholars suggest that the language of 2 Peter, Daniel and Revelation is apocalyptic and figurative.

I suspect that the New World Translation rendering of Psalm 37 with 'earth' rather than 'land' was done deliberately in order to fit in with their theology of a paradise earth to be inhabited by obedient JW's. They use this scripture as the basis of their door to door witnessing to persuade people who have never studied the Bible that they teach something unique. And it all sounds very plausible - until you start to compare their version of the Bible with others.

Sadly, because the majority of JW's are not in the new covenant, they can have no assurance that they will either survive Armageddon or be resurrected to life on a paradise earth. They seem to think that obedience to an organisation is all that is necessary. Recently, a JW who answered my question on those with an earthly hope said that the non-anointed JW's (those with the earthly hope) do not need a mediator to gain God's blessing of everlasting life and those who survive Armageddon are not declared righteous. What sort of a hope is that? Where's the assurance? Where, in fact, can any of that be found in the Bible? I'm afraid this is not the gospel message that Jesus taught.

Answer 5

Good morning, That's an interesting question.

The answer is no. Those restoration prophecies encompass the entire earth. Unless you believe that only a small portion of the earth and one ethnic group of people are the ones to benefit from Jehovah's promises. Not to mention that only one group of people would benefit from Christ's ransom sacrifice. Think about this. Before Adam & Eve sinned, God's purpose was that they and ALL their offspring live forever on a paradise earth that they would care for. That is still his purpose.

In the end, it's inconsistent to think Psalm 47:7,9 correctly means God's rulership earthwide and yet say that the benefits of abiding by his rule, such as living on a restored paradise, is limited to a select group in a select part of the world.

Thank you for getting my brain cells going this morning. Enjoy your day.

Answer 6

David was a prophet .

He was speaking about literal inheritance of the "twelve" tribes.

Here are the scriptures as translated by Judaic scholars:

9. For evildoers shall be cut off, and those who hope for the Lord-they will inherit the land.

11. But the humble shall inherit the land, and they shall delight in much peace.

22. For those blessed by Him will inherit the land, and those cursed by Him will be cut off.

29. The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell forever in it.


http://www.chabad.org/library/article.htm/aid/16258/jewish/Chapter-37.html

Here is the Strong's

ארץ - 'erets - eh'·rets - Earth

land, earth

1) whole earth (as opposed to a part)

2) earth (as opposed to heaven)

3) earth (inhabitants)

My opinion is that Jesus states the base of this Psalm in the Beatitudes.

Matthew 5:
5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

Answer 7

Sasi,

Like many of the O.T. promises, it has both a near and far fullfillment/application.

The idea that it does not pertain to Israel because it did not find complete fullfilment in Israels past is erroneous.
In Romans, chapters 9-11 tells us that God still has future plans for the nation of Israel. These plans are not to be "spiritualized" away.

One only needs to read the last 7 or 8 chapters of Eziekiel to see how literal these plans are. (Yes there is going to be an actual temple during Messiahs reign and actual animal sacrifices will be reinstituted by God)

The problem with the Watchtower view is that they are imposing a preconcieved theology on a text and isolating it.

The other mistake they cant seem to stop making is assuming that the christian (us, not them. they are not christans of course) ONLY has a heavenly hope. This is not true. Christians are going to live in a paradise on earth AND have a heavenly home.
This is what the 1000 year reign of Jesus and the new heavens AND the new earth are all about.

It seems that no matter how many times that the Jehovahs Witness is told this, they just go on assuming that THEY are the only people who are preaching a "Paradise on Earth".

I have come to the conclusion that they just like to misrepresent the christian position.

(I once had a JW in my home argue for an hour trying to convince me that there was going to be "A kingdom on earth" that would be a paradise and I could live in it forever. When I told him several times that I AGREED with him, he just kept talking, trying to convince me of this truth. He simply never heard a word I said. Which is par for the course. lol)

So, I believe the "short" answer regarding psalm 37 is: It means BOTH. (local and worldwide)

It is a specific promise to Israel regarding their future place in the Kingdom AND a general description of worldwide conditions during the Millinieum. (sic?)



....theBerean

Answer 8

The Earth.

Psalms 115:16, "the heavens are the LORD'S, but the earth He has given to men";

2Pe 3:13 "Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness."

Answer 9

Dear Sasi,

That is an excellent question.

From the perspective of one who reads the entire Bible each year I have to say that the JW belief of a paradise earth is unsubstantiated by the entire Bible.

When they talk of paradise earth I think of what Jesus said about patching an old coat with unshrunk cloth. It falls apart.

The Berean puts it well when he says:
Like many of the O.T. promises, it has both a near and far fullfillment/application.

The JW teachings try to match the near with the far and the far with the near and end up wth misinformation.

About 35 years ago my family and I were driving/moving from California to New England. We were just an hour into our cross country trip when we saw a road sign telling the distance to New York City - I've forgotten how many thousands of miles it was. That sign didn't give us the relevant information we needed for our immediate needs but it at least told us we were headed in the right direction.

But for JWs to talk about paradise earth it is another Red Flag Warning to not listen to them.

Edit:
I live with my daughter, her husband and their nearly 2 year old son. I have a great time observing, teaching and playing with my grandson! He wants to do everything he sees the adults doing. Every evening when he sees Mommy fixing dinner he goes to pull all of the groceries out of the pantry and brings them to me. He usually starts with the heaviest things, like the cooking oil first, saying "Heaby!, heaby!" Now that shorter days are here he also starts climbing on anything and everything to turn a light on.

As I watch my grandson trying to be so grownup I ponder how the Author of Life sees His children trying to deal with things that are in the future. Does He hold His tongue, so to speak, knowing that some of the "heaby" topics we discuss are age-appropriate and will pass as we grow in grace? One day my grandson will know that his favorite bottle of oil gets used for making dinner but it doesn't go on the dinner table.

My point is that we as finite beings struggle with a very tiny portion of the creation in a limited space and time. How can we possibly comprehend the Infinite Creator who stands outside of time and space?!!!

Edit 2:
Whenever I hear the JWs view of paradise earth I cannot help but be reminded of the 2 1/2 Israelite tribes that chose to settle OUTSIDE of the Promised Land.

For His glory,
JOYfilled

Answer 10

you are correct. the state of Israel will be established as God Promised Abraham. which will see Israel grow from it current size (about the size of Mass. in sq. miles & population) to more than 10 times.

this is the inheritence for the natural Jew as God had promised & swore to uphold an everlasting covenant. King dsavid will be the King of Jerusalem as the Messiah reigns the Earth from the 3rd temple. if you study this out you see that the temple area also grows beyond Jerusalem's current borders.

The Church does not replace Israel. we are graphed into the Tree. paul spoke quite a bit about this clarifing & rebuking the "replacement theology".

JW's also miss the mark on the sealed 144,000. most people know of this doctrine they teach as the elect group that goes to heaven while the rest of us inherit the earth/land as your question points out. but if you read the whole text the bible clearly identifies who the 144,000 sealed are, again they are the natural born Jew.

Revelation 7
4 And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed:
5 of the tribe of Judah twelve thousand were sealed;[a]
of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand were sealed;
6 of the tribe of Asher twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand were sealed;
7 of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand were sealed;
8 of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand were sealed.

remember that God promises to bring judgement upon all the nations that complel Irael to divide the land.......pray for our government that they would realize the "road map to Peace" is a road map to judgement!