Why Did the Jehovah's Witness Governing Body Stop Printing their Kingdom Interlinear Translation (KIT)?

Question

The Kingdom Interlinear Translation (a Greek Interlinear) reads:

"This but is the everlasting life in order that they may be knowing you the only true God and whom you sent forth Jesus Christ."

The NWT translated it as "taking in knowledge of you" BUT the Greek text in the KIT says something quite different..."they may be knowing you." We need to know God through Jesus Christ in order to have everlasting life. All the knowledge in the world will not save us.

Yet the Watchtower Society, by altering the scripture here accomplishes two things in its own self-interest. First, since they dispense "knowledge" through the printed page, it follows that they want their people to be forever "taking in knowledge". Thus the distortion to fit their preconceived ideas. Secondly, they do not want their followers seeking after a relationship with Christ, but dependent instead on their organization. What do you think?

Visit: http://www.macgregorministries.org/jehovahs_witnesses/kit.html

Answer 1

Kingdom Interlinear Translation is a current publication of Jehovah's Witnesses, but that translation is a research tool available only in English (meaning that it benefits a minority of Jehovah's Witnesses and a minority of their students).

By contrast, during the past twenty years or so Jehovah's Witnesses have concentrated on translating, publishing, and printing a day-to-day bible in languages which may not have had a quality bible, and especially a bible which consistently respects the divine name of God (יהוה or YHWH or Jehovah).

In 1989, 56 million copies of New World Translation had been distributed, in whole or in part in only 11 languages. By 1994, that had increased to 72 million in 18 languages. By 1997, it was 91 million in 27 languages. By 2000, it was 100 million in 34 languages, yet still only 80% of Jehovah's Witnesses had a NWT in their mother tongue.

By 2002, it was 114 million in 42 languages. By 2006, New World Translation was available in whole or in part in FIFTY-EIGHT LANGUAGES. Jehovah's Witnesses had distributed over 140 million bibles. Their work continues.

In some of these languages, New World Translation is the ONLY bible printed in a single volume. In other languages, NWT became the first new translation in perhaps a century (and perhaps the first quality translation). Would the questioner pretend that the mere CONVENIENCE of English-speaking bible students should outweigh the NEED of bible-starved Christians around the globe?

Again, Kingdom Interlinear is a current publication. Hundreds of thousands of copies are in public libraries across the United States, and every Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses has a copy in its library. The whines of apparently inconvenienced bible students such as this questioner are sadly typical of self-centered self-righteous persons.


Sadly, this so-called "question" seems less concerned with magnifying the Divine Author and more concerned with demeaning Jehovah's Witnesses. Jehovah's Witnesses have distributed more than 145 million copies of "New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures", in dozens of languages.
http://watchtower.org/languages.htm

The entire text of NWT is freely available at the official website of Jehovah's Witnesses, and a personal printed copy can be requested at no charge:
http://watchtower.org/bible/
https://watch002.securesites.net/contact/submit.htm
http://watchtower.org/how_to_contact_us.htm


Jehovah's Witnesses certainly like NWT, but they are happy to use any translation which an interested person may prefer, and in fact Jehovah's Witnesses themselves distribute other translations besides NWT. Jehovah's Witnesses attach no particular infallibility or inspiration to NWT.

The "New World Translation Committee" which oversaw the translation work request anonymity 'en perpetuity', and are likely all dead since the primary work was completed 45 years ago. Guesses at specific names have always been merely guesses. 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.

It seems that the vast majority of the criticism against the New World Translation is actually as a proxy for blind hatred against Jehovah's Witnesses. The hatred must be "blind" since secular experts of biblical 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 shaky 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 significant 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/e/20000622/
http://watchtower.org/e/na/
http://watchtower.org/e/20020915/article_01.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/20050715/article_02.htm

Answer 2

As to why (if they have) stopped printing the Interlinear I don't know.

There is a problem with 'word for word' translations of sentences.

Example: What is the word for word translation of the sentence vs the actual translation:

"Let's go Dutch" doesn't mean let's go to Holland.

or

If someone said, "That car is cool." doesn't mean the car is cold.

Expressions can have different meanings from their word for word translation.


As to the quality of the interlinear and the NWT please read.
“It Is the Best Interlinear New Testament Available”
THAT is how Dr. Jason BeDuhn describes The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures. He explains:
“I have just completed teaching a course for the Religious Studies Department of Indiana University, Bloomington, [U.S.A.] . . . This is primarily a course in the Gospels. Your help came in the form of copies of The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures which my students used as one of the textbooks for the class. These small volumes were invaluable to the course and very popular with my students.”
Why does Dr. BeDuhn use the Kingdom Interlinear translation in his college courses? He answers: “Simply put, it is the best interlinear New Testament available. I am a trained scholar of the Bible, familiar with the texts and tools in use in modern biblical studies, and, by the way, not a member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. But I know a quality publication when I see one, and your ‘New World Bible Translation Committee’ has done its job well. Your interlinear English rendering is accurate and consistent to an extreme that forces the reader to come to terms with the linguistic, cultural, and conceptual gaps between the Greek-speaking world and our own. Your ‘New World Translation’ is a high quality, literal translation that avoids traditional glosses in its faithfulness to the Greek. It is, in many ways, superior to the most successful translations in use today.”
The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures contains The New Testament in the Original Greek on the left-hand side of the page (compiled by B. F. Westcott and F. J. A. Hort). A literal word-for-word English translation is found under the lines of Greek text. In the narrow right-hand column is the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, which allows you to compare the interlinear translation with a modern English translation of the Bible.

“This is no ordinary interlinear: the integrity of the text is preserved, and the English which appears below it is simply the basic meaning of the Greek word. . . . After examining a copy, I equipped several interested second-year Greek students with it as an auxiliary text. . . . The translation by the anonymous committee is thoroughly up-to-date and consistently accurate. . . . In sum, when a Witness comes to the door, the classicist, Greek student, or Bible student alike would do well to bring him in and place an order.”—From a review of The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures, by Thomas N. Winter of the University of Nebraska, appearing in The Classical Journal, April–May 1974.

.

Answer 3

I think you've been copy/pasting from a website to spread spam.

You are right that we must know God, how else can we know someone without taking knowledge about them.

It seems you wish to nitpick.

As for your comment about us not wanting to seek after a relationship with Christ, I guess you didn't know one of our latest assemblies was entitled Follow the Christ, and was about the very thing you claim we won't do.

Answer 4

Please take a look at John 17:3 in the NWT version and see the footnote. It gives you the other transalation which is “Or, “their knowing you.” Gr., hi´na gi•no´sko•si se.”

Please also get Vine's Expository Dictionary where it says, under 'know':

"GINOSKO...signifies to be taking in knowledge, to come to know, recognize, understand, or to understand completely..."

Why are you making an issue about “taking in knowledge” when Vine’s Dictionary even translated ginosko as that?

Answer 5

To be knowing....
To take in knowledge....

What difference does it make when in the end the person has acquired knowledge?

You don't HAVE to use the NWT. Use your preferred version. You'll still be knowing (taking in knowlegde).

Answer 6

You can come up with a number of meaningless questions by hanging around anti-witness websites.

Do you usually ask a question and then answer it? So what do you really want? For others to pat you on the back for your great insight, which just happens to be the thoughts of others?

More venom, Unsliced Ham?

Answer 7

The Greek literally means "to learn to know."

How can one get know someone, especially someone they have never literally seen or met, without taking in knowledge of that one.

Rather than picking apart phrases from Scriptural, it would behoove you to adhere to that admonition rather than obtaining information from websites whose goal is to tear down rather than to build up.

Meanings:
1) to learn to know, come to know, get a knowledge of perceive, feel
a) to become known
2) to know, understand, perceive, have knowledge of
a) to understand
b) to know
3) Jewish idiom for sexual intercourse between a man and a woman
4) to become acquainted with, to know

Synonyms:
G1097 - a knowledge grounded on personal experience
G1492 - to see with the mind's eye, signifies a clear and purely mental perception
G1987 - a knowledge obtained by proximity to the thing known, cf. our understanding
G4920 - implies a native insight, knowledge gained through the five senses

http://cf.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G1097&Version=kjv

Answer 8

I didn't know that they stopped publishing it. I hope not - I thought it was excellent.

But I find this very interesting. I studied with JW's at one time and they really were hung up on studying and "gaining knowledge" - not that I think that's a bad thing. I love to read and learn, so I actually liked that.

But what you said is spot on. They emphasize "taking in" knowledge - reading and studying - as if that's the key to eternal life. But it's not the knowledge in the head - it's the "knowing God" as in having a relationship with Him, that is key.

Excellent point.

Answer 9

While you waste your time, 7 million people around the world are explaining to people what is God´s kingdom and what will be the purpose of God to this planet and mankind and what will be the conditions under the 1000 years kingdom.

You with your hatred question at least can reach 5 people but daily near of 800 people become Jehovah´s witnesses and help in the spread of the message that Jesus command his followers to spread in Matthew 24:14.

Whil you are wasting time and your Qs don´t make people think about the future the millions almost billions of publications and our dedicated´s time to preach, give to the people the hope of the future Kingdom that God almighty under the guide of his annoited king will fix all the injustice of this planet.

as you can see nobody cares about your Qs, when I post a Qs about the bible and about the future a lot of people answers agree or not agree but give a comment and if they reject the purpose it is up to them but with your comment you are doing nothing cause JWs don´t care cause we are seeing how our last "prophecy" of how all false religion will be removed and we are seeing in the news all the sex scandals in church and how many "Christians" leader are supporting political parites and their hypocrisy for their greedy and their lust is being show in CNN , like gays pastors, megachurch and all the investiguation about the money , important universities cracking as ORal Roberts Etc .

We are not stupids, we have eyes to see how muslims and Chrsitians are fighting showing that both are not following the advice of abstain of blood in war, Catholics selling properties to pay for sexual abuse and now this political campaing supporting groups that previously criticized showing that have doble moral.

My friend you have more prblem in your own yard that what we have, we are only 7 millions ,why don´t you try to "save" people of your own church that live in adultery or what are you doing to stop "Witchcraft" that according to statics in less than 5 years ther will be near of 20 millions of young people engaged in that, 20 TIMES more that all JWs in USA and three times more that all JWs around the world, what do yo prefer a JWs as your neighbor or a "Witchcratf" as your neighbor?

Answer 10

Maybe they fired their only person who could translate accurately, and they can't have that happen....they printed a diaglot, in the 50"s with most of the scriptures translated accurately also..John1:1 is correct in that one, but incorrect in any other Watchtower document.