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Why does the NEW WORLD TRANSLATION, published by Jehovah's Witnesses include "Jehovah" over 7,000 times in place of "Lord" or "God"? Did they make it up to support their own purposes? As of 1990, this translation has appeared in 11 languages with more than 56 million copies printed. The NEW WORLD TRANSLATION has been the subject of controversy since its original release in 1950 of the Christian Greek Scriptures. Rather than speculating, though, the information is publicly available. If you wish to have a more complete explanation, you may obtain your own copy from the Publishers of the New World Translation. (See the end of this document) This file is intended to be a SHORT reference to some reasonable sources of information in this crucial matter: the name of God and it's place in the Bible. ------------------------------------------------------------- Please read the following excerpt from "ALL SCRIPTURE IS INSPIRED OF GOD AND BENEFICIAL" published by the Watchtower Society (1990 edition, pg 327, paragraphs 1,2) "In recent years a number of modern Bible translations have been published that have done much to help lovers of God's Word to get the sense of of the original writings quickly. However, many translations have eliminated the divine name from the sacred record. On the other hand the New World Translation dignifies and honors the worthy name of the Most High God by restoring it to its rightful place in the text. The name now appears in 6,973 places in the Hebrew Scripture section, as well as 237 places in the Greeks Scripture section, a total of 7,210 places all together. The from YAHWEH is generally preferred by Hebrew scholars, but certainty of pronunciation is not now attainable. Therefore, the Latinized form JEHOVAH continues to be used because it has been used for centuries and is the most commonly accepted English rendering of the Tetragrammaton, or four letter Hebrew name (YHWH) (*note: the article shows the actual Tetragrammaton at this place). Hebrew scholar R. H. Pfeiffer observed: "Whatever may be said of its dubious pedigree, 'Jehovah' is and should remain the proper English rendering of YAHWEH." "The New World Translation is not the first version to restore the divine name in the Christian Greek Scriptures. From at least the 14th century onward, many translations have felt forced to restore God's name to the text, particularly in places where the Christian Greek Scripture writers quoted from Hebrew Scripture texts that contain the divine name. Many modern-language missionary versions, including African, Asian, American, and Pacific-island versions of the Greek Scriptures, use the name Jehovah liberally, as do some European-language versions. Wherever the divine name is rendered, there is no longer any doubt as to which "lord" is indicated. It is the Lord of heaven and earth, Jehovah, whose name is sanctified by being kept unique and distinct in the "New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures". NEW WORLD TRANSLATION with References Appendix 1A "The greatest indignity that modern translators render to the Divine Author of the Holy Scriptures is the removal or the concealing of His peculiar personal name. Actually his name occurs in the Hebrew text 6,828 times as (YHWH or JHVH), generally referred to as the Tetragrammaton (literally meaning "having four letters"). By using the name "Jehovah" we have held to the original-language texts and have not followed the practice of substituting titles such as "Lord," "the Lord," "Adonai" or "God" for the divine name, or Tetragrammaton." The following are brief excerpts from various popular modern translations. (from Editions that I have at home) ------------------------------------------------------------- KING JAMES VERSION (Dictionary at the back) "Tetragrammaton" - "The four letters YHWH forming the sacred name of the supreme Deity. Whenever the words "Lord " and "God" appear in large and small capital letters in the OT, the original Hebrew text uses YHWH. Now sometimes written "Jehovah." "Jehovah" - "The Lord; God. Used by some Bible translators for the covenant God of Israel" (*NOTE: Although only including the Divine Name 4 times in this translation, the substituted "Lord" or "God" indicate where the Tetragrammaton belongs.) AMERICAN STANDARD VERSION Preface: The change first proposed in the Appendix - that which substitutes "Jehovah" for "Lord" and "God" (printed in small capitals) - is one which will be unwelcome to many, because of the frequency and familiarity of the terms displaced. But the American Revisers, after a careful consideration, were brought to the unanimous conviction that a Jewish superstition, which regarded the Divine name as too sacred to be uttered, ought no longer to dominate in the English or any other version of the Old Testament, as it fortunately does not in the numerous versions, made by missionaries....This personal name, with its wealth of sacred associations, is now restored to the place in the sacred text to which it has an unquestionable claim." (Includes the Divine Name in the text throughout the Bible) REVISED STANDARD VERSION (C)1946,1952 Preface: "A major departure from the practice of the American Standard Version in the rendering of the Divine Name, the "Tetragrammaton." The American Standard Version used the term "Jehovah"; the King James Verson had employed this in four places, but everywhere else,, except in three cases where it was employed as part of a proper name, used the English word Lord (or in certain cases God) printed in capitals. The present revision returns to the practice in the reading, which follows the prece-practice in the reading in the reading of the Hebrew scriptures in the synagogue." (*NOTE: The translators chose to follow a TRADITION of many translators, but, at the same time, they recognize that God's personal name belongs in the Bible.) THE BIBLE IN LIVING ENGLISH Preface: "....But the spelling and pronunciation are not highly important. What is highly important is to keep it clear that this is a personal name. There are several texts that cannot be properly understood if we translate this name by a common noun like "Lord," or, much worse, by a substantivized adjective." (*NOTE: Shows that, despite variations in the way the Tetragrammaton is pronounced, it is to be included in the text) NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION Preface: "In regard to the divine name YHWH, commonly referred to as the Tetragrammaton, the translators adopted the device used in most English versions of rendering that name as "Lord" in capital letters to distinguish it from Adonai, another Hebrew word rendered "Lord", for which small letters are used." (*NOTE: This shows that the translators admit to following the TRADITION of many translators, but also acknowledge the divine name's rightful place in the text of the Bible) --------------------------------------------------------------------- ------- "All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial" is a 353 page, hardcover book that summarizes and provides historical background to each of the 66 books of the Bible. It also has additional chapters that provide background information on the Bible as a whole: - A Visit to the Promised Land - Time and the Holy Scriptures - Measuring Events in the Stream of Time - The Bible and Its Canon - The Hebrew Text of the Holy Scriptures - The Christian Greek Text of the Holy Scriptures - The Bible in Modern Times - Advantages of the 'New World Translation' - Archaeology and the Inspired Record - The Bible - Authentic and True - The Inspired Scriptures Bring Eternal Benefits If you wish, the Reference Edition of the New World Translation is available. It contains an appendix which gives details of why and how this translation renders the divine name. Appendix 1A The Divine Name in the Hebrew Scriptures Appendix 1B Scribal Changes Involving the Divine Name Appendix 1C The Divine Name in Ancient Greek Versions Appendix 1D The Divine Name in the Christian Greek Scriptures Appendix 1E "Sovereign Lord" - Heb., - 'Adho nai' Appendix 1F "The [true] God" - Heb., - ha'Elohim' Appendix 1G "The [true] God" - Heb., - ha'El' Appendix 1H "The [true] Lord" - Heb., ha'Adhohn' Appendix 1J Titles and Descriptive Terms Applying to Jehovah Appendix 2A Extraordinary Points - Puncta extraordinaria Appendix 2B Emendations (Corrections) of the Sopherim - "Tiqqune Sopherim" Appendix 2C Scribal Changes Involving the Divine Name Appendix 3A Hebrew and Greek Transliterations Appendix 3B Hebrew Prefixes and Suffixes Appendix 4C Hebrew Verbs Indicating Continuous or Progressive Action plus 28 other appendices for further information, please contact: Watchtower Bible and Tract Society 25 Columbia Heights Brooklyn, New York 11201 or Watchtower Bible and Tract Society Box 4100 Halton Hills (Georgetown) L7G 4Y4