In the examples below, the New International Version of the Holy Bible (New York International Bible Society, c. 1978) has been used to depict a correct translation in the first quotation. (The translators' choice of words is further verified by highly similar renditions in the King James Version, Revised Standard Version and New American Standard Bible.)

The second quotation in each example is derived from a post-1989 edition of the NWT (WTBTS of Pennsylvania and International Bible Students Association, c. 1984). References to actual Hebrew and Greek words are derived from Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Thomas Nelson, c. 1990), the Greek-English New Testament (Christianity Today, c. 1975) and Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words (McDonald, unabridged ed., n.d.)

Genesis 1:2

"Spirit of God" changed to "God's active force."

The revision modifies the original noun with a more impersonal form as the JWs reject the orthodox Christian belief in the personality of the Holy Spirit.

Exodus 3:14

"I am" changed to "I shall prove to be."

The revision clouds the connection between God's self proclaimed title and Jesus' proclamation of being the same in John 8:58, as the JW rejects the deity of Jesus.

Numbers 1:52

"Under his own standard" changed to "by his [three-tribe] division."

The Hebrew word degal translated as "standard" literally means flag or banner. Since the JWs regard saluting a flag as an act of idolatry, the text has been altered according to their doctrinal bias. (Same revision found in Num. 2:2, 3, 10, 18, 25; 10: 14, 18, 22, 25.)

Isaiah 43:10

"Nor will there be one after me" changed to "after me there continued to be none."

The original future tense of the verb indicates that there will never be another being sharing in God's divinity. The altered tense suggests credibility to the JW doctrine of Jesus' becoming a "mighty god" while still being less than Jehovah in nature. (See the John 1: I discussion below for another expression of this JW distortion.)

Ecclesiastes 12:7

"The spirit returns" changed to "the spirit itself returns."

The passage indicates the return of a human spirit to God after death. Since the JWs believe in an unconscious state after death, "itself' has been inserted to suggest a more impersonal reference to spirit.

Matthew 2:11

"Bowed down and worshipped him" changed to "did obeisance to it"

The JWs evade recognizing Jesus as worthy of worship as a divine being by altering the form of honor that he receives from men and angels. The Greek word proskuneo literally means "worship." The use of "obeisance" is a NWT adaptation. (Same revision found in Matt. 8:2; 9:18, 14:33; 15:25; 28:9, 17; Mark 5:6; 15:19; Luke 24:52; John 9:38; Heb. 1:6.)

Matthew 5:19

"Least in the kingdom of heaven" changed to "least in relation to the kingdom of the heaven."

The passage indicates that a disobedient believer who sins can still find forgiveness and eternal life. The JWs believe heaven is reserved for only 144,000 specially designated servants of God. The revision suggests more separation between these groups through a status hierarchy.

Matthew 25:46

"Eternal punishment" changed to "everlasting cutting-off."

The Greek word kolasis translated "punishment" indicates continuous torment, but the NWT revision suggests "termination," as the JWs promote the doctrine of annihilationism regarding condemned souls.

Mark 1:4

"Baptism of repentance" changed to "baptism [in symbol] of repentance. "

Nothing in the original Greek text justifies the insertion of "in symbol." The revision undermines the significance of John the Baptist's ministry, the Jewish meaning of baptism and the Christian sacrament of baptism in contrast to the more regimented JW baptism requirements.

Luke 12:8

"Acknowledges me" changed to "confesses union with me."

The addition of "union" suggest something more than what the original Greek actually states and adds further credibility to the NWT distortion presented in John 6:56 below.

Luke 23:43

'Today you will be with me" changed to "I tell you today, You will be with me."

Jesus assured the thief on the cross that their spirits would soon enter the spiritual/heavenly realm together. As the JWs reject the belief in the conscious survival of the human spirit after death, their revision suggests that "today" deals with the time of the statement rather than the relocation of their spirits.

John 1:1

"Word was God" changed to "Word was a god."

The JWs reject the orthodox Christian belief in the deity of Jesus. The revision asserts that Jesus was someone other than God Himself.

John 1:12

"Believe" changed to "exercise faith."

The orthodox Christian doctrine of spiritual justification and rebirth before God by belief in Jesus is in conflict with the JW doctrine of salvation by works (i.e., obedience to their organization). The revision attempts to describe salvation as a continuous process rather than a radical encounter and transition (Same revision found in John 3:16, 18; 6:29; Rom. 4:3, 10:4, 9, 10.)

John 6:56

"Remains in me" changed to "remains in union with me."

The mystical union between the individual human spirit and the Spirit of Jesus is obscured by restructuring "in" with a compound form. The substitution implies more separation between a Christian and Jesus. (Same revision found in John 14:20; Rom. 8:1, 2, 10; 12:5; 2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 3:28; Eph. 1:13*; 2:10, 13, 15, 21, 22; 3:6; Col. 1:14*, 16*, 27; 2:6, 10*, 11, 12*; 3:3; 1 Thes. 4:16; 5:18; 1 John 3:24; 4:4; 5:20. Verses with an asterisk (*) indicate where the revision uses "by means of" or "in relationship to" rather than "in union with.")

John 8:58

"I am" changed to "I have been."

Same intent as described in Exodus 3:14 above.

John 14:17

"Beholds him or knows him" changed to "beholds it or knows it."

The revision ignores the context of the pronoun with the Comforter role in the preceding verse to deny the personality of the Holy Spirit.

John 17:5

"Glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you" changed to "glorify me alongside yourself with the glory that I had alongside you."

The original text reflects the shared deity of God the Father and Jesus before the creation of the world, but the revision suggests different natures as implied by different states of glory.

John 17:21

"Are in me" changed to "are in union with me."

The original statement by Jesus indicates his shared deity with the Father. The revision undermines this by suggesting a greater separation between them.

Acts 2:17

"Pour out my Spirit" changed to "pour out some of my spirit."

The revision evades recognition of the Holy Spirit and His activity at Pentecost by suggesting an impersonal force activated to a more limited degree by God.

Acts 2:42

"Breaking of bread" changed to "taking of meals."

The passage demonstrates the frequency of the communion sacrament among the earliest Christians. The revision is an attempt to disguise this practice as the JWs teach that communion is reserved for only the 144,000 special saints. (Same revision found in Acts 20:7.)

Acts 4:12

"Be saved" changed to "get saved." The revision avoids recognizing that an individual commitment to Jesus provides immediate and complete salvation, as the JWs believe in an alternative salvation as prescribed by their organization. (Same revision found in Acts 16:30-31.)

Acts 10:36

"Lord of all" changed to "Lord of all [others]."

The revision suggests that even though Jesus is highly honored, he is still one among many of God's created beings. (Similar revisions found in Rom. 8:32; Phil. 2:9; Col. 1: 16-17.)

Romans 2:29

"By the Spirit" changed to "by spirit."

Although the definite article 'the" does not literally appear in the Greek, it is implied by the form that (pneuma) appears in. The revision, however, translates pneuma in a more abstract form to evade the reality of the Holy Spirit. (Same revision found in Rom. 15:19; Eph. 2:22; 3:5; Titus 3:5; James 2:26; 2 Peter 1:21.)

Romans 8:23a

"Have the firstfruits of the Spirit" changed to "have the firstfruits, namely the spirit."

This represents another form of disguising the separate personality of the Holy Spirit as in Rom. 2:29 above. The original text refers to the derivatives of the Spirit, but the revision identifies the spirit as a derivative.

Romans 8:23b

"The redemption of our bodies" changed to "the release from our bodies by ransom."

This revision avoids the suggestion that there is continuity of either body or soul after death. Their teaching that the soul ceases to exist at the death of the body precludes the ownership of, or relationship to, a body that must be redeemed.

Romans 8:28

"All things" changed to "all his works." The revision undermines the sovereignty of God by suggesting that He controls only the things He is directly involved in doing.

Romans 8:29

"Those God foreknew" changed to "those whom he gave his first recognition."

The revision obscures the nature of God's knowledge and power as a first recognition may or may not be foreknowledge.

Romans 9:5

"Christ, who is God over all, forever praised!" changed to "Christ, [sprang] according to the flesh: God who is over all, [be] blessed forever."

The direction proclamation that Christ is God is obscured by the altered text.

Romans 10:13

"Lord" changed to "Jehovah."

This revision obscures the fact that the Lord referred to in verse 13 is the same Lord called Jesus in verse 9. Since the JWs reject the deity of Jesus, the revision is made accordingly.

The Greek word, kurios, translated "Lord" has been revised to "Jehovah" over 200 times in the NWT. The JWs insist that this is the only valid title for God, even though Greek-speaking Jews used "Lord" and "God" in place of "Yahweh" (the source of "Jehovah") throughout their Septuagint translation of the Old Testament. Furthermore, the Bible contains dozens of names for God other than Lord, Yahweh, or Jehovah.

Romans 13:1

"Authorities that exist have been established by God" changed to "authorities stand placed in their relative positions by God."

Since the JW regard saluting a flag, military service and similar forms of submission to government as idolatry, they have added words to the text to weaken the proclaimed authority of government.

1 Corinthians 6:19

"Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit" changed to "the body of YOU people is [the] temple of the holy spirit."

To avoid recognition of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the individual believer, the revision modifies "body" to a more collective form in harmony with the opposing JW doctrine.

1 Corinthians 10:4

"The Rock was Christ" changed to "that rock-mass meant the Christ."

The passage depicts the preincarnate Jesus exhibiting his divine nature by being present many centuries earlier. This revision tries to conceal his eternal nature with a more figurative interpretation of "the Rock."

1 Corinthians 12:11

"As he determines" changed to "as it wills."

The NWT finds many ways to disguise the personality of the Holy Spirit. In this case the third person pronoun exercising individual conscience and will is replaced with an impersonal pronoun.

1 Corinthians 14:14-16

"Spirit" changed to "[gift of the] spirit."

Like several other Biblical passages, this one indicates the distinctive presence of the human spirit as distinguished from the mind and body. The JWs evade these distinctions and try to disguise them with related revisions.

1 Corinthians 15:2

"By this gospel you are saved" changed to "through which YOU are also being saved."

Similar to the Acts 16:30 revision above, this one again obscures the completeness of salvation by grace. The JW's salvation exists as an extended process ("being saved") with the outcome being uncertain until final judgment before Jehovah.

Galatians 6:18

"Your spirit" changed to "the spirit YOU [show]."

Similar to the I Cor. 14 revision above, this one attempts to obscure the reality of the individual human spirit by presenting it more as an attitude of action than an entity.

Philippians 1:23

"To depart and be with Christ" changed to "the releasing and the being with Christ."

Paul's eagerness indicates that the believer's spirit goes immediately into Christ's presence at death. The revision suggests that death and being with Christ are two separate steps in an extended process, as the JWs believe in soul sleep (i.e., the unconscious state of the human spirit awaiting the resurrection).

Colossians 1:19

"His fullness" changed to "fullness."

The definite Greek article (to), translated "his," indicates that Jesus shares the Father's divine nature as also shown in Col. 2:9. The revisions evade the truth by concealing the similarity of the two passages.

Colossians 2:9

"The fullness of deity" changed to "the fullness of the divine quality."

The Greek theotes, translated "deity," literally means divine essence or divinity. As the JWs reject the divine nature of Jesus, a revision is inserted to suggest that Jesus is limited to only divine-like characteristics.

I Timothy 4:1

"The Spirit" changed to "the inspired utterance."

This revision attempts to obscure the reality and activity of the Holy Spirit by representing it as a message instead of an entity. (Similar revisions found in 1 John 4:1, 3, 6 with "expression" being utilized in place of "utterance.")

Titus 2:13

"Our great God and Savior Jesus Christ" changed to "the great God and of [the] Savior of us, Christ Jesus."

Similar to the Rom. 9:5 revision shown above, a distinct proclamation of Jesus as God is obscured by the altered text. (Similar rewording also found in 2 Peter 1:1.)

Hebrews 1:8

"Your throne, 0 God" changed to "God is your throne."

The revision avoids addressing the Son, Jesus, as God to validate the JWs' rejection of his divine nature.

Hebrews 9:14

"The eternal Spirit" changed to "an everlasting spirit."

Similar to the Rom. 2:29 revision above, the switching of the article before the adjective represents the work of the Holy Spirit in a more indirect/ impersonal manner.

Hebrews 12:9

"Father of our spirits" changed to "Father of our spiritual life."

Similar to the I Cor. 14 revision shown above, this one tries to obscure the distinctive reality of human spirits by replacing them with a more abstract noun.

Hebrews 12:23

"The spirits of righteous men" changed to "the spiritual lives of righteous ones."

This revision represents the same noun-switching as described in Heb. 12:9 above.

Hebrews 12:28

"We are receiving a kingdom" changed to "we are to receive a kingdom."

An orthodox Christian understanding of the Kingdom recognizes it as primarily established through Jesus' victorious death, then further through post-resurrection displays of his power, and perpetually through the addition of new believers into God's family. The JWs teach that Jesus' Kingdom did not begin until his invisible return in 1914. The form of the Greek word for "receiving" (paralambano) implies a current condition, but the revision suggests a future event according to the JW doctrine.

1 Peter 1:11

"Spirit of Christ in them was pointing" changed to "the spirit in them was indicating concerning Christ."

Another example of the supernatural presence of Jesus in the life of a Christian is obscured again by this revision as the JW doctrinal view presents him as more limited.

I Peter 3:18-19

"By the Spirit, through whom" changed to "in the spirit. In this [state]."

Similar to several examples presented above, in this passage the presence and personality of the Holy Spirit is obscured with a more abstract representation of the Holy Spirit to accommodate the JW doctrine.

Jude 19

"Have the Spirit" changed to "having spirituality."

Similar to Gal. 6:18 above, this revision attempts to obscure the separate presence of the Holy Spirit.

Revelation 3:14

"Ruler of God's creation" changed to "beginning of the creation by God."

The altered prepositions distract from the sovereignty of Jesus indicated in the passage and suggests that the real power of creation was accomplished through the Father, as the JWs believe that Jesus is a created being.

Author's Note

Approximately one-forth of the verse citations above were derived from The New World Translation on Trial by Robert Bowman in the Christian Research Journal, 11: 3 (Winter/Spring, 1989), p.20. The rest of this inventory was compiled from the author's own comparisons of doctrinally critical verses with the references cited in the introduction. There are many more examples of Biblical distortions by the JWs than those presented here. This assortment is limited to the more detectable and doctrinally significant examples.

reprinted from the May/Jun 1994 Free Minds Journal

TrackBack URI for this entry

Comments (5)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

...
written by Cynde , January 15, 2010

I'm sorry to point this out but read what you wrote. Are you are saying that God and Jesus had the same power? if so, then your are implying that Jesus was the Father???

Matthew 6:9-13 (King James Version)
" 9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

13And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen."

Matthew 7;21" Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven."
those are from the King James Version

if Jesus was OUR Father God then why didn't he say his own name instead of OUR Father???
also in Matthew 7:21 he literately says my Father.

Matthew 8:29
29And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?
King James Version
The demons even know him as the Son of God. Are you saying the demons know more than you?
you judge yourself as for me I won't judge you cause it's not my job. All i know is God is Merciful, Gracious, Loving, and knows more than me and you put together. So let us pray that God Our Father help lead us on to the paths of righteousness and bring our minds to the truth so that we may worship you in spirit and in truth just as Jesus says in John 4:23 and forever stay on that path lord for we know that it leads us to you, In the name of your Son Jesus christ I pray. Amen.

report abuse

vote down

vote up

Votes: +0

...
written by Mercedes , February 11, 2010

May the Lord bless you and may the Holy Spirit guide you in understanding, in love and in Truth.

Here is a copy of a bible study regarding the Holy Trinity. I pray that it helps clarify all doubts.

****

The Holy Trinity is the Christian doctrine of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit three-in-one.

The word "Trinity" never occurs in the Bible. This is true for many words that Christians use, so it is a non-issue.

The first most obvious passage and most likely easiest to remember supporting the Trinity is John 1:1-2. It states, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God." This verse makes it obvious that God is not just one single being.

John 17:5 makes it clear that Jesus existed before the world existed. In it, Jesus prays, "So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed."

Jesus even affirms that He and the Father are the same in John 10:30. Here is what Jesus says in John 10:27-30. "My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father's hand. The Father and I are one."

The trinity is also affirmed in John 14:7-11 where Philip and Jesus are talking. Jesus says, "If you know me you will know my Father also. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him." Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied." Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.

How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does His works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves."

John 8:28 is also a very important verse. "So Jesus said, 'When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I am he and that I do nothing on my own, but I speak these things as the Father instructed me."

While the words "I am" may seem quite insignificant, this is not true in this case. The words "I am" play a very important role. When God talked to Moses, he said that His name is "I Am." Here, we once again see, "I Am." Jesus says, "I Am He."

If the Trinity were false, there would be no use in the command found in Matthew 28:16-20, it would also make the words of Jesus blasphemy.. It says, "Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.

And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.'"

It was blasphemy to put anybody or anything as high as God, and yet Jesus did exactly this. There would be no other way for Jesus to be sinless if He were not God as well.

Titus 3:8 also gives proof for the Holy Trinity. "For we ourselves were once foolish, disobediant, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, despicable, hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy, through the water of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. This Spirit he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

The saying is sure. I desire that you insist on these things, so that those who have come to believe in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works; these things are excellent and profitable to everyone."

....continues....

report abuse

vote down

vote up

Votes: +2

...
written by Mercedes , February 11, 2010

....Part II - continued...


In this passage, both God and Jesus are called Savior. Then, the Holy Spirit comes to us through Jesus.

Then, there is the blessing found in 2 Corinthians 13:13. "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you."

Even a few verses from the Old Testament can help point towards the Holy Trinity as well.

Genesis 1:26 "Then God said, 'Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea,and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.'"

Genesis 3:22 "Then the Lord God said, 'See, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now he might reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever.'"

Genesis 11:7 "Come, let us go down, and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand one another's speech."

Then, there are verses that would also be blasphemy in the Bible if the Holy Trinity were not true.

There's John 8:12 and 1 John 1:15. The first one talks about Jesus and the second one about God.

"Again Jesus spoke to them saying, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

"This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all."

Then there is Ezekiel 34:16 which talks about God and Luke 19:10 which talks about Jesus.

"I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, but the fat and the strong, I will destroy. I will feed them with justice."

"For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost."

Psalm 24:10 talks about God and 1 Corinthians 2:8 talks about Jesus.

"Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory."

"None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had they would not have crucified the Lord of glory."

1 John 1:15 talks about God and John 8:12 talks about Jesus.

"This is the messaage we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all."

"Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life."

In any of these, if Jesus were not God, this would be complete blasphemy. Praise God that Jesus is God and this is not the case.

While some people may not see it, there are plenty of things on earth to help them understand this mystery.

One of the simplest is three-leaf clovers. A three-leaf clover is one plant, but it has three leaves. If you take off a leaf, it is not a three-leaf clover any longer, just as if you took one entity of the Trinity away, it would not be God.

Another way to look at trying to pull the Holy Trinity apart is looking at an egg. Everybody will agree that an egg has three parts: The shell, the white, and the yolk. Together, these three things make an egg. It is possible to take a needle, put a hole in the egg shell, and drain the white and yolk into a bowl.

You can then take another bowl and separate the white and the yolk. You can set the shell in yet another bowl. If you look at the shell, it'll still look like an egg, but it won't be a real egg. The white and the yolk are missing. Each part is now missing two parts in order for it to be an egg. If you take apart each part of the Trinity, then it is no longer the triune God.

Yet, the most basic thing we have to help us understand is something that is crucial to all of our lives. It is something used in a sacrament of the church as well. That would happen to be water. Specifically, H2O. H2O can exist in three forms. It can be liquid water, steam, or ice. If there are enough temperature variations within a specific area, it can exist in all three forms at once.

Think of a snow capped mountain during a rainfall. There is obviously air, ice, and liquid water. The same is true if you get a glass of ice water and bring it near a stove where you are boiling water. All three states of H2O exist at one time. They always will exist at one time somewhere. You cannot separate these things and make it so one is not H2O. All of them will always be H2O no matter where they are.

It is the same with God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. All three are one.

*****Associatedcontent.com*****

report abuse

vote down

vote up

Votes: +2

...
written by anita , March 20, 2010

I love the way you explained it.

report abuse

vote down

vote up

Votes: +0

For Cynde
written by Grant53787 , July 30, 2010

For Cynde

Have you never read in the gospels Jesus says "if you have seen me you have seen the Father. And again "The Father and I are one"? Perhaps you should stop trying to quantify a mysterious being and simply excersize faith

report abuse

vote down

vote up

Votes: +0