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New World Translation
The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (NWT, also simply NW) is a translation of the Bible published by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society; it is used and distributed by Jehovah's Witnesses. The New Testament portion was released first in 1950 as the New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures, with the complete New World Translation of the Bible released in 1961.
It is not the first Bible to be published by the Watch Tower Society, but it is its first translation into English. Commentators have noted that scholarly effort went into producing the translation but many have described it as "biased".
Until the release of the New World Translation, Jehovah's Witnesses in English-speaking countries primarily used the King James Version. According to the publishers, one of the main reasons for producing a new translation was that most Bible versions in common use, including the Authorized Version (King James), employed archaic language. The stated intention was to produce a fresh translation, free of archaisms. Additionally, over the centuries since the King James Version was produced, more copies of earlier manuscripts of the original texts in the Hebrew and Greek languages had become available. According to the publishers, better manuscript evidence had made it possible to determine with greater accuracy what the original writers intended, particularly in more obscure passages, allowing linguists to better understand certain aspects of the original languages.
A fresh translation of the New Testament, which Jehovah's Witnesses usually refer to as the Christian Greek Scriptures, was proposed in October 1946 by the president of the Watch Tower Society, Nathan H. Knorr. Work began on December 2, 1947, when the "New World Bible Translation Committee" was formed, composed of Jehovah's Witnesses who professed to be anointed. The Watch Tower Society is said to have "become aware" of the committee's existence a year later. The committee agreed to turn over its translation to the Society for publication and on September 3, 1949, Knorr convened a joint meeting of the board of directors of both the Watch Tower Society's New York and Pennsylvania corporations where he again announced to the directors the existence of the committee and that it was now able to print its new modern English translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures. Several chapters of the translation were read to the directors, who then voted to accept it as a gift. The New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures was released at a Jehovah's Witness convention at Yankee Stadium, New York, on August 2, 1950.
The translation of the Old Testament, which Jehovah's Witnesses refer to as the Hebrew Scriptures, was released in five volumes in 1953, 1955, 1957, 1958, and 1960. The complete New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures was released as a single volume in 1961, and has since undergone various revisions. Cross references that had appeared in the six separate volumes were updated and included in the complete volume in the 1984 revision.
In 1961, the Watch Tower Society began to translate the New World Translation into Dutch, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish; the New Testament in these languages was released simultaneously in July 1963 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. By 1989, the New World Translation was translated into eleven languages, with more than 56,000,000 copies printed.
For many years, the New World Translation was thought to be the Watch Tower Society's first original translation of ancient Biblical Hebrew, Koine Greek, and Old Aramaic biblical texts, until the re-discovery of the German Magdeburger Bibel ("Magdeburg Bible"), formally called Die heiligen Schriften ("The Holy Scriptures").
The New World Translation was produced by the New World Bible Translation Committee, formed in 1947. This committee is said to have comprised unnamed members of multinational backgrounds. The committee requested that the Watch Tower Society not publish the names of its members, stating that they did not want to "advertise themselves but let all the glory go to the Author of the Scriptures, God," adding that the translation, "should direct the reader, not to the translators, but to the Bible’s Author, Jehovah God". The publishers stated that "the particulars of [the New World Bible Translation Committee's members] university or other educational training are not the important thing" and that "the translation testifies to their qualification".
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New World Translation AI simulator
(@New World Translation_simulator)
New World Translation
The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (NWT, also simply NW) is a translation of the Bible published by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society; it is used and distributed by Jehovah's Witnesses. The New Testament portion was released first in 1950 as the New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures, with the complete New World Translation of the Bible released in 1961.
It is not the first Bible to be published by the Watch Tower Society, but it is its first translation into English. Commentators have noted that scholarly effort went into producing the translation but many have described it as "biased".
Until the release of the New World Translation, Jehovah's Witnesses in English-speaking countries primarily used the King James Version. According to the publishers, one of the main reasons for producing a new translation was that most Bible versions in common use, including the Authorized Version (King James), employed archaic language. The stated intention was to produce a fresh translation, free of archaisms. Additionally, over the centuries since the King James Version was produced, more copies of earlier manuscripts of the original texts in the Hebrew and Greek languages had become available. According to the publishers, better manuscript evidence had made it possible to determine with greater accuracy what the original writers intended, particularly in more obscure passages, allowing linguists to better understand certain aspects of the original languages.
A fresh translation of the New Testament, which Jehovah's Witnesses usually refer to as the Christian Greek Scriptures, was proposed in October 1946 by the president of the Watch Tower Society, Nathan H. Knorr. Work began on December 2, 1947, when the "New World Bible Translation Committee" was formed, composed of Jehovah's Witnesses who professed to be anointed. The Watch Tower Society is said to have "become aware" of the committee's existence a year later. The committee agreed to turn over its translation to the Society for publication and on September 3, 1949, Knorr convened a joint meeting of the board of directors of both the Watch Tower Society's New York and Pennsylvania corporations where he again announced to the directors the existence of the committee and that it was now able to print its new modern English translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures. Several chapters of the translation were read to the directors, who then voted to accept it as a gift. The New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures was released at a Jehovah's Witness convention at Yankee Stadium, New York, on August 2, 1950.
The translation of the Old Testament, which Jehovah's Witnesses refer to as the Hebrew Scriptures, was released in five volumes in 1953, 1955, 1957, 1958, and 1960. The complete New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures was released as a single volume in 1961, and has since undergone various revisions. Cross references that had appeared in the six separate volumes were updated and included in the complete volume in the 1984 revision.
In 1961, the Watch Tower Society began to translate the New World Translation into Dutch, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish; the New Testament in these languages was released simultaneously in July 1963 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. By 1989, the New World Translation was translated into eleven languages, with more than 56,000,000 copies printed.
For many years, the New World Translation was thought to be the Watch Tower Society's first original translation of ancient Biblical Hebrew, Koine Greek, and Old Aramaic biblical texts, until the re-discovery of the German Magdeburger Bibel ("Magdeburg Bible"), formally called Die heiligen Schriften ("The Holy Scriptures").
The New World Translation was produced by the New World Bible Translation Committee, formed in 1947. This committee is said to have comprised unnamed members of multinational backgrounds. The committee requested that the Watch Tower Society not publish the names of its members, stating that they did not want to "advertise themselves but let all the glory go to the Author of the Scriptures, God," adding that the translation, "should direct the reader, not to the translators, but to the Bible’s Author, Jehovah God". The publishers stated that "the particulars of [the New World Bible Translation Committee's members] university or other educational training are not the important thing" and that "the translation testifies to their qualification".