by Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
Text: Isaiah 8:19-22<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nI. Members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses have become excited in recent times. An author\nwith a Ph.D. after his name has written a book saying the New World Translation and the\nNew American Bible (a Catholic translation) are the most accurate translations.\n
A. He compared nine translations:<\/p>\n
1. King James Version<\/p>\n
2. New Revised Standard Version<\/p>\n
3. New International Version<\/p>\n
4. New American Bible<\/p>\n
5. New American Standard Bible<\/p>\n
6. Amplified Bible<\/p>\n
7. Living Bible<\/p>\n
8. Today’s English Version<\/p>\n
9. New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures<\/p>\n B. He claims that because he teaches at a state university and claims no religious\npreference that he can minimize bias in his judgement.\n
C. He makes the determination on the following:<\/p>\n 1. Bowing to Bias: Which is more accurate “bow” or “worship” in Matthew\n28:9 and related verses?\n 2. Grasping at Accuracy: Did Jesus not “exploit” his equality with God or did\nhe not “grasp” for equality with God at Philippians 2:6?\n
3. When is a Man Not a Man?: This chapter deals with gender bias issues.<\/p>\n 4. Probing the Implicit Meaning: Should words be added to translated text of\nColossians 1:15-20 to clarify the Greek meaning?\n 5. Words Together and Apart: Should Titus 2:13 be translated to read that\nJesus and God are the same or should they be differentiated?\n 6. An Uncertain Throne: Which is the least biased translation of Hebrews\n1:8. “Your throne O God” or “God is your throne”?\n 7. Tampering with Tenses: What is the correct tense to use in the English\ntranslation of John 8:58.\n 8. And the Word Was … What?: Should the English translation of John 1:1\nsay (essentially) that Jesus is “God” or “divine”?\n 9. The Spirit Writ Large: When should the Greek word for “spirit” (such as\nused in “holy spirit”) be capitalized? \n D. For people familiar with Jehovah’s Witnesses doctrine, alarm bells ring because\nmost of those issues are ones central to Jehovah’s Witnesses. This is not a\ntheologically neutral list.\n E. The plot thickens when you learn that Dr. Beduhn uses the Kingdom Interlinear\nTranslation for his Greek classes at Northern Arizona State University – an\ninterlinear text following Westcott – Hort’s Greek text (not one of the better texts),\npublished by … the Jehovah’s Witnesses.\n F. Oh, and Jason BeDuhn received his Master of Arts in Theological Studies from\nHarvard Divinity School. He received a PhD from the University of Indiana in\nComparative Religious Studies. While he teaches Greek at the university, his\ndegree is not in Koine Greek, he is not a known Greek scholar, nor a Bible\ntranslator.\n
G. In other words, there is justified concern that his claims are biased.<\/p>\nII. Perhaps you don’t know this, but the Jehovah’s Witnesses do not claim that the\ntranslation was done by translators who knew Hebrew and Greek.\n A. “A translation committee of experienced anointed Christians was organized to\nproduce the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures in English.”\n[Watchtower<\/i>, October 15, 1997, “How the Bible Came to Us, p. 11-12.]\n 1. “Experienced” means they had been a part of the Jehovah’s Witnesses for\na long time.\n
2. “Anointed” means they were inspired by the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n B. During a court trial in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1954, Fred Franz, head of the\nJehovah’s Witnesses publicity department, was asked to explain how the\ntranslation and interpretation of the Bible was made. Mr. Franz replied, they\nemanated from God, “passed to the Holy Spirit who, invisible, communicates with\nJehovah’s Witnesses – and the publicity department.”\n C. “Fred Franz however, was the only one with sufficient knowledge of the Bible\nlanguages to attempt translation of this kind. He had studied Greek for two years\nin the University of Cincinnati but was only self-taught in Hebrew.” [Crisis of\nConscience<\/i>, Raymond Franz, page 50].\n 1. When asked in the courtroom if he could translate Genesis 2:4 into\nHebrew, Mr. Fanz replied that he could not.\n D. The other four translators: Nathan Knorr, Albert Schroeder, George Gangas, and\nM. Henschel, had no Hebrew or Greek training and had only high school level\neducations.\n
III. Examples<\/p>\n
A. Genesis 1:2<\/p>\n 1. “Now the earth proved to be formless and waste and there was darkness\nupon the surface of [the] watery deep; and God’s active force was moving\nto and fro over the surface of the waters.” (NWT)\n 2. The Hebrew phrase, weruach elohim<\/i>, is literally “the Spirit of God,” but\nJehovah’s Witnesses reject the idea of a being known as the Holy Spirit, so\nverses where the Spirit is active are modified.\n 3. Interestingly, in other passages where ruach<\/i> appears, such as Genesis 6:3\nand 41:38, they retain the translation “spirit,” though they make sure not to\ncapitalize the word.\n
B. Exodus 3:14<\/p>\n 1. “At this God said to Moses: ‘I shall prove to be what I shall prove to\nbe.’ And he added: ‘This is what you are to say to the sons of Israel, “I\nshall prove to be has sent me to you.”’” (NWT)\n 2. The Hebrew phrase, ‘eheyeh ‘asher ‘eheyeh<\/i>, literally is “I am who I am.”\nBut Jesus alludes to this statement in John 8:58 by calling himself “I am,”\nand Jehovah’s Witnesses reject the deity of Jesus so this passage was\nmodified.\n
C. Numbers 1:52<\/p>\n 1. “And the sons of Israel must encamp each with reference to his camp and\neach man by his [three-tribe] division by their armies.” (NWT)\n 2. The Hebrew phrase ‘al-dighlo<\/i>, literally means “besides his banner,” bu\nJehovah Witnesses regard saluting a flag as idolatry, so the text was\naltered to remove reference to the presence of a flag or standard.\n
3. This was also done in other places as well.<\/p>\n
D. Matthew 2:11<\/p>\n 1. “And when they went into the house they saw the young child with Mary\nits mother, and, falling down, they did obeisance to it. …” (NWT)\n 2. The Greek word proskuneo<\/i> means to worship or do reverence to, but\nJehovah’s Witnesses do not recognize Jesus as worthy of being worshiped\nas a divine being, so words like “worship” are avoided.\n 3. Of course, when it doesn’t involve Jesus, the New World Translation does\nuse the word “worship,” such as in Matthew 4:9, “and he said to him: “All\nthese things I will give you if you fall down and do an act of worship to\nme.”\n
E. Matthew 25:46<\/p>\n 1. “And these will depart into everlasting cutting-off, but the righteous ones\ninto everlasting life.” (NWT)\n 2. The Greek word kolasis<\/i> means punishment or torment, but this implies the\ncontinued existence of the unrighteous as a non-existent person cannot be\npunished or tormented eternally. Since Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that the\nwicked are annihilated, the word is changed in this verse.\n 3. For the same reason, the same Greek word is translated as “restraint” in I\nJohn 4:18. But notice the variance in meaning given in the New World\nTranslation.\n
F. Luke 23:43<\/p>\n 1. “And he said to him: ‘Truly I tell you today. You will be with me in\nParadise.’” (NWT)\n 2. The Greek phrase amen lego soi, semeron met’ emou ese en to paradeiso<\/i>\nliterally translates as “Truly I say to you, today with me you shall be in\nParadise.” The adverb semeron <\/i>(today) is moved from the statement to the\nintroductory clause because Jehovah’s Witnesses reject the idea that the\nhuman spirit is conscious after death. Thus moving the word makes it\nappear that the statement is dealing with when it was said instead of when\ntheir spirits would go.\n
G. John 1:1<\/p>\n 1. “In [the] beginning the Word was, and the Word was with God, and the\nWord was a god.” (NWT)\n 2. In Greek it is: “En arche en ho logos kai ho logos en pros ton theon kai\ntheos en ho logos<\/i>” which is literally “In beginning was the word and the\nword was with the God and God was the word.” An article was added to\nthe second usage of God. \n 3. In Greek, emphasis is created by word order, thus in the last phrase,\nemphasis is placed on theos (God). The lack of an article indicates that the\nqualities and characteristics of God, that is divinity, equally belong to the\nWord.\n
a. It is not saying that the Word is the same being as God.<\/p>\n b. It is not saying that the Word is a lesser being of the same kind as\nGod. In Greek that would require saying tis theos<\/i>. \n 4. In other usages of theos<\/i>, such as John 1:6, 12, 18 no article is added to the\ntranslation. The same word also appears in John 3:16, but of course\nwithout an article in front of it. This because Jehovah’s Witnesses deny the\ndeity of Jesus, so the revision asserts that Jesus was god-like but not equal\nto God.\n
5. The use of “God” in John 1:1 is a class of being.<\/p>\n a. Let me illustrate with equivalent words: “In the beginning was\nEve, and Eve was with Man, and Eve was Man.”\n b. But the New Word Translation way would say: “In the beginning\nwas Eve, and Eve was with Man, and Eve was a Man.”\n c. The first says Eve was in the same class as Adam and was equal to\nhim without being exactly him.\n d. The second says Eve was a copy of Adam down to the gender, but\na different individual.\n e. In other words, the New World Translation states that there are\nmultiple gods.\n
H. John 1:18<\/p>\n 1. “No man has seen God at any time; the only-begotten god who is in the\nbosom position with the Father is the one that has explained him.” (NWT)\n 2. The Greek word huios<\/i>, which means “son” is changed to a lower case\n“god” to emphasize the alteration made in John 1:1. Jehovah’s Witnesses\nbelieve that Jesus was the first created being of creation.\n
I. John 8:58<\/p>\n 1. “Jesus said to them: ‘Most truly I say to you, before Abraham came into\nexistence, I have been.” (NWT)\n 2. The Greek phrase ego eimi<\/i>, which literally means “I am” was changed in\ntense so that it could not easily be connected with Exodus 3:14 and the\nname of God. \n 3. What is interesting is that this isn’t the only place where Jesus calls\nhimself “I am.” In John 8:23-24; 13:18-19; and 18:3-8 the same phrase is\nused and translated in the New World Translation as “I am he,” with no\nindication that “he” is an added word.\n
J. Acts 20:28<\/p>\n 1. “Pay attention to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the holy\nspirit has appointed you overseers, to shepherd the congregation of God,\nwhich he purchased with the blood of his own [Son].” (NWT)\n
2. There are two textual variations in this verse:<\/p>\n
a. Whose church?<\/p>\n
(1) “the church of God” (most support in the manuscripts)<\/p>\n
(2) “the church of the Lord”<\/p>\n (3) “the church of the Lord and God” (believed to be a scribe’s\nblending)\n
b. A change in the word order causes two possible translations:<\/p>\n
(1) “by his own blood”<\/p>\n
(2) “by his own blood” or “by the blood of his own”<\/p>\n (a) The later leaves a dangling “his own” and so if this\ntranslation is chosen, the word “Son” is often added.\n
(3) Again the heaviest evidence is “by his own blood.” <\/p>\n c. But that leaves us six possible combinations, though not all six are\nfound in the various manuscripts\n (1) The vast majority has “the church of God, which he\npurchased with his own blood.”\n (2) Of the manuscripts that have what can be translated as “by\nthe blood of his own,” Six say “the church of the Lord,\nwhich he purchased by the blood of his own” and three say\n“the church of God which he purchased by the blood of his\nown.”\n 3. But Jehovah’s Witnesses deny that the Son is God so they selected the\nreading that has the least support and selected the alternative translation\n(that is not demanded by the exchanged words). Nor does their translation\nmention they took an unusual route.\n
K. Romans 8:28<\/p>\n 1. “Now we know that God makes all his works co-operate together for the\ngood of those who love God, those who are the ones called according to\nhis purpose.” (NWT)\n 2. The Greek word panta<\/i>, which means “all things” is changed implying that\nGod only controls His works, and not everything, to operate for the good\nof His people.\n
L. I Corinthians 6:19-20<\/p>\n 1. “What! Do YOU not know that the body of YOU people is [the] temple of\nthe holy spirit within YOU, which YOU have from God? Also, YOU do\nnot belong to yourselves, for YOU were bought with a price. By all means,\nglorify God in the body of YOU people.” (NWT)\n 2. Jehovah’s Witnesses reject the idea of a personal abiding of the Holy\nSpirit with individual Christians. Therefore the wording is generalized to\nsay it is the body of believers. (Which is why the translation has YOU in\nall capitals.\n
3. Of course, the word “people” is not in the Greek. <\/p>\n
M. Philippians 2:6<\/p>\n 1. “Who, although he was existing in God’s form, gave no consideration to a\nseizure, namely, that he should be equal to God.” (NWT)\n 2. Once again, Jehovah’s Witnesses reject the idea that Jesus could be equal\nto God, so wording was severely altered. The use of the word “seizure”\nimplies in English that one is grabbing something that doesn’t belong to\nhim.\n 3. In the Greek it is hos en morphe theou huparchon ouch harpagmon\nhegesato to einai isa theo<\/i>, which literally translated is “who, in form of\nGod being, no robbery considered it the to be equal with God”\n 4. Think about it in context, why would bypassing a thought to make oneself\nequal to God be an example of humility? No, humility is shown because\nJesus was equal to God and left that state to become a man.\n
N. Colossians 1:16-20<\/p>\n 1. “Because by means of him all [other] things were created in the heavens\nand upon the earth, the things visible and the things invisible, no matter\nwhether they are thrones or lordships or governments or authorities. All\n[other] things have been created through him and for him. Also, he is\nbefore all [other] things and by means of him all [other] things were made\nto exist, and he is the head of the body, the congregation. He is the\nbeginning, the first-born from the dead, that he might become the one who\nis first in all things; because God saw good for all fullness to dwell in him,\nand through him to reconcile again in himself all [other] things by making\npeace through the blood [he shed] on the torture stake, no matter whether\nthey are the things upon the earth or the things in the heavens.” (NWT)\n 2. Jehovah’s Witness don’t believe Jesus died upon a cross, but upon a pole,\nso the Greek word stauros<\/i> is translated as a “torture stake.”\n 3. The insertion of “[other]” is to avoid what the Greek text actually says.\nJesus created all things, which implies that he himself could not be\ncreated.\n 4. It is interesting to note that they didn’t alter one “all things”, the one in\nverse 18. Thus they have Paul saying he is the head of all things even\nthough he only created all other things.\n
O. II Peter 3:10<\/p>\n 1. “Yet Jehovah’s day will come as a thief, in which the heavens will pass\naway with a hissing noise, but the elements being intensely hot will be\ndissolved, and earth and the works in it will be discovered.” (NWT)\n 2. The Greek word kurios<\/i>, which means “lord” is altered to Jehovah because\nthe Jehovah’s Witnesses insist that this is the only proper name for God. \n 3. “Jehovah” does not appear in the Greek New Testament (it is a\nmispronunciation of a Hebrew word), yet it is found 237 times in the New\nTestament of the New World Translation.\n 4. The Greek word luthesontai<\/i> can be translated as destroyed or dissolved,\nbut since Jehovah Witnesses insist that the physical world remains forever,\ndissolved is chosen to imply that the elements remain. Notice also the\nchange of “and” to “but” to separate the passing away of the cosmos from\nthe dissolving of the elements.\n 5. There is a textual variation with the last word in II Peter 3:10. Most\nmanuscripts have the Greek word for “destroy” but a handful, including\ntwo older manuscripts, have the word “found.” Scholars find “found” to be\nawkward in this verse, but if it is the correct word, it means that everything\nwill be laid bare for judgment (I Corinthians 3:13). “Discovered” does not\nmatch the context of the cosmos being destroyed. It also doesn’t match the\nidea of judgment since “discovered” implies it was not known before.\n a. The Greek word katakaio<\/i>, which means to wholly destroy or to\nburn up completely is changes to “discover” because Jehovah’s\nWitnesses teach that this earth is eternal.\n b. There is a world of difference between “Our dinner was burned\nup!”, “Our dinner was deconstructed to the very elements and laid\nbare.” and “Our dinner was discovered!”\n
P. This is not even close to an exhaustive list of errors.<\/p>\n
IV. Is it any wonder that experts in the field reject the New World Translation?<\/p>\n A. Dr. Bruce M. Metzger, professor of New Testament Language and Literature at\nPrinceton University, calls the New World Translation, “a frightful\nmistranslation,” “erroneous,” “pernicious,” and “reprehensible.” “If the Jehovah’s\nWitnesses take this translation seriously, they are polytheists.”\n B. Dr. William Barclay, a leading Greek scholar, said, “it is abundantly clear that a\nsect which can translate the New Testament like that is intellectually dishonest.”\n C. Dr. Julius Mantey, author of A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament<\/i>,\ncalls the New World Translation “a shocking mistranslation” and “obsolete and\nincorrect.” He goes on to say, “It is neither scholarly nor reasonable to translate\nJohn 1:1 ‘the Word was a god.”\n 1. Dr. Mantey is quoted on pages 1158-1159 of the Kingdom Interlinear\nTranslation, of which Dr. Mantey stated, “Well, as a backdrop, I was\ndisturbed because they [Watchtower] had misquoted me in support of their\ntranslation.”\n
2. He also stated, “The translators of the NWT are ‘diabolical deceivers.”<\/p>\n 3. “I have never read any New Testament so badly translated as the Kingdom\nInterlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures … it is a distortion of the\nNew Testament. The translators used what J. B. Rotherham had translated\nin 1893, in modern speech, and changed the readings in scores of passages\nto state what Jehovah’s Witnesses believe and teach. That is a distortion\nnot a translation.” [Depth Exploration in the New Testament<\/i>, Julius\nMantey, p. 136-137].\n
V. No Morning Light<\/p>\n A. Isaiah 8:19-22 – Speaks of trying to consult fakes instead of God. But fakes don’t\nspeak according to the word of God. Thus they have no light (truth) within them.\n B. The New World Translation is not according the truth given to us by God. It has\nno light.\n
Mistranslations of the New World Translation<\/p>\n
\n
Genesis 1:2 <\/p>\nNow the earth proved to be formless and waste and there was\ndarkness upon the surface of [the] watery deep; and God’s\nactive force was moving to and fro over the surface of the\nwaters.\n
\n
Exodus 3:14<\/p>\nAt this God said to Moses: ‘I shall prove to be what I shall\nprove to be.’ And he added: ‘This is what you are to say to the\nsons of Israel, “I shall prove to be has sent me to you.”’\n
\n
Numbers 1:52 <\/p>\nAnd the sons of Israel must encamp each with reference to his\ncamp and each man by his [three-tribe] division by their\narmies.\n
\n
Matthew 2:11<\/p>\nAnd when they went into the house they saw the young child\nwith Mary its mother, and, falling down, they did obeisance to\nit. …\n
\n
Matthew 25:46<\/p>\nAnd these will depart into everlasting cutting-off, but the\nrighteous ones into everlasting life.\n
\n
Luke 23:43<\/p>\nAnd he said to him: ‘Truly I tell you today. You will be with\nme in Paradise.’\n
\n
\n
Mistranslations of the New World Translation<\/p>\n
\n
John 1:1<\/p>\nIn [the] beginning the Word was, and the Word was with God,\nand the Word was a god.\n
\n
John 1:18<\/p>\nNo man has seen God at any time; the only-begotten god who is\nin the bosom position with the Father is the one that has\nexplained him.\n
\n
John 8:58<\/p>\nJesus said to them: ‘Most truly I say to you, before Abraham\ncame into existence, I have been.\n
\n
Romans 8:28<\/p>\nNow we know that God makes all his works co-operate\ntogether for the good of those who love God, those who are the\nones called according to his purpose.\n
\n
I Corinthians 6:19-20<\/p>\nWhat! Do YOU not know that the body of YOU people is [the]\ntemple of the holy spirit within YOU, which YOU have from\nGod? Also, YOU do not belong to yourselves, for YOU were\nbought with a price. By all means, glorify God in the body of\nYOU people.\n
Mistranslations of the New World Translation<\/p>\n
\n
Philippians 2:6<\/p>\nWho, although he was existing in God’s form, gave no\nconsideration to a seizure, namely, that he should be equal to\nGod.\n
\n
Colossians 1:16-20<\/p>\nBecause by means of him all [other] things were created in the\nheavens and upon the earth, the things visible and the things\ninvisible, no matter whether they are thrones or lordships or\ngovernments or authorities. All [other] things have been created\nthrough him and for him. Also, he is before all [other] things\nand by means of him all [other] things were made to exist, and\nhe is the head of the body, the congregation. He is the\nbeginning, the first-born from the dead, that he might become\nthe one who is first in all things; because God saw good for all\nfullness to dwell in him, and through him to reconcile again in\nhimself all [other] things by making peace through the blood\n[he shed] on the torture stake, no matter whether they are the\nthings upon the earth or the things in the heavens.\n
\n
II Peter 3:10<\/p>\nYet Jehovah’s day will come as a thief, in which the heavens\nwill pass away with a hissing noise, but the elements being\nintensely hot will be dissolved, and earth and the works in it will\nbe discovered.\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Isaiah 8:19-22 I. Members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses have become excited in recent times. An author with a Ph.D. after his name has written a book saying the New World Translation and the New American Bible (a Catholic translation) are the most accurate translations. A. He compared nine translations: 1. King James…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[355,325,311],"class_list":["post-13203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermon","tag-jehovahs-witnesses","tag-new-world-translation","tag-translations"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":13201,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-do-you-say-the-new-world-translation-is-not-a-reliable-translation\/","url_meta":{"origin":13203,"position":0},"title":"Why do you say the New World Translation is not a reliable translation?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 3, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: On your web site, it reads that The New World Translation (NWT) \"...is not a reliable translation\". Prof. Jason BeDuhn in his book\u00a0Truth in Translation Accuracy and Bias in English Translations of the New Testament (this is not the only book) would strongly disagree with your conclusion that the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":22075,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/doesnt-more-than-one-translation-says-the-word-was-a-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":13203,"position":1},"title":"Doesn’t more than one translation says “‘the Word was a god?”","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 22, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Regarding your statement on in \"Jesus is God\": \"To get what Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses wish to claim, that Jesus was just a god in the sense that some men are \u201cgods\u201d in that they are God\u2019s representatives you would need \u201cand the Word was God\u201d (\u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u03b8\u03b5\u03cc\u03c2 ?\u03bd \u1f41 \u03bb\u03cc\u03b3\u03bf\u03c2)\u00a0in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2482,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-the-new-world-translation-an-accurate-translation\/","url_meta":{"origin":13203,"position":2},"title":"Is the New World Translation an accurate translation?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 8, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What do you think about The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures? Is it an accurate translation? Answer: The New World Translation is the product of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, the publishing arm of the Jehovah's Witnesses denomination. Though it claims to be a literal translation\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1303,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/which-bible-translations-are-the-best\/","url_meta":{"origin":13203,"position":3},"title":"Which Bible translations are the best?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 6, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Which Bible translations have the highest accuracy? Answer: At one time, Bible translations were an arduous task that took years, if not decades, to complete. Now translations are appearing in rapid succession, and it is becoming difficult to keep up with the many that are available. I'll restrict my\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8065,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-do-you-think-about-the-new-living-translation\/","url_meta":{"origin":13203,"position":4},"title":"What do you think about the New Living Translation and the Complete Jewish Bible?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 5, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am of need of some help with Bible translations. What I would like is a list of good translation Bibles and a list of bad Bible translations. I don't like the NIV and I always felt in the spirit that it indeed was not trustworthy. However, I have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19269,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/which-one-translation-would-you-recommend\/","url_meta":{"origin":13203,"position":5},"title":"Which one translation would you recommend?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 24, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have been searching for articles online regarding which English version of the Bible would be best (most accurate) for me to purchase and use to study.\u00a0 I happened across your web page: Which Bible translations are the best?\u00a0But I don't think one version was actually picked out above\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13203","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13203"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13203\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13203"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}