New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures
The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures ( NWT abbreviation, English: NWT New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures ) is one of the Watchtower Society, the nonprofit publishing company of the religious community of Jehovah's Witnesses, published Bible translation. The first edition in English (New Testament) was published in 1950. To date, it is from the English - according to the publisher under faithful account of the original languages - have been in 122 more languages, including the German, continue on sets.
The different languages derivatives of the " New World Translation " is used by the Jehovah's Witnesses as the main Bible version for the liturgical and catechetical purposes of worship and for their missionary work. In addition, the translation of the Bible from them is distributed free of charge to the public.
- 4.1 The use of the Old Testament
- 4.2 The use of the New Testament
Origin and history
Before the emergence of the NWT Jehovah 's Witnesses used in the English language translations such as the King James Version or the American Standard Version. In German, especially the NIV was next to the Luther Bible, which was temporarily expelled by the own publishing house, very common. It was, however, not satisfied with these translations, on the grounds that "these translations were mainly made by clergy and missionaries of the religion of Christendom " and therefore as " more or less by the pagan philosophies and unscriptural traditions that these religious communities from the past have taken, are affected, but also from the prejudices of Biblical criticism. In addition, more and more elderly and reliable Bible manuscripts were available. " In addition, have the target languages " in the Bible has been translated, changed over the years." Nathan Homer Knorr, president of the Watchtower societies, suggested in October 1946, initially to make a new translation of the New Testament. Work on the translation of the New Testament began on 2 December 1947, were officially completed on 3 September 1949.
The English New World Translation of the Greek Scriptures (New Testament) was published on August 2, 1950. The Hebrew part of the New World Translation (Old Testament) was issued to 1960 in six parts in English. In 1961 was published a complete edition of the Bible in one volume. Since then, several revisions have been published, the last in 1984 and 2013.
The translator gave in 1969 an English Interlinear translation of the New Testament out, the " Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures ." A second edition followed in 1985. This volume offers the top line of the Greek text of Westcott and Hort, in the middle of a literal translation intermediate and down the playback of the English New World Translation.
As a basis for the English translation of the Biblia Hebraica by Rudolf Kittel ( 1951-1955 editions ) was used and for the Greek text "The New Testament in the Original Greek" by Brooke Foss Westcott and Fenton John Anthony Hort 1881 for the Hebrew text. There also other editions of D. Ginsberg, Nestle -Aland were taken into account, inter alia, and the footnotes of the study Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia the issue.
The German version is, according to the publisher, a translation by the revised English edition of 1984 faithful account of the Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek original language.
The translators of both the original English version and the other languages want to remain anonymous because they want all honor Jehovah God, the author of his inspired Word zukomme.
Editions and revisions
The NWT is now available as a full output in 63 languages . In a further 59 languages are the Christian Greek Scriptures, the New Testament available. The total circulation amounted to with stand 2014 approximately 208 million copies in more than 122 languages. Is published by the " Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc." and the " International Bible Students Association Brooklyn, New York, USA." For the German-speaking countries, the chief editor is the " Watchtower Bible and Tract Society " in seltzer / Taunus.
The following German language editions and revisions have been published:
Minor text changes (example: Isaiah 11, 6 ) were included in the text of the official revision of 1986 subsequently.
Concordance
To New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures is a comprehensive concordance of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society published, English 1973, German 1989. The Bible concordance contains over 340,000 citations to nearly 19,900 keywords.
Features
The New World Translation is a structurally faithful translation of the Bible, like the King James Bible and the Schlachter Bible. The translators make the claim that it is an " accurate, largely literal translation from the original languages , taking into account the English edition ." She is the editor 's view, " there is no free play, in which the translator details which appear to them as unimportant, and leave thoughts of which they think they can be useful to add. " According to the Jehovah's Witnesses, the translator thought " exactly to the original text. "
Chapters and Verseinteilung depends on the King James version, thus deviating from at individual points from the various in German-speaking common classifications.
Like many Protestant translations the NWT does not contain the deuterocanonical books of the Old Testament.
The use of " Jehovah " as the name of God
The New World Translation used for the proper names of the biblical God YHWH ( Tetragrammaton ) the name " Jehovah." Jehovah is played at 6973 points in the text ( OT and NT ). The translators see the exact historical pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton than currently to not exactly be reconstructed.
The use of the Old Testament
The translators put in the body of the AT at 6827 points the reading, where present in the Biblia Hebraica Biblia Hebraica and the Stuttgartensia by Rudolf Kittel YHWH (Ri 19.18 took the translators ).
Furthermore, they added the name of 133 of the 134 sites that listed.If the Masoretes as impermissible modification of the Tetragrammaton in " Adonai " by the Jewish Soferim. They also followed the Bible scholar Christian David Ginsburg, who identified eight sites where the Soferim had replaced him by Elohim. Finally, they added the name according to the reading of the Septuagint in three places, which is in conformity with the footnotes of the Biblia Hebraica.
The use of the New Testament
The translators used in their work text-critical editions of the Greek New Testament, in such can not be found (see also YHWH in the New Testament ) of the name of God "Jehovah " or "Yahweh". Is found only in Revelation 19, the short form of the name in four places in the word Hallelujah, which means " Praise Jah" means.
YHWH or the readings are not recorded in the extant manuscripts of the New Testament. Jehovah was inserted at 237 locations, mostly in quotations from the Old Testament which contain the Tetragrammaton. Their approach justify the translator with some papyrus finds, which prove that the Tetragrammaton in the Septuagint use found (eg Papyrus Fouad 266).
The name " Jehovah " was also inserted at points where is not quoted from the Old Testament, for example, in 2 Corinthians 3:14-18, Ephesians 2:19-22 and in other places. The translators justify this, especially with Hebrew translations of the New Testament. These transfers from the Greek into Hebrew translators present in the Greek text words for " Lord" ( kurios κύριος ) and "God " ( Theos Θεός ) in relation to YHWH have played with the Tetragrammaton.
Criticism
Bruce M. Metzger, an emeritus professor at the Theological Seminary at Princeton University, says that the translation of certain passages in the English New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures ( NWT ) unilaterally favor the doctrines and practices of Jehovah's Witnesses. Harold H. Rowley criticized the pre- 1953 publication of the first volume of the English version ( Genesis to Ruth ) as a shining example of how the Bible should not be translated ("a shining example of how the Bible Should not be translated "). On the other hand, the Court of biblical scholars Jason Beduhn from Northern Arizona University in his study of the nine most commonly used Bibles in the English speaking world that the NWT is not free from one-sidedness is true, but " the most accurate of the compared translations" was a " remarkably good translation ". Benjamin Kedar of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem described the NWT as " honorable attempt as possible to gain as accurate an understanding of the text " ( " an honest endeavor to achieve achievement in understanding of the text did is as accurate as possible" ).
Metzger judges that you get a reasonably good idea of the scientific qualifications of the translator as a whole, criticized in progress but the insertion of the name " Jehovah " in the New Testament, does not exist in the Greek manuscripts. The Watchtower Society specifies the name of God was " restored " on a reasonable basis, particularly at points where the authors wrote in the New Testament when playing passages from the Old Testament which contained the Tetragrammaton, kurios ( "Lord" ). Bible scholars such as George Howard and RB Girdlestone support this view.
The German Bible Society describes the speech style of the German translation as " ugly translation German with spread twists " and the translation type as " philological strong impact of literalness, language and nonsensical About accuracies in playback ( indefinite rather than definite article, playing the verb forms in the Old Testament ) ". On the commentary they complained that these " poorly understood without knowledge of the biblical languages or can be properly assessed " and refers to the NWT in the overall judgment as " accurate at long distances, but in the sense of the special teachings of the Jehovah's Witnesses tendentious translation ".