Page 117 - Doctrine and History of the Preservation of the Bible Student Textbook

The five know members of the New World Translation committee are as follows: chairman, Nathan H.
Knorr; Fred W. Franz (vice president of the Watchtower Society), George D. Gangos, Milton G. Herschell;
and A.D. Schroeder. Except for F.W. Franz, none of the committee attended college. None of the
committee members read New Testament Greek, or for that matter, Hebrew or Aramaic. They
“translated” a text that they could not read. In the words of the late Dr. Edgar Goodspeed, a Greek and
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Hebrew scholar who endorsement they sought and were refused, “Their grammar is regrettable.”

The New World Translation is unique in one thing – it is the first intentional systematic effort at
producing a complete version of the Bible that is edited and revised for the specific purpose of agreeing
with a group's doctrine. The Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Watchtower Society realized that their beliefs
contradicted Scripture. So, rather than conforming their beliefs to Scripture, they altered Scripture to
agree with their beliefs. The “New World Bible Translation Committee” went through the Bible and
changed any Scripture that did not agree with Jehovah’s Witness’ theology.

If a Jehovah’s Witness comes to share their faith with you, and they have a copy of the NWT, you
CANNOT use it as Scripture. They will accept the KJV translation as authoritative, so use it when looking
up Scripture to share with them.

The Clear Word Translation is published by the Seventh Day Adventist Church. As do the Jehovah’s
Witnesses in their translation, so the Clear Word omits, modifies, or adds to hundreds of verses words
that reinforce errant doctrines. For example, they teach that Jesus and Michael the Archangel are the
same person, so here is an example of the way they rewrite verses:

I Thess. 4:6 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the
archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

CWT: When Christ descends from heaven as the Archangel, He will give a shout like a trumpet, which is
God’s call to the dead, and those who died in Christ will rise first.

Here is another example:

Jude 9: But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of
Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”

CWT: In contrast to these ungodly men is the Lord Jesus, also called Michael the Archangel, for He is
over the entire angelic host. When He was challenged by Satan about His intentions to resurrect Moses,
He didn’t come at Satan with a blistering attack, nor did He condemn him with mockery. He simply said,
“God rebuke you for claiming Moses’ body.”

These are just a few modifications made in their translation to intentionally rewrite Scripture to support
their errant doctrines and teachings.

Conclusion
In the final analysis, the choice of the “most accurate” translation will be a subjective decision. For
study, we recommend the NASB, ESV, and NET, and we also recommend comparison with the NIV or
NLT. We also have no problem recommending the KJV or NKJV but comparing it with other versions

33 Jehovah of the Watchtower, p. 176
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