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Honest question. Who were the folks who translated the New World Translation of the Bible?
I know it's published by the Watchtower. I've been told by visiting Witnesses that it is the most accurate and reliable translation. Any seeker worth his salt would want to inspect the credentials of those translators before accepting their work as better than any other. So I just want a quick list of translators and their scholarship credentials so i can check for myself. Thanks in advance for your info!
With all due respect the first 2 answers don't come close to answering my question.
And Orchid you did not mention any specific translator which is what I was looking for. I am wanting the names of the men who did the work.
11 Answers
- troll to trollLv 71 decade agoFavorite Answer
The New World Translation (NWT) was released in several parts. As early revisions were made these were also released in book form as partials which were later combined to be the entire translation.
The NWT is described by a former Governing Body member of the Watch Tower Raymond Franz as mainly the work of one man Frederick Franz who was also his uncle. Raymond Franz also identifies other members of the translation as Nathan H. Knorr, George D. Gangas, and Albert D. Schroeder and Karl F. Klein.
Nathan H. Knorr, Frederick Franz, and Albert D. Schroeder all in turn were not only Governing body members but also Presidents of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society.
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Frederick William Franz (1971-1992) 4th President of Watch Tower Society.
No training in biblical languages neither the Koine Greek or Biblical Hebrew. One semester of modern Greek in college.
George D. Gangas served on the Governing Body from 1971-1994
No training in biblical languages neither the Koine Greek or Biblical Hebrew. George D. Gangas was a modern Greek-speaking Turk.
Nathan Homer Knorr (1934-1977) 3rd President of Watch Tower Society
No training in biblical languages neither the Koine Greek or Biblical Hebrew.
Albert D. Schroeder - Governing Body member (1974-2006)
No training in biblical languages neither the Koine Greek or Biblical Hebrew.
Karl F. Klein - Governing Body member (1974-2001)
No training in biblical languages neither the Koine Greek or Biblical Hebrew.
- ?Lv 61 decade ago
The translators of The New World Translation were: Nathan Knorr, Albert Schroeder, George Gangas, Fred Franz, M. Henschel
Four out of the five men on the committee had no Hebrew or Greek training at all, and only a high school education. Franz studied Greek for two years at the University of Cincinnati, but dropped out after his sophomore year. He taught himself Hebrew. When asked in a Scotland courtroom if he could translate Genesis 2:4 into Hebrew, Franz replied that he could not. The truth is that Franz was unable to translate Hebrew or Greek.
To my knowledge, there is only one group in the entire world that considers the NWT an accurate and reliable translation. That is, of course, the Jehovah's Witnesses themselves.
I'm not trying to insult the members of the Watchtower here. But the NWT is simply a travesty of a translation. An interesting question would be how many members of JW hold advanced degrees in biblical languages from accredited universities not affiliated with the movement. That would be an interesting statistic to see.
- MoondoggyLv 71 decade ago
Unfortunately, the translators preferred to remain anonymous. But people usually point to Nathan H. Knorr, Frederick W. Franz, George D. Gangas, and Albert D. Schroeder.
- Vöt ÄnårжLv 71 decade ago
Do you know the names and credentials of the translators of the Septuagint? Does that disqualify it as a translation?
Then you'd have to disqualify all other language translations based on it.
Just wanted to point out that the translators of the NWT are STILL anonymous- people can guess at names all they want, but careful about going round spreading it as "fact"- one could fall into the sin of lying.
- 1 decade ago
How does knowing the credentials of the translators of a translation shed light on whether or not the translation is accurate? It doesn't.
The translators of the NWT are anonymous. But it doesn't matter. The NWT is there for all to inspect. A translation rises or falls on its on merits.
- Anonymous1 decade ago
Charles Russell & Co. They ended up in court for some reason or another over it.
It is to some extent an accurate translation but to another extent it was translated to support Russell's theology. I don't pay them much mind.
- Anonymous1 decade ago
bill cetnar,worked at the head quarters in brooklynn
raymond franz, former member of the governing body
frederick franz, president,studied biblical langusge and non biblical greek for 2 years
3 others members were
albert scoder,
george dandos
m. schenschel
they had no hebrew or greek language training
- Anonymous1 decade ago
They are like the Mormons, rewriting the Bible to fit their own needs. Adding and omiting from the real Holy Book. God warned us about that.
Source(s): The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (NWT) is a translation of the Bible published by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society in 1961, primarily for use by Jehovah's Witnesses. It is not the first Bible to be published by the group, but is their first original translation of ancient Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic biblical texts. As of 2009, the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania has published more than 159 million copies of the Bible in 79 languages.[3]
