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Christians, Jehovah Witness use NWT to change the meaning of John 8:58?

Update:

The Word of God speaks for itself and does not need to be philosophically re-packaged, in order to fit the JW doctrine, in which Jesus becomes Satan's brother. (sic)

Update 2:

In trying to disprove the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, they essentially are in danger of anathema, as far as distortion of the Word of God--

Update 3:

Matilde: The point being, that Scripture is not the first of its kind, since it was used from the Old Testament, since the OT and the NT are in sync, as far as the interpretation of Scripture runs from Genesis to Rev. and contextually correct.

36 Answers

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  • Anonymous
    4 years ago
    Favorite Answer

    It wouldn't be the first time. That's how cults roll.

  • ?
    Lv 5
    4 years ago

    Jehovah's Witnesses did not change the meaning of any text in the scriptures, only the wording, so that everyone who reads the bible will understand it more fully. It's written in modern language and nothing was taken from it, or added to it. The New Testament says at John 8:58, "Jesus answered, "I tell for certain that even before Abraham was, I was, and I am. The NWT says, "Jesus said to them, most truly I say to you, before Abraham came into existence, I have been. These 2 bibles are saying the same thing, but different wording to help people to understand that Jesus was saying that he had a pre-human existence in heaven before he came to earth.

  • Anonymous
    4 years ago

    Christians, Jehovah Witness use NWT to change the meaning of John 8:58?

    Yes, they are a cult

    "Jesus said to them: "Most truly I say to you, Before Abraham came into existence, I have been," New World Translation.

    greek I AmThe Jehovah's Witnesses deny that Jesus is God. So, when it comes to translating and interpreting Bible verses that show the deity of Jesus, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society will go to great lengths to support their false presupposition. Sometimes they will even translate verses in a way that is consistent with their belief system. In the Jehovah's Witness Bible, known as the New World Translation (NWT),1 John 8:58 is a verse that they have translated in a manner deliberately consistent with their theology

  • Gloria
    Lv 7
    4 years ago

    Anyone with a little sense of the British grammar of 1611 when the KJB was translated will understand John 8:58 - Before Abraham was, I am - to be Before Abraham existed, I exist or put another way I am before Abraham. The problem is English language has changed somewhat over the years and many people cannot grasp the concept of the text the way it is written because we neither speak nor write that way anymore.

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  • 4 years ago

    In my opinion, the perversion of John 8:58 in the NEW WORLD TRANSLATION is among the very worst of the many Jehovah's Witness perversions of God's Word in the Bible. It is nothing more or less than a deliberate attempt to deny Jesus's deity, as God incarnate and the second Person of the Triune God. This is meant to underpin the evil, pre-arranged theology on which JWS are so thoroughly fed.

  • 4 years ago

    The New World Translation Of The Holy Scriptures is the most accurate Bible on Planet Earth. It carries the Author's Name 7,210 in the Scriptures.

  • 4 years ago

    So many Jehovah's Witnesses and yet still not a shred of Jehovah's Evidence.

  • Anonymous
    4 years ago

    it's ok but the rest of nwt contains the word jehovah in the new testament which is not part of the original

  • Anonymous
    4 years ago

    it's ok but the rest of nwt contains the word jehovah in the new testament which is not part of the original

  • TeeM
    Lv 7
    4 years ago

    No, They have translated it according to proper rules of English grammar.

    In English one can not mix tenses as in Greek.

    English/Greek lesson 101.

    The expressions “I am”; “you are”; “he is”; “they are” are qualifiers and must answer the question “WHAT?”

    “I am (what?) going”; He is (what?) handsome”; “They are (what?) my friends”; “I was (what?) late.”

    Exodus 3:14 LXX [egoi eimi ho on] Jehovah says “I am (what?) the Being.” and “tell the people “The Being” sent me”

    Qualifiers can stand alone, in an answer to a question. “Are you sick?” – “I am”. In this example, the answer to WHAT is implied, “I am sick”.

    “Are you Fred?” – “I am” (I am - is not his name, Fred is implied by the question)

    “Are you tired?” – “I am” (tired is implied by the question)

    “Are they hungry?” – “They are” (hungry is implied by the question)

    “Are you Jesus the Nazarene? – “I am” (he / Jesus - is implied by the question)

    “Are you older than Abraham? – “I am” (older than Abraham is implied by the question)

    John 8:57, the Pharisees didn’t ask Jesus “What is your name?”, but in essence, “Are you as old as Abraham?”. Jesus replied “I am” what? “As old as Abraham”.

    He then states “Before Abraham was born” (what?) – I was alive before Abraham.

    To have quoted Exodus 3:14 from the LXX he would have had to say [ho on] if he was giving his name.

    Greek vs English.

    In Greek it is acceptable to mix tenses. “I am and he was” in the same sentence is proper grammar, if the present started in the past.

    Likewise, A Grammar of New Testament Greek, by J. H. Moulton, Vol. III, by Nigel Turner, Edinburgh, 1963, p. 62, says: (which includes John 8:58)

    “The Present which indicates the continuance of an action during the past and up to the moment of speaking is virtually the same as Perfective, the only difference being that the action is conceived as still in progress . . . It is frequent in the N[ew] T[estament]: Lk 2:48; 13:7 . . . 15:29 . . . Jn 5:6 ; 8:58 . . . ”

    In English this is not acceptable grammar. “I am” becomes “I have been” (John 14:9 egoi eimi present tense, translated in the past tense as “Have I been”)

    The simplest translation of John 8:58 is: “I have been (existed) before Abraham was born”

    Remember the question was concerning ‘age’ and not ‘what is your name?’

  • ?
    Lv 7
    4 years ago

    No, Colossians 1:15

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