Introduction
THE Holy Bible is a written revelation from the Sovereign Lord Jehovah to all people on this earth. This inspired book has global appeal, since it contains good news of a God-designed Messianic Kingdom that will establish peace and righteousness forever on a united Paradise earth. It shows that God lovingly provided a legal recovery from death for the world of fallen mankind by means of the ransom sacrifice of his Son Jesus Christ.—John 3:16.
Fittingly, the complete Bible has been referred to as the Divine Library (Lat., Bibliotheca Divina), made up of 66 officially cataloged (canonical) books that are accepted as the inspired guide for determining truth. While many divide the two major sections of the Bible into “The Old Testament” and “The New Testament,” we designate the first 39 books as the Hebrew Scriptures and the remaining 27 books as the Christian Greek Scriptures, basing such a decision on language rather than on a claimed “Testament (Covenant)” division.—See “All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial,” pages 298-304 and App (Appendix) 7E.
This 1984 revised edition of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures richly enhances accurate Bible knowledge by means of several distinctive features such as the marginal (cross) references, an extensive footnote apparatus, a concordance (Bible Words Indexed) and an appendix. Modern computerization has assisted greatly in preparing these features.
LANGUAGES OF THE DIVINE LIBRARY
The Bible was originally written in Hebrew, Aramaic (a language related to Hebrew) and common (koi·neʹ) Greek. Since relatively few people today understand these languages, it has become necessary to translate the Holy Bible into modern languages to present its life-giving message to people of all nations.
HEBREW TEXT: The Masoretic Hebrew text used for the preparation of the English text of the Hebrew Scripture portion of the New World Translation was the Codex Leningrad B 19A (of U.S.S.R.), as presented in R. Kittel’s Biblia Hebraica (BHK), seventh, eighth and ninth editions (1951-55). An update of this work known as Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (BHS), 1977 edition, was used to prepare the footnote apparatus of this 1984 edition. Italicized words designated as “Heb.” are transliterated from BHS.
Certain portions of the Hebrew Bible are actually in the Aramaic language but written in Hebrew characters. Transliterations from these portions are preceded by “Aram.” Other Aramaic versions are indicated by their respective symbols.
GREEK TEXT: The basic Greek text used for the preparation of the English text of the Christian Greek Scripture portion of the New World Translation was The New Testament in the Original Greek, by Westcott and Hort (originally published in 1881). The Greek texts of Nestle, Bover, Merk and others were also considered. The Greek transliterations for the Christian Greek Scripture portion of the Bible, identified as “Gr.,” are from the Westcott and Hort text as reproduced in The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures (1969). In the Hebrew Scriptures “Gr.” refers to transliterations from the Greek Septuagint (LXX), by A. Rahlfs, Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, 1935. Other Greek sources have been indicated by their respective symbols.
SYRIAC TEXT: “Syr.” indicates words transliterated from the Syriac Peshitta (Sy), S. Lee, 1826 edition, reprinted by United Bible Societies, 1979. Other Syriac versions are indicated by their respective symbols.
LATIN TEXT: The edition of the Latin Vulgate (Vg) used was the Biblia Sacra, Iuxta Vulgatam Versionem, Württembergische Bibelanstalt, Stuttgart, 1975. “Lat.” designates words from this text. Other Latin versions have been indicated by their respective symbols.
THE TRANSLATION INTO ENGLISH
METHOD: Since the Bible sets forth the sacred will of the Sovereign Lord of the universe, it would be a great indignity, indeed an affront to his majesty and authority, to omit or hide his unique divine name, which plainly occurs in the Hebrew text nearly 7,000 times as יהוה (YHWH). Therefore, the foremost feature of this translation is the restoration of the divine name to its rightful place in the English text. It has been done, using the commonly accepted English form “Jehovah” 6,973 times in the Hebrew Scriptures and 237 times in the Christian Greek Scriptures. For a detailed study of this matter, see App 1A-1D.
In the New World Translation an effort was made to capture the authority, power, dynamism and directness of the original Hebrew and Greek Scriptures and to convey these characteristics in modern English.
This translation is presented in modern English, using current speech forms, and does not use archaic English even in the various prayers and addresses to God. Thus we have not used the now-sanctimonious formal pronouns thou, thy, thine, thee and ye, with their corresponding verb inflections.
Paraphrases of the Scriptures are not offered. Rather, an effort has been made to give as literal a translation as possible where the modern-English idiom allows and where a literal rendition does not, by any awkwardness, hide the thought. In that way the desire of those who are scrupulous for getting an almost word-for-word statement of the original is met. It is realized that even such a seemingly insignificant matter as the use or omission of a comma or of a definite or an indefinite article may at times alter the correct sense of the original passage.
Taking liberties with the texts for the mere sake of brevity, and substituting some modern parallel when a literal rendering of the original makes good sense, has been avoided. Uniformity of rendering has been maintained by assigning one meaning to each major word and by holding to that meaning as far as the context permits. At times this has imposed a restriction upon word choice, but it aids in cross-reference work and in comparing related texts.
Special care was taken in translating Hebrew and Greek verbs in order to capture the simplicity, warmth, character and forcefulness of the original expressions. An effort was made to preserve the flavor of the ancient Hebrew and Greek times, the people’s way of thinking, reasoning and talking, their social dealings, etc. This has prevented any indulgence in translating as one may think the original speaker or writer should have said it. So, care has been taken not to modernize the verbal renderings to such an extent as to alter their ancient background beyond recognition. This means the reader will encounter many Hebrew and Greek idioms. In many cases the footnotes show the literalness of certain expressions.
The original Hebrew is terse, since its linguistic structure allows for briefness of expression. However, in rendering the sense and feel of the action and state of Hebrew verbs into English, it is not always possible to preserve the brevity due to a lack of corresponding color in English verb forms. Hence, auxiliary words that lengthen the expression are at times required to bring out the vividness, mental imagery and dramatic action of the verbs, as well as the point of view and the concept of time expressed by the Bible writers. In general the same is true of the Greek verbs. Thus, imperfect verbs have been kept in the imperfect state denoting progressive action. Participles have been rendered as participles involving continuous action. For a discussion of Hebrew verb translations, see App 3C.
Note that some original-language words have been carried over into English, for example, “Sheol,” “Hades,” “Gehenna,” “Amen,” “manna” and “Messiah.”
TECHNICAL FEATURES: The chapter and verse numbering follows that of the King James Version, thus making easy comparison possible, but instead of each verse being made a separate paragraph, the verses are grouped into paragraphs for the proper development of the complete thought. Moreover, poetic sections of the Scriptures, such as the Psalms, are in poetic form. The alphabetic, or acrostic, sections are also indicated.—See Psalm 119.
A uniform system of modern punctuation is followed throughout. Mindful of the Hebrew background of the Christian Greek Scriptures, all proper names of persons and places mainly follow the Hebrew spelling rather than that of the Greek text, which imitates the Greek Septuagint Version (LXX) of the Hebrew Scriptures. Many proper names are syllabified and accented as an aid in English pronunciation, to approximate that of the original languages.
RUNNING HEADS: These appear at the top of most pages of the text of this translation. They present information to aid in quickly locating Bible accounts.
SECOND PERSON PLURALS: Where “YOU” is printed in small capital letters, it shows that the pronoun is plural. Also, where the plural number of a verb is not apparent, its plurality is indicated by printing it in small capital letters. If the context already clearly indicates plurality, then no special capitalization is used.
BRACKETS: Single brackets [ ] enclose words inserted to complete the sense in the English text. Double brackets [[ ]] suggest interpolations (insertions of foreign material) in the original text.—See Luke 23:19, 34.
FEATURES OF THIS NEW EDITION
CONCORDANCES: Located toward the back of this book is a concordance entitled “Bible Words Indexed.” Selected words and their location in the text are listed, usually with a condensed excerpt showing the context. There is also a helpful section designed to aid in the use of the footnotes, entitled “Footnote Words Indexed.”
APPENDIX: Appendix articles are arranged in categories set out in such a way that they can be used as an aid in explaining basic Bible doctrines and related matters. These appendix articles are designated by a number and a small capital letter (for example, 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 2C). The numbers 1 through 9 indicate the categories of subject material, and the letters A, B, C, etc., indicate subtopics within those categories. Toward the close of the Appendix are charts on money, weights and measures, the calendar months of the Bible, as well as geographical information and maps of Bible places. This additional detailed information should aid many in becoming more thorough students of the Sacred Scriptures and in being better qualified to defend Scriptural truth.—1 Peter 3:15.
MARGINAL REFERENCES: There are more than 125,000 marginal (cross) references in this edition. These citations demonstrate that there is at least a second witness to almost every Biblical matter. A careful comparison of the marginal references and an examination of the accompanying footnotes will reveal the interlocking harmony of the 66 Bible books, proving that they comprise one book, inspired by God.
The center column contains the marginal (cross) references, using abbreviations of Bible books. The alphabetic markers in the text direct the reader to the respective cross-references. Where the column of references cannot contain all the citations presented, these then overflow into the bottom right-hand column of the page. New chapters are indicated in the list of references.
When a reference is followed by “ftn, LXX” it indicates a quotation from the Septuagint (LXX) and further information is found in the footnote to the verse cited. For example, Romans 9:17 cites Exodus 9:16 ftn, LXX.
References are given as to parallel thoughts, events and accounts; biographical information; geographical information; citations of the fulfillment of Bible prophecies within the Bible itself; direct quotations of phrases, expressions and entire verses from other parts of the Bible; and connections between Law covenant patterns and their fulfillment as related in the Christian Greek Scriptures. All of this leads to a wealth of Bible knowledge.
FOOTNOTES: Another prominent feature of this publication is its range of information in the footnotes. An effort has been made to supply important textual information in a simple way. The footnotes help one to see that the three original languages of the Bible, Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek, speak in agreement.
Additionally, where the English text varies from the original-language texts, the footnotes show the basis for the English translation by indicating the manuscripts and versions that support such variations. We have also offered alternative English renderings of the Hebrew and Greek texts, together with variant readings of other manuscripts and versions.
Although the text itself is generally literal, many footnotes contain further valuable literal renderings. These may present (1) basic language meanings, (2) word etymologies or (3) recognized lexicon definitions of the original word or phrase. For the Christian Greek Scriptures the additional literal renderings may be compared with the interlinear readings of The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures.
We thus provide a critical apparatus for the translation rather than a commentary on the Scriptures. However, helpful information of a non-technical nature is also presented.
Light is shed on basic Bible subjects such as “soul,” “Sheol,” “ransom,” “resurrection,” “atonement,” “God,” “Christ,” “Kingdom” and “Millennium.” Variations in Hebrew, Greek and Latin renderings, including some differences in verse numbering, language variations, loanwords from non-Hebrew languages, and significant textual notes from the margins of manuscripts are presented.
Also included are valuable alternative renderings, literal information and reasons why some variant renderings were favored over the basic Hebrew or Greek texts. Information is provided regarding the meaning of names of Bible books, persons and places, as well as geographical data. Money, weights, measures and calendar dates are converted into modern terms.—See App 8A, 8B.
The footnote apparatus sets out full support for the restoration of the divine name. Due attention is given to titles and descriptive terms applying to Jehovah God. Footnote material is supplied to support the scientific accuracy of the Bible, including items that clear up so-called contradictions. Helpful information regarding important Bible chronology is found. Other items are given that help to clarify Biblical terms regarding moral conduct, sacred service, preaching activities and organization. Footnotes also help maintain the difference between ‘the Lord Jehovah’ and ‘the Lord Jesus.’
Short items regarding things such as composition style, figures of speech, play on words, idioms, metaphors and euphemisms are presented in the footnotes to convey the flavor of the original Bible languages. Grammatical information regarding gender, number, case and verb forms refers to the original languages and not to the English translation.
Parentheses in the footnotes generally enclose words or expressions that are alternative to the word or phrase they follow. Bracketed words or phrases generally involve supplemental or explanatory information.
A footnote is indicated by one of a series of symbols following the footnoted word or phrase in the text. The footnote, which is found below the column of Bible text, is preceded by the verse number in bold type and the same symbol. Multiple footnotes on the same verse are distinguished by the following symbols: *, #, *, *, *, *.
TRANSLITERATIONS: The footnotes also present a rich collection of enlightening transliterations of Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek and Syriac words. Transliterations are words of another language presented in English, with their individual characters converted into Roman letters. They approximate the actual pronunciation and are generally syllabified and accented. Latin words do not need transliteration and are thus simply syllabified. Also, since original-language manuscripts did not distinguish between capital and lower-case letters, the use of capitals in transliterations follows what is considered to be most helpful to the reader.
Many Hebrew words include prefixes and suffixes, which at times combine with a base word to make up a complete phrase in translation. Where this is the case, the main part of the transliterated Hebrew word is presented in boldfaced italic type and corresponds with the boldfaced portion of the footnoted English phrase to highlight the base word. In a few instances there is no translation required for the lightfaced portion of the transliteration. This system of lightfaced and boldfaced type also applies to the phrases of Greek, Syriac and Latin words. However, since this contrast applies mainly to the Hebrew language, at times only the word or words under study are shown in the other languages. Examples:
Genesis 23:8*: Lit., “with your soul,” used collectively. Heb., ʼeth-naph·shekhemʹ; Gr., psy·kheiʹ.
Mark 10:30*: Or, “order of things.” Gr., ai·oʹni; J17,18(Heb.), u·va·ʽoh·lamʹ, “and in the order of things.”
Transliterations with no contrast correspond to the footnoted word or phrase. Further, transliterations indicate the words quoted but not those omitted by an ellipsis. For further information on prefixes and suffixes, see App 3B.
TEXTUAL SYMBOLS: Throughout our footnotes, when giving textual information, it has been necessary to refer to many early manuscripts and papyruses, codices, printed editions, and recent authoritative publications. Following is a chart of the major symbols that are referenced in the footnotes of this publication.
א (ʼAleph) Codex Sinaiticus, Gr., fourth cent. C.E., British Museum, H.S., G.S.
A Codex Alexandrinus, Gr., fifth cent. C.E., British Museum, H.S., G.S.
ad Aid to Bible Understanding, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, Brooklyn, 1971.
Al Aleppo Codex, Heb., c. 930 C.E., Israel, H.S.
Aq Aquila’s Gr. translation of H.S., second cent. C.E., Cambridge, England.
Arm Armenian Version, fourth to thirteenth cent. C.E.; H.S., G.S.
B Vatican ms 1209, Gr., fourth cent. C.E., Vatican City, Rome, H.S., G.S.
B 19A See Leningrad.
Bauer A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, by W. Bauer, second English ed., by F. W. Gingrich and F. W. Danker, Chicago and London (1979).
BDB Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, by Brown, Driver and Briggs, Oxford, 1978 reprint.
BHK Biblia Hebraica, by Kittel, Kahle, Alt and Eissfeldt, Privilegierte Württembergische Bibelanstalt, Stuttgart, seventh to ninth ed., 1951-55, H.S.
BHS Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, by Elliger and Rudolph, Deutsche Bibelstiftung, Stuttgart, 1977, H.S.
C Codex Ephraemi rescriptus, Gr., fifth cent. C.E., Paris, H.S., G.S.
Ca Cairo Codex, Heb., 895 C.E., Cairo, Egypt, H.S.
D Bezae Codices, Gr. and Lat., fifth and sixth cent. C.E., Cambridge, England, G.S.
Gins. Massoretico-Critical Text of the Hebrew Bible, by C. D. Ginsburg, London, 1926.
Gins.Int Introduction to the Massoretico-Critical Edition of the Hebrew Bible, by C. D. Ginsburg, Ktav Publishing House, New York, 1966 reprint.
Gins.Mas The Massorah, by C. D. Ginsburg, Ktav Publishing House, New York, 1975 reprint.
GK Gesenius’ Hebrew Grammar, by E. Kautzsch and A. E. Cowley, Oxford, England (1910).
Grn The Interlinear Hebrew/English Bible, Vol. I-III, by J. Green, Wilmington, U.S., 1976.
Int The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, Brooklyn, 1969, a word-for-word rendering from Greek into English.
It Old Latin Versions, Itala, second to fourth cent. C.E.; H.S., G.S.
J1 Matthew, Heb., edited by J. du Tillet, with a Lat. translation by J. Mercier, Paris, 1555.
J2 Matthew, Heb., incorporated as a separate chapter in ʼEʹven boʹchan [“Tried Stone”], by Shem-Tob ben Isaac Ibn Shaprut, 1385. Mss of 16th and 17th cent., Jewish Theological Seminary, New York.
J3 Matthew and Hebrews, Heb. and Lat., by Sebastian Münster, Basel, 1537 and 1557 respectively.
J4 Matthew, Heb., by J. Quinquarboreus, Paris, 1551.
J5 Liturgical Gospels, Heb., by F. Petri, Wittemberg, 1573.
J6 Liturgical Gospels, German, Lat., Gr. and Heb., by Johann Clajus, Leipzig, 1576.
J7 Christian Greek Scriptures in 12 languages, including Heb., by Elias Hutter, Nuremberg, 1599.
J8 Christian Greek Scriptures, Heb., by William Robertson, London, 1661.
J9 Gospels, Heb. and Lat., by Giovanni Battista Jona, Rome, 1668.
J10 The New Testament . . . in Hebrew and English, by Richard Caddick, Vol. I-III, containing Matthew—1 Corinthians, London, 1798-1805.
J11 Christian Greek Scriptures, Heb., by Thomas Fry and others, London, 1817.
J12 Christian Greek Scriptures, Heb., by William Greenfield, London, 1831.
J13 Christian Greek Scriptures, Heb., by A. McCaul, M. S. Alexander, J. C. Reichardt and S. Hoga, London, 1838.
J14 Christian Greek Scriptures, Heb., by J. C. Reichardt, London, 1846.
J15 Luke, Acts, Romans and Hebrews, Heb., by J. H. R. Biesenthal, Berlin, 1855, 1867, 1853 and 1858 respectively.
J16 Christian Greek Scriptures, Heb., by J. C. Reichardt and J. H. R. Biesenthal, London, 1866.
J17 Christian Greek Scriptures, Heb., by Franz Delitzsch, London, 1981 ed.
J18 Christian Greek Scriptures, Heb., by Isaac Salkinson and C. D. Ginsburg, London.
J19 John, Heb., by Moshe I. Ben Maeir, Denver, Colorado, 1957.
J20 A Concordance to the Greek Testament, by W. F. Moulton and A. S. Geden, fourth ed., Edinburgh, 1963.
J21 The Emphatic Diaglott (Greek-English interlinear), by Benjamin Wilson, New York, 1864, reprint by Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, Brooklyn, 1942.
J22 Christian Greek Scriptures, Heb., by United Bible Societies, Jerusalem, 1979.
J23 Christian Greek Scriptures, Heb., by J. Bauchet, Rome, 1975.
J24 A Literal Translation of the New Testament . . . From the Text of the Vatican Manuscript, by Herman Heinfetter, London, 1863.
J25 St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, by W. G. Rutherford, London, 1900.
J26 Psalms and Matthew 1:1-3:6, Heb., by Anton Margaritha, Leipzig, 1533.
J27 Die heilige Schrift des neuen Testaments, by Dominik von Brentano, third ed., Vienna and Prague, 1796.
JTS Journal of Theological Studies, Clarendon, Oxford.
KB Lexicon in Veteris Testamenti Libros, by L. Koehler and W. Baumgartner, Leiden, Netherlands, 1953.
KB3 Hebräisches und Aramäisches Lexikon zum Alten Testament, by W. Baumgartner, third ed., Leiden, Netherlands, 1967 and later ed.
Leningrad Codex Leningrad B 19A, Heb., 1008 C.E., H.S., Saltykov-Shchedrin State Public Library, Leningrad, U.S.S.R.
LS A Greek-English Lexicon, by H. Liddell and R. Scott, Oxford, 1968.
LXX Septuagint, Gr., third and second cent. B.C.E., H.S. (A. Rahlfs, Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, 1935).
LXXא See א.
LXXA See A.
LXXB See B.
LXXBagster Septuagint (with an English translation by Sir Lancelot Brenton, S. Bagster & Sons, London, 1851).
LXXL Septuagint (P. de Lagarde, Göttingen, Germany, 1883).
LXXThomson Septuagint, translated by C. Thomson, Pells ed., London, 1904.
M Masoretic Hebrew text found in Codex Leningrad B 19A as presented in BHK and BHS.
NW New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, Brooklyn, 1984 revision.
P45 Papyrus Chester Beatty 1, Gr., third cent. C.E., Dublin, G.S.
P46 Papyrus Chester Beatty 2, Gr., c. 200 C.E., Dublin, Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.A., G.S.
P47 Papyrus Chester Beatty 3, Gr., third cent. C.E., Dublin, G.S.
P66 Papyrus Bodmer 2, Gr., c. 200 C.E., Geneva, G.S.
P74 Papyrus Bodmer 17, Gr., seventh cent. C.E., Geneva, G.S.
P75 Papyrus Bodmer 14, 15, Gr., c. 200 C.E., Geneva, G.S.
1QIsa The Dead Sea Scroll of Isaiah, Jerusalem, found in 1947 in Qumran Cave No. 1.
Sam Pentateuch in Samaritan, fourth cent. B.C.E., Israel.
si “All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial,” Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, Brooklyn, 1963.
Sn Hebrew Old Testament, by N. H. Snaith, Israel, 1970.
Sy, Syp Syriac Peshitta, Christian Aram., fifth cent. C.E., S. Lee, London, 1826, reprint by United Bible Societies, 1979.
Syc Curetonian Syriac, Old Syriac, fifth cent. C.E., Gospels, Cambridge, England.
Syh Philoxenian-Harclean Syriac Version, sixth and seventh cent. C.E.; G.S.
Syhi Jerusalem (Hierosolymitanum) Version, Old Syriac, sixth cent. C.E.; G.S.
Sys Sinaitic Syriac codex, fourth and fifth cent. C.E., Gospels.
Sym Greek translation of H.S., by Symmachus, c. 200 C.E.
T Targums, Aram. paraphrases of parts of H.S.
TJ Jerusalem Targum I (Pseudo-Jonathan) and Jerusalem Targum II (Fragmentary Targum).
TO Targum of Onkelos (Babylonian Targum), Pentateuch.
TP Palestinian Targum, Vatican City, Rome, Pentateuch.
TDOT Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament (English ed.), Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, U.S.A., 1974 and later ed.
TDNT Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (English ed.), Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, U.S.A., 1964 and later ed.
Th Greek translation of H.S., by Theodotion, second cent. C.E.
TR Textus Receptus (Received Text) of G.S., by R. Stephanus, 1550.
Vg Latin Vulgate, by Jerome, c. 400 C.E. (Iuxta Vulgatam Versionem, Württembergische Bibelanstalt, Stuttgart, 1975).
Vgc Latin Vulgate, Clementine recension (S. Bagster & Sons, London, 1977).
Vgs Latin Vulgate, Sixtine recension, 1590.
Vgww Novum Testamentum Latine secundum editionem Sancti Hieronymi ad Codicum Manuscriptorum Fidem, by J. Wordsworth and H. J. White, Oxford, 1911.
VT Vetus Testamentum, E. J. Brill, Leiden, Netherlands.
W Freer Gospels, fifth cent. C.E., Washington, D.C.
WH The New Testament in the Original Greek, by Westcott and Hort, 1948 ed. (reprinted in Int).
ZorellGr Lexicon Graecum Novi Testamenti, third ed., by F. Zorell, Paris, 1961.
ZorellHeb Lexicon Hebraicum et Aramaicum Veteris Testamenti, by F. Zorell, Rome, 1968.
* Reading of the original (first) hand of a Greek manuscript.
c Reading of any corrector of a Greek manuscript.
ABBREVIATIONS: The following are in addition to those of the names of the Bible books.
App - Appendix
Aram. - Aramaic
B.C.E. - before the Common Era
c. - circa (about)
C.E. - Common Era
cent. - century (centuries)
chap. - chapter
col. - column
ed. - edition(s)
e.g. - for example
et al - and others
etc. - and so forth
fem. - feminine
ff - and the following
ftn(s) - footnote(s)
Gr. - Greek
G.S. - Greek Scriptures
Heb. - Hebrew
H.S. - Hebrew Scriptures
Lat. - Latin
lit. - literally
masc. - masculine
ms(s) - manuscript(s) (also mss)
No. - number
p. - page
pl. - plural
pp. - pages
¶ - paragraph
§ - section
sing. - singular
Sup - Superscription
Syr. - Syriac
U.S. - United States of America
U.S.S.R. - Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (includes Russia)
Vol. - Volume (of a book)
vs(s) - verse(s)
(Used for singular and plural)
cm - centimeter
dry pt - dry pint U.S.
dry qt - dry quart U.S.
ft - foot
g - gram
gal - liquid gallon U.S.
in. - inch
kg - kilogram
km - kilometer
L - liter
lb - pound avoirdupois
m - meter
mi - mile
oz - ounce avoirdupois
oz t - ounce troy
pt - pint U.S.
qt - quart U.S.
CONCLUSION
The wealth of cross-references and technical information in this 1984 revised edition of the New World Translation helps one to see how the 66 books of the Bible form one interrelated, inspired whole, producing the fabric of the “pure language” of truth. (Zephaniah 3:9) By means of this in-depth study, new vistas of Bible understanding can be opened up for those who truly are “trembling” at Jehovah’s Holy Word. (Isaiah 66:2, 5) It is our desire that by the full use of the several features of this edition of the Holy Scriptures, each reader will be helped to gain an accurate knowledge of truth and will appreciate more fully that “the word of God is alive and exerts power.” (Hebrews 4:12) Truly, happy are those who continually feast at Jehovah’s rich spiritual table by means of his living Word, the Bible.—Matthew 5:3.