A New Bible Translation—Does It Honor God?
RECENTLY a new translation of the Bible was published in English. Called The New English Bible, it was produced under a committee on which were representatives of the major Protestant churches in the British Isles.
One of the main purposes of The New English Bible (NEB) was to make the Bible more easily understood. The Japan Times of March 13, 1970, notes: “It is infinitely easier for contemporary readers to understand than the 359-year-old King James Version, which it will replace in British churches.”
Many Bible passages have been clarified. An example is at Matthew 5:3. There the King James or Authorized Version (AV) said: “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” The new translation is clearer, saying: “How blest are those who know their need of God; the kingdom of Heaven is theirs.” (NEB) Yet, this clarification is not new. Twenty years ago the New World Translation (NW), now published by the Watchtower Society in a single volume for about one-ninth the price of The New English Bible, said: “Happy are those who are conscious of their spiritual need, since the kingdom of the heavens belongs to them.”
However, in other places clarity of understanding in The New English Bible fails noticeably. For instance, at Matthew 11:12 it states: “Ever since the coming of John the Baptist the kingdom of Heaven has been subjected to violence and violent men are seizing it.” But does that rendering agree with the rest of the Bible? Is it not the kingdom of God that is to triumph over the men and nations that are disposed to violence? (Dan. 2:44) Accurately conveying the sense of the original text, the New World Translation reads: “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of the heavens is the goal toward which men press, and those pressing forward are seizing it.”
In a translation designed for easier reading, one would expect all archaic English to have been eliminated. This is not the case with the new translation. Expressions such as “thou” and “thee” and “thy” are retained. Of this the New York Times of March 15, 1970, commented: “Numerous scholars have criticized the continued use of ‘thee’ and ‘thou’ in direct address to the Deity.”
INCONSISTENCIES
The new translation is not consistent in its rendering of Hebrew or Greek words. For example, at Genesis 2:7 it reads: “Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. Thus the man became a living creature.” The word “creature” was translated from the Hebrew word neʹphesh. This is the Hebrew word for “soul.” The New English Bible uses it that way at Ezekiel 18:4, where it says: “The soul that sins shall die.”
Since at both Genesis 2:7 and Ezekiel 18:4 the Hebrew neʹphesh is used, why does the new translation render it “creature” in one instance and “soul” in the other? Consistency is important. That is why the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures reads at Genesis 2:7: “The man came to be a living soul [neʹphesh].” Thus it becomes apparent that the man himself was a soul and that the soul is not something separate.
Another inconsistency has to do with the Hebrew word shem. In English this is translated “name.” At Proverbs 18:10 the new translation correctly renders shem, saying: “The name [shem] of the LORD is a tower of strength, where the righteous may run for refuge.” Yet, while at Psalm 83:18 the original Hebrew also contains the Hebrew word shem, The New English Bible reads: “So let them learn that thou alone art LORD, God Most High over all the earth.” This eliminates altogether the word “name” (shem). It hides the real sense and force of that scripture. Why, even the King James Version made it clear that there is a name of God involved here.
A NAME INVOLVED
Yes, the Holy Bible makes it very clear that God does have a personal name, just as you have a personal name. Notice a few of many such references. At Genesis 21:33 (NEB) Abraham “invoked the LORD, the everlasting God, by name.” Isaiah 12:4 (NEB) reads: “Give thanks to the LORD and invoke him by name, . . . declare that his name is supreme.”
Jesus said to God in prayer, at John 17:6, 26 (NEB): “I have made thy name known to the men whom thou didst give me out of the world. . . . I made thy name known to them, and will make it known.” The apostle Paul wrote at Romans 10:13 (NEB): “Everyone who invokes the name of the Lord will be saved.”
In the Hebrew part of the Bible God’s name appears almost 7,000 times. It comes from four Hebrew letters, all consonants, יהוה. Since written Hebrew had no vowels, the reader had to supply the vowel sounds. When a superstitious fear against pronouncing the sacred name became prevalent, the correct pronunciation of God’s name in Hebrew remained known to only a few.
What is the pronunciation today? In English, a commonly used pronunciation for the divine name is “Jehovah.”
However, regarding the name “Jehovah,” The Argus of Cape Town, South Africa, said on March 9, 1970: “The man who has been most intimately concerned with the revision [New English Bible], Prof. Sir Godfrey Driver, . . . said: ‘There never was such a word [as Jehovah] until the French scribes invented it in 1520 or whenever it was. It is a monstrosity.’”
But French scribes did not invent the name “Jehovah.” It was in use centuries before, Raymond Martin’s Pugio Fidei using it in the form “Jehova” in the year 1270. Yet, because of such negative attitudes toward this name, the introduction to The New English Bible, on page xvi, states:
“The present translators have retained this incorrect but customary form [Jehovah] in the text of passages where the name is explained with a note on its pronunciation (e.g. Exodus 3.15) and in four place-names of which it forms a constituent element; elsewhere they have followed ancient translators in substituting ‘LORD’ or ‘GOD’, printed as here in capital letters, for the Hebrew name.”
Thus, except for a very few places where “Jehovah” is used, for all practical purposes the new translation eliminates the divine name. In the use of the divine name The New English Bible is no improvement over the centuries-old King James Version! The divine name is used therein so rarely that it is almost lost.
However, although the English word “Jehovah” is rated as a “monstrosity,” it does contain the four basic consonants of the Hebrew tetragrammaton. These consonants were combined with the vowels of the Hebrew word Adonay (Lord) to produce the name Jehovah.
The New English Bible says, as in the footnote on Exodus 3:15, that “Jehovah” is not the correct Hebrew form, stating that “Yahweh” is likely closer. But then, with only a few exceptions, it does not use either one! Truly, the translators show their extreme prejudice against any use of the divine name.
PROPER USE OF THE NAME
In different languages today the pronunciation of Christ’s name Jesus varies, as do other proper names. So too with God’s name Jehovah. Some Bible translations, including Roman Catholic ones, use the name in such forms as Yahweh, Yahve, and others, as well as Jehovah. All are useful, and proper, in identifying who is meant.
The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures is published in major languages of the world. It uses the word for the divine name that is common to those languages wherever the original Hebrew text indicates that it should be used. So in English, Psalm 83:18 reads: “That people may know that you, whose name is Jehovah, you alone are the Most High over all the earth.” Thus, God-fearing persons who read the New World Translation will be able to do what Psalm 148:13 says they should do: “Let them praise the name of Jehovah, for his name alone is unreachably high.”
ACCOUNTABLE TO GOD
A new Bible translation may be easier to read than ancient ones. But does it accomplish the purpose for which God had the Bible inspired? That purpose is to teach people about God, who he is and what his purposes are.
Central to this is the name of God. Translators that hide God’s name in the very place where it should be made prominent, in his own Word, fall into a trap. They do just what the enemies of God, including Satan the Devil, want to do—blot out the name of God. They surely do not honor God.
“Everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved,” the Bible declares. (Rom. 10:13; Joel 2:32) But what of those who try to hide God’s name? Psalm 74:10, 22 says: “Will the enemy keep treating your name with disrespect forever? Do arise, O God, do conduct your own case at law. Remember your reproach from the senseless one all day long.” The time for God to call to account those who treat his name with contempt nears.
So while it may be fashionable for prejudiced translators to remove God’s name from a translation of the Bible, they in turn risk having their names excluded from God’s book of life.