Paul counseled: “Let us hold fast the public declaration of our hope without wavering, for he is faithful that promised. And let us consider one another to incite to love and right works, not forsaking the gathering of ourselves together, as some have the custom, but encouraging one another, and all the more so as you behold the day drawing near.”—Heb. 10:23-25, NW.a

Yes, we must do more than just gather together; we must make “public declaration of our hope” in the congregation, incite one another to love and right works and give encouragement. Jesus ‘declared God’s name to his brothers and in the midst of the congregation praised him with song.’ (Heb. 2:12, NW) By each one of us commenting there is an interchange of encouragement.

Then too, by commenting we are heeding the command: “Keep testing whether you are in the faith, keep proving what you yourselves are.” (2 Cor. 13:5, NW) We may think we understand a matter, but we prove to ourselves that we really do when we explain it to others. Note also Paul’s counsel to Timothy: “Ponder over these things, be absorbed in them, that your advancement may be manifest to all persons.” How can our advancement be made manifest to all persons in the congregation if we fail to comment as opportunity affords?—1 Tim. 4:13-15, NW.

Of course, to declare our hope unwaveringly at meetings, to build up others, we must prepare our lessons in advance. Only then shall we have something helpful to say and be able to say it with confidence. Do not let fear of making a mistake keep you silent. Better speak up and be corrected than give expression to wrong thoughts when preaching from house to house. By practice you will become more proficient in commenting. How often have you commented at the congregational meetings in the past month? Are you unwaveringly declaring your hope in these meetings at every opportunity?

Questions From Readers

● Is not the New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures verbose, for instance, in using “catches sight of” for “sees” at 1 John 5:16 and “undeserved kindness” for “grace”?—J. S., United States.

You do not state whether you have studied the koiné Greek of the Bible or not, but, if not, then, because of your unfamiliarity therewith, the way the New World Translation Committee renders some Greek verbs and terms and expressions in English may seem strained to you or verbose. But not so according to one acquainted with the Greek. The Greek verb rendered “catches sight of” in the New World Translation is in a peculiar tense of the Greek language, the aorist, and refers not to a repetition of acts or to a continuing action but to just one instance of the act. The use of the present tense of the verb “see,” namely, “sees,” as in the King James Version, does not bring out accurately the singular meaning of the verb here in the aorist tense, the catching of a person, as you say, red-handed, in the act.

Likewise with the expression “undeserved kindness.” It is simply because people do not understand the meaning of this Scriptural Greek word in its several uses that the New World Translation Committee made the meaning unmistakable by the use of the above expression. In English the word “grace” has fourteen or more different meanings. Which one does it mean, as at John 1:14 (AV), “full of grace and truth”? Does it mean there “gracefulness”? Or “favor”? Or “the grant of temporary immunity”? Or what? The New World Translation leaves no doubt as to the meaning but renders it “undeserved kindness,” in keeping with the context, as, for instance, the succeeding verse 17.

So we appreciate the New World Translation for its attention to detail and its sincere effort to bring out the exact shade of meaning of the original koiné Greek rather than bring out a slipshod translation with an equivocal meaning.