One example of a Bible verse that is often misused is John 1:1.

In the King James Version, that verse reads: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God [Greek, ton the·onʹ], and the Word was God [the·osʹ].”

At John 1:1 there are two occurrences of the Greek noun the·osʹ (god).

While the Greek language has no indefinite article corresponding to the English “a,” it does have a definite article ho, often rendered into English as “the.”

In the original Greek used by Paul, the word for “God” is The·osʹ, a term that applied to any of the numerous gods worshiped by the ancient Greeks and other peoples.

When a Greek noun has not got the article in front of it, it becomes rather a description than an identification, and has the character of an adjective rather than of a noun.

26, 27. How does the trinitarian argument on the literal meaning of El·o·himʹ recoil against trinitarians, and how do the footnotes on Genesis 1:1 and Judges 16:23, 24 knock the ground from under them?

²⁶ One thing is sure: the religious clergy who believe in the pagan doctrine of a trinity will not like the New World Translation of the Hebrew Scriptures.

They claim that this is a proof of the teaching of a trinity in the Hebrew Scriptures, namely, that there are “three Persons” in one God.

The text that A Catholic Dictionary calls “the strongest statement of Christ’s divinity in St. Paul, and, indeed, in the N[ew] T[estament]” is Romans 9:5.

In The Jerusalem Bible, this verse reads, in part: “Christ who is above all, God for ever blessed!

Since the Son was born from God, Justin does use the expression “God” in connection with the Son.

“When the writers of the New Testament speak of God they mean the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

“In order to avoid misunderstanding, it may be inserted here that θεός [the·osʹ] and ὁ θεός [ho the·osʹ] (‘god, divine’ and ‘the God’) were not the same thing in this period.

19. Who personally was the prince that became “strong against him,” and what role did he and his successors play?

¹⁹ Who, now, is the other prince or military chief of Alexander who the angel said would “become strong against him” and whose dominion would be a “great dominion”?

He was succeeded by his son Antíochus II, who came to be called The·osʹ or “God.”

a “The title ho theos [the God, or God], which now designates the Father as a personal reality, is not applied in the N[ew] T[estament] to Jesus Himself; Jesus is the Son of God (of ho theos). . . .

20. With regard to John 1:1, how has belief in the Trinity colored some translations, but what other accurate rendering is acceptable?

²⁰ But let it be noted that even with the best intentions, without a correct understanding of God’s Word, a Bible translator is bound to err at times.

Following the death of Jesus’ apostles, copyists of the Greek Scriptures began replacing God’s personal name with the Greek words Kyʹri·os (Lord) or The·osʹ (God).