©2022 Victor R. Claveau, MJ
Jehovah’s Witnesses deny the divinity of Christ which is the foundation of Christianity.
The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures is an interlinear translation of the New Testament, published by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. and translated by the New World Bible Translation Committee. The first edition was released at an international convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses in 1969.
The Watchtower Society’s Interlinear supplies a literal translation of each Greek word. For example:
The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures published by the Watchtower Society in 1969, translates John 1:1 from Greek into English as follows:
᾿Εν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν καὶ θεὸςἦν ὁλόγος.
English New World Translation (NWT): In beginning was the Word, and the Word was toward the God, and god was the Word.
Notice the difference in the Greek spelling; God with a capital “G” is spelled θεόν and “god” with a small “g” is spelled θεὸς.
Every edition of The New World Translation of the Christian Scriptures published by the Watchtower Society from 1950 onward translate John 1:1 from Greek into English as follows:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god.
The Watchtower Society goes to great length trying to prove that the rendering of John 1:1, describes Christ as “a god” rather than God. (New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures, 1950, Appendix pages 773-777): “Every honest person will have to admit that John’s saying that the Word of Logos ‘was divine’ is not saying that he was the God with whom he was. It merely tells of a certain quality about the Word of Logos, but it does not identify him as one and the same God.” (pp. 773-774).
Fr. Dr. Stelyios Muksuris comments of John 1:1, “In John 1:1, suffice it to say that the nominative singular ὁ Θεός can be translated based on context as “the God” or simply “God” (but never “a God/a god”). Thus, “…and the Word was God”, not “a god.” In Greek grammar, if the gender article is left out (making the word non-articular), it does not mean in the least that it will ONLY be translated as “a” god, or “a” fish, or “a” person. This rule applies when the subject or direct object is intended to be non-specific, so context is very, very important. “A man entered the room.” “I saw a man.” Etc. But, “I saw God.” With a linking verb like “to be”, we say “He is God” (Θεός εἶ), not “He is a God.”
“Secondly, we need to remember that ancient biblical texts essentially used uppercase scripts. We see this in hand-copied manuscripts and illuminated manuscripts of the Holy Scriptures. There was no such thing as capitalization. Lowercase and capitalization became prominent following the invention of the Gutenberg Press. So, scriptural texts coming out following the 15th century used both lower and uppercase scripts, which became problematic especially with the Lutherans, thus prompting the shift in the German language that we see today, namely, the general capitalization of all nouns, an idiosyncrasy of German.
“Therefore, whether a post-15th century reprinted Greek text was capitalized or not is irrelevant. It is simply the preference of the editor or redactor and their arbitrary, “learned” decisions (and clearly not of God!).
“The bottom line is that a good command of Ancient and Biblical Greek (especially from a native speaker like myself) indicates that the Johannine prologue is clearly introducing the eternal nature of the Son of God, as Light from Light and God from God, as we profess in the Nicene Creed. Since this Gospel was used as a further catechetical (mystagogical) tool for recently baptized catechumens at Pascha, its intent is not to introduce the absurd teaching that Jesus is yet another albeit powerful eon or spirit (as the Gnostics taught), but the incarnate Second Person of the Trinity (and clearly not a modalistic entity, i.e., appearing as Father in the OT, Jesus in the NT, and the Holy Spirit in the Church.” [1]
Father Adolphe Tanquerey, in his masterwork, A Manual of Dogmatic Theology[2] provide the following comment concerning this passage:
“In the Gospel according to St. John the divinity of the Word or of Christ is openly proclaimed.
“In the prologue[3] the following two affirmations are made: first, there is a distinction between the Word and the Father, for it is stated, “The Word was with God”;[4] no one is correctly said to with himself; also, that word is made clear somewhat later (18) in these words: “The only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared him”; from these words it is obviously gathered that the Word is really distinct from the Father because between the Father and the Son, between the bosom of the Father and Him who is in the bosom of the Father, it is necessary to admit a real distinction; secondly, His perfect equality with the Father is affirmed for the Word is called God: “And the word was God”; in these words, without any doubt, the Word (ό λογοϛ) is the subject and God is the predicate — this is apparent both from the context of the language and from the article ό which precedes λογοϛ; furthermore, the word God retains its own proper meaning, and this is apparent from the parallelism: “The Word was with God and the Word was God”.
One of the original translations of John 1:1 used by the Society was taken from “The New Testament: A New Translation Based on the Oldest Manuscripts” by Johannes Greber, 1937, p. 164.
Johannes Greber (1874–1944) was a Catholic priest turned spiritist who translated the New Testament with the help of God’s “spirits.”[i] His experiences with spirits and their communications with him are related in his book, Communication with the Spirit World, published in 1932. Greber was a well-known spiritist and familiar to the Watchtower Society. The Society’s writers quoted favorably from Greber ‘s New Testament translation for nearly thirty years, knowing full well of his connection with the occult. They have quoted him at least nine times in their publications dating from 1956 to 1983.
There are numerous instances in the Watchtower’s Interlinear translation of the NT where the Greek rendering of god (Θεὸς) is used in exactly the same way as in John 1:1 yet, it is translated , not as “god”, but as “God”.
John 3:16 in the NWT: “For God loved the world so much that he gave his only begotten Son…”
Οὕτως γὰρ ἠγάπησενὁ θεὸς τὸν κόσμον ὥστε τὸν υἱὸν τὸν μονογενῆ
ἵνα πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων εἰς αὐτὸν μὴ ἀπόληται ἀλλὰ ἔχῃ ζωὴν
αἰώνιον.
The Society uses “θεὸς” (god) but translates the word as “θεόν” (God).
Acts 19:11, “And God kept performing extraordinary works of power through the hands of Paul.”
τε οὐ τὰς τυχούσας ὁ θεὸς ἐποίει διὰ τῶν χειρῶν
Acts 15:8, “…and God, who knows the heart, bore witness by giving the holy spirit, just as he did to us also.”
καὶ ὁ καρδιογνώστης θεὸς ἐμαρτύρησεν αὐτοῖς δοὺς τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον καθὼς
Matthew 3:9, “and do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. “
γὰρ ὑμῖν ὅτι δύναται ὁ θεὸς ἐκ τῶν λίθων τούτων ἐγεῖραι τέκνα τῷ ᾿Αβραάμ.
Matthew 6:30, But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O men of little faith?”
δὲ τὸν χόρτον τοῦ ἀγροῦ σήμερον ὄντα καὶ αὔριον εἰς κλίβανον βαλλόμενον ὁθεὸς οὕτως οὐ πολλῷ μᾶλλον ὀλιγόπιστοι;
Matthew 15:4, “For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him surely die.’”
γὰρ θεὸς εἶπεν Τίμα τὸν πατέρα καὶ τὴνμητέρα,
Matthew 19:5-6, “So they are no longer two but one. What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder.”
οὐκέτι εἰσὶν δύο ἀλλὰ σάρξ μία· ὃ οὖν ὁ θεὸς συνέζευξεν ἄνθρωπος μὴχωριζέτω.
Matthew 22:32, “‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.”
εἰμι ὁ θεὸς ᾿Αβραὰμ καὶ ὁ θεὸς Ἰσαὰκ καὶ ὁ θεὸς Ἰακώβ; οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ θεὸς νεκρῶν ἀλλὰ ζώντων.
Mark 10:9, “What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder.”
ὃ οὖν ὁ θεὸς συνέζευξεν ἄνθρωπος μὴ χωριζέτω.
Mark 10:18, “And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.”
Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτῷ Τί με λέγεις ἀγαθόν; οὐδεὶς ἀγαθὸς εἰ μὴ εἷς ὁθεός.
ὁ θεὸς ᾿Αβραὰμ καὶ θεὸς Ἰσαὰκ καὶ θεὸς Ἰακώβ;
Mark 12:29, “Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one;”
ὁ Ἰησοῦς ὅτι Πρώτη ἐστίν Κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν Κύριος εἷς
Mark 15:34, “ And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “E′lo-i, E′lo-i, la′ma sabach-tha′ni?” which means, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
θεός μου ὁ θεός εἰς τί ἐγκατέλιπές με;
Luke 3:8, “8 Bear fruits that befit repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.”
γὰρ ὑμῖν ὅτι δύναται ὁ θεὸς ἐκ τῶν λίθων τούτων ἐγεῖραι τέκνα τῷ ᾿Αβραάμ.
There are numerous instances in the Greek scriptures where the word “God” is used:
θεῷ (theō) — 160 Occurrences
θεόν (theon) — 148 Occurrences
θεός (theos) — 310 Occurrences where the Watchtower Society uses “θεὸς” (god) but translates the word as “θεόν” (God).
θεοῦ (theou) — 698 Occurrences
θεοὺς (theous) — 2 Occurrences
Only in John 1:1 is it translated with the article “a” and “god” with a lower-case g. Does this not demonstrate a lack of integrity in the translations?
No reputable biblical scholar recognizes the JWs translation of John 1:1.
John 20:28, where St. Thomas says: “My Lord and my God!” (NWT) This passage shows the logic of the Catholic position.
ἀπεκρίθη Θωμᾶς καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ Ὁ κύριός μου καὶ ὁ θεός μου.
Also, look at Matt. 1:23: “Look! The virgin will become pregnant and will give birth to a son, and they will call his name Immanuel, which means, when translated, ‘With us is God” (NWT).
ἡ παρθένος ἐν γαστρὶ ἕξει καὶ τέξεται καὶ καλέσουσιν τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ ᾿Εμμανουήλ· ὅ ἐστιν μεθερμηνευόμενον Μεθ’ ἡμῶν ὁ Θεός.
We must not discount the Fathers of the Church when we analyze the meaning of various Scripture passages. That Jesus was Divine and spoken of as God is found in the early writings of the Church” The JWs will only recognize the Father’s of the Church when it suits their purposes.
“Christians trace their origin to the Lord Jesus Christ. He that came down from heaven in the Holy Spirit for the salvation of men is confessed to be the Son of the Most High God. He was born of a holy Virgin without seed of man, and took flesh without defilement; and He appeared among men so that He might recall them from the error of polytheism. When He had accomplished His wonderful design, by His own free will and for a mighty purpose He tasted death on the cross. After three days, however, He came to life again and went up into the heavens.
“It is possible for you, O king, to learn to know the report of His coming in the holy gospel writing, as it is called by us – should you chance to come upon a copy. He had twelve disciples who, after his ascent into the heavens, went out into the provinces of the world teaching about His greatness. In this way one of them came through the places around about us, announcing the doctrine of truth. Since then, they who continue observe the righteousness which was preached by His disciples are called Christians. These are they who, above every people on earth, have found the truth; for they acknowledge God, the Creator and maker of all things, in the only begotten Son and in the Holy Spirit” (Apology to Emperor Hadrian Caesar from the Athenian Philosopher Aristides, ca. AD 140, Jurgens, Faith of the Early Fathers, vol. 1, p. 49).
In addition, there are 39 other citations from the Fathers of the Church written in the Pre-Nicene era, in other words prior to the year 325 AD, which is when the JWs say that the doctrine of the Trinity was invented by the Catholic Church, the clearly spell out the divinity of Christ and that God is triune.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
the beginning.
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
Proverbs 8:22-31 The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old…
Ephesians 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which …
Colossians 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
Hebrews 1:10 And, You, Lord, in the beginning have laid the foundation of the …
Hebrews 7:3 Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning …
Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and for ever.
Revelation 1:2,8,11 Who bore record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus …
Revelation 2:8 And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things said …
Revelation 21:6 And he said to me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning …
Revelation 22:13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
the Word.
John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelled among us, (and we beheld his glory…
1 John 1:1,2 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we …
1 John 5:7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, …
Revelation 19:13 And he was clothed with a clothing dipped in blood: and his name …
with.
John 1:18 No man has seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is …
John 16:28 I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, …
John 17:5 And now, O Father, glorify you me with your own self with the glory …
Proverbs 8:22-30 The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old…
1 John 1:2 (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, …
the Word was.
John 10:30-33 I and my Father are one…
John 20:28 And Thomas answered and said to him, My LORD and my God.
Psalm 45:6 Your throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the scepter of your kingdom …
Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin …
Isaiah 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given: and the government …
Isaiah 40:9-11 O Zion, that bring good tidings, get you up into the high mountain; …
Matthew 1:23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, …
Romans 9:5 Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ …
Philippians 2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
1 Timothy 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was …
Titus 2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the …
Hebrews 1:8-13 But to the Son he said, Your throne, O God, is for ever and ever: …
2 Peter 1:1 Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ…
1 John 5:7,20 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, …
If the Watchtower Society would admit that their translation of the word God in John 1:1 is incorrect, their entire theology collapses.
[1] Analysis of John 1:1 by Fr. Dr. Stelyios Muksuris.
[2] Vol. 1, p. 321
[3] Gospel according to St. John, 1:1-5.
[4] Jn. 1:1.
[i] In 1923, Greber attended a séance and his life was changed. He renounced his vows and left the Catholic church. He emigrated to the USA in 1929 and began a nondenominational church, with prayer and healing sessions in Teaneck, NJ. He later worked on a translation of the New Testament, publishing ‘’The New Testament, A New Translation and Explanation Based on the Oldest Manuscripts’’ (1935). He claimed using the oldest sources available including the Greek codex D. Where a meaning was not clear, according to his prologue, he received supernatural guidance as he translated, after much time in prayer, with his wife acting as a medium, and with visions of the actual words given to him on occasion. “In the rare instances in which a text pronounced correct by the divine spirits can be found in none of the manuscripts available today, I have the text as given by the spirits.” (William Paul. 2003. English Language Bible Translators. Jefferson, NC & London: McFarland and Co. p. 97).