Observations: Amazing! The Watchtower
Society here informs us that the (Greek) word "εικόνα" (=icon)
as found in the original, Greek text of the Bible, apparently
translates as "substance" (which in Greek = ουσία) !! So, if someone says: "I painted an image/icon
of myself", they would be saying "I painted my substance". Or, if they say "we
have a human essence"
(=we are humans), it would be like saying "we have a human
image" (=we resemble humans).
Alongside the above, we have also noticed
that in the Greek version of the NWT the word "αυτήν"
has been translated as "the same as" (instead of "the
very" as it should be, in English). One might say that this
seems like an insignificant difference. And yet, it isn't!
The word "αυτήν" in Greek usage
indicates something that is present and existent, at the
moment it is mentioned - which is not necessarily what the
expression "the same as" implies. Thus, when the Gospel
text says "αυτήν", indicating "the
very" (and not some other) image of things, it is clearly
implying that the "image" of things was already existent!
In other words, it is speaking of the New
Testament - which, as "image", had replaced the "shadow" that is
the Old Testament! If the text had been composed with the
words "ου την αυτήν", then
grammatically, with the insertion of the
article "την" (=the) before the
word "αυτήν", it could have signified
"not the same one". But the article "την"
is placed AFTER the "αυτήν", and as such,
the Greek NWT translation is incorrect - which is
understandable, given that the Watchtower Organization is
lacking in basic translation skills.
We have to wonder: what was the reason the
Watchtower Society chose to insert this falsification? Was it
simply a case of sloppiness? Was it perhaps an attempt to demote
the word "substance", which is used by Christians in Theology?
Was it so that the verse doesn't imply that the New
Testament is only an "image" of the Things to
come? Or maybe it was to avoid acknowledging that the New
Testament era is the ...era of "images" (icons ?)
A Watchtower follower might ask us: "Come
on now! One tiny word - even if it's wrongly translated - what
problem could it possibly create? What could possibly
be altered, on account of something so small?"
And yet, within that tiny word is hidden an
extremely serious dimension of the Christian Gospel. It is in
fact the one dimension of the New Testament itself, because :
THE SUBSTANCE OF THINGS IS ONE THING, AND THE IMAGE THEREOF IS
ANOTHER. THE "SUBSTANCE" OF THINGS IMPLIES THOSE ACTUAL
THINGS. THE TERM "IMAGE" IS SOMETHING ENTIRELY DIFFERENT - it
implies something that is deficient.
This specific verse is the one that clarifies for us
in what sense
the Old Testament differs from the New Testament, and also from
the "good Things to come". It clarifies for us that: just as the
Old Testament -when compared to the New Testament- is deficient
(a "shadow", by comparison), likewise, the New Testament -when compared to the Things to come-
is also deficient (an
"image", by comparison). However, an "image" is still far more superior than
a "shadow"...
With this falsification, the truth of the
Gospel is lost and perverted, and the New Testament is
presented as being the per se substance of the Things to come.
Most probably the translators of the NWT did not realize this, for
the reason that they do not understand the Greek language.
Otherwise, they would have to explain: How is it possible for the
substance of the "Good Things" to
already be in the New Testament, if they are
referred to -in there- as things
that are "to come"?
Given the above, the Watchtower followers should not only be allowed
to venerate images (icons), but also to worship them, because, by
venerating images they would be venerating the
"substance" of God!
(The reader who wishes to see the serious
extension of this verse - as regards the comprehension of the
Holy Bible's coherence and how this tiny word relates to the
basic truth that our God is revealed in the
New Testament
as "Father" - we would invite him to read a more
detailed
study relative to this verse.)
Not only are there discrepancies in the Greek
NWT as pointed out above (when the NKJV coincides correctly with
the original Greek text), but there are also discrepancies in
the English NWT translation in this same verse (where again the
NKJV coincides correctly with the original Greek text).
Here is the other "tiny" but equally
significant detail in this same verse:
Where the original Greek AND the NKJV
texts clearly state that the Law
can never make perfect those who strive to approach the good
things to come, the NWT has arbitrarily inserted in brackets a
word that does not exist in the original Greek text, nor in the
NKJV translation: it is the word [men]!!! This
arbitrary addition has enabled them to imply that
men - not the Law - "can
never make perfect those who approach" !!
To elaborate:
The form of the Greek verb
"δύναται"
- as used in the original text - pertains to a subject that
should be in the singular; and indeed it is: the subject
is the Law (ο Νόμος....δύναται).
If the verb
had pertained to something in the plural, then its Greek form
would have been "δύνανται"
and it would have to match a subject that is in the
plural. In this case, the subject (which was arbitrarily
inserted by the NWT) is the word "men"
(=plural)! What the NWT translators carelessly overlooked
was that the form of the verb in the original Greek text did
NOT
comply with a subject in the plural. As mentioned above, the
verb "δύναται" relates to a subject in
the singular: "the Law"...
Unlike the precision of Greek grammar, the
equivalent English verb "can" is the same in both the
singular and the plural, and as such, is easily utilized to
accommodate falsifications like the present NWT example.
English
Greek
I
can
εγώ δύναμαι
you
can
εσύ δύνασαι
he/she/it
can
αυτός/αυτή/αυτό δύναται
we
can
εμείς δυνάμεθα
you
can
εσείς δύνασθε
they
can
αυτοί/αυτές/αυτά δύνανται
Dear "Jehovah's Witnesses", after
seeing this display of irreverence and irresponsibility towards
the Holy Bible, do you seriously trust this organization to
lead you to salvation?