"In Colossians 1:16, the NWT inserts the word 'other' despite its being completely absent from the original Greek text. It does this to give the view that 'all other things' were created by Christ, instead of what the text says, 'all things were created by Christ.'"
Reply: Many Bibles read Colossians 1:16, as it is in the NASB, "BY Him all things were created" leading the reader to conclude the Jesus is the active creator of all things. The problem is that all the verbs pertaining to Christ as creating here are passive, not active. This passivity is just what we would expect from someone who was a Master Worker, besides Jehovah, helping him create, as the Bible says at Proverbs 8:22-30.
Hence, other Bibles translate:
"He is a likeness of the unseen God, born before any creature, for it was through him that everything was created." Smith and Goodspeed's An American Translation
"Of all creation, he was first to be produced, in fact it was he that formed all other things...all came into existance as a result of him and by means of him." 21st Century NT
"for it was through Him that everything was created in heaven and on earth, the seen and the unseen, thrones, dominions, principalities, authorities; all things have been created through Him and for Him." Williams New Testament
"And through him were created all things that are in heaven" Lamsa NT
There is also a way to look at Col 1 from another angle, where the insertion of the word "other" actually EXCLUDES Christ from the creative process in these Scriptures. The classic New World Translation Reference Edition and the Kingdom Interlinear Translation has the word "other" in brackets thereby indicating it is not in the Greek text.
The NIV Bible has been criticized for adding the word "other" at 1Cor 6:18, as this changes the meaning and adds the translators theology on the matter.
Now Bibles like the RSV add the word "other" about 100 times, perhaps with a change of meaning as well.
Let us take a look at 1 Corinthians 6:18: "Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body." ASV
The RSV, NIV, NJB, Smith & Goodspeed have "Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body."
Consider Luther's translation of Romans 3:28 where he adds the word "alone" to the word "faith." The NIV Study Bible says here, "When Luther translated this passage, he added the word 'alone,' which, though not in the Greek, accurately reflects the meaning." You cannot condemn one version, and then have your people praise another for doing exactly the same thing. You cannot have it both ways.
Why don't critics of the New World Translation speak the same way about the NIV, NKJV, NET Bible, etc. regarding the insertion of the word "over" in Col. 1:15?. "The firstborn 'over' all creation". Is the word "over" in the Greek text here? None of my Interlinear Bibles say "over" at this text. Doesn't that totally change the meaning of the text? Is anyone complaining about that? No!
Another website states: Please note that this passage does not say Jesus was the "first created," but that He was the "first-born." The Bible doesn't use the Greek word for "first created (protoktizo), but firstborn (prototokos) of all creation.
Reply: Why on earth would Paul write "the first-created of creation" which would be a silly redundancy, a tautology.
You are attempting to justify the Witnesses' corruption of the Biblical text by citing the fact that others, such as Martin Luther, have corrupted the Biblical text, in each case in order to make the Bible agree with their erroneous theology (in Luther's case, the doctrine of justification by faith alone). What is the point of inserting "other" into those passages from Colossians 1:15-17 than to make it seem that the Son of God is one of things that has been created, when this passage makes it clear that the Son of God was not created, but is in fact the creator [i.e. the divine word and wisdom which dwells within the bosom of God (Jn 1:18) and which comes forth from God (Prov 2:6, 8:22) in giving life and being to the world (Jn 1:3; 1 Cor 8:6; Col 1:15-17; Heb 1:2)? This is proved by Colossians 2:9, which employs a more powerful affirmation of Godship (theotetos) than is used at Romans 1:20 (theiotes) in reference to God. If the NWT was being honest with its readers, it would use at least an equal designation of Godship in respect to Colossians 2:9 that it does in respect to Romans 1:20, where Godship is properly employed. The Watchtower Society is deliberately mangling the text in Colossians 1:15-17 and 2:9 in order to make it look like the Bible agrees with their erroneous teachings relating to the Son of God, when it in fact does not.
ReplyDeleteYour response is interesting because you employ Scriptures that indicate the opposite point that you trying to make. Jn 1:18 states that "No man hath seen God at any time" but people have seen Jesus, hence, he is not God. Then you move on to Proverbs 8:22 which states that Wisdom (Jesus) was created ["The LORD created me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old."]
DeleteSee https://newworldtranslation.blogspot.com/2018/08/colossians-29-theotes-and-godhead.html for more
Thomas using other in this verse makes perfect sense.
Deletehttps://drive.google.com/file/d/1RQu3VT2sD_SAOxc8nRselEbjclOX4ZxM/view?usp=drivesdk
The NWT inserts "other" into Colossians 1:16 to suggest that Jesus is not the creator of all things but the creator of "all other things." This insertion alters the meaning of the verse, making Jesus appear as a created being who is part of creation rather than the Creator of all things. The original Greek text does not contain the word "other," and this addition changes the theological meaning significantly. The Greek phrase in Colossians 1:16 reads:
ReplyDelete"ὅτι ἐν αὐτῷ ἐκτίσθη τὰ πάντα"
"For by Him all things were created..."
The term "τὰ πάντα" (ta panta) literally means "all things," with no qualifier like "other." By adding "other," the NWT introduces a theological presupposition that Jesus Himself is part of creation, which contradicts the plain reading of the text. This insertion reflects the theological bias of Jehovah's Witnesses, who teach that Jesus is a created being (Michael the Archangel) and not the eternal Creator.
The claim that the verbs in Colossians 1:16 are passive and indicate that Christ is merely a passive agent (or a "Master Worker" assisting Jehovah) is inaccurate. The verse explicitly attributes creation through and for Christ:
"For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible... all things were created through Him and for Him."
The phrase "through Him" (δι’ αὐτοῦ) emphasizes Christ’s role as the agent of creation. The verbs may reflect Christ's role as the means or instrument through which creation occurred, but this does not diminish His creative power. Rather, it underscores the theological truth that creation occurred by the will of the Father through the Son. This supports the traditional Christian understanding of the Trinity, where the Son is co-eternal with the Father and participates fully in the act of creation.
By contrast, Proverbs 8:22-30—which Jehovah’s Witnesses use to argue that Jesus was a "master worker"—is part of a poetic description of Wisdom and should not be directly applied to Christ in a literal, theological sense. The use of Wisdom in Proverbs is metaphorical and reflects the wisdom of God, not a subordinate, created being assisting in creation.
The defense of adding "other" based on examples like 1 Corinthians 6:18 (where some translations add "other") is a false equivalency. In 1 Corinthians 6:18, the addition of "other" clarifies the meaning in English without changing the underlying theology. The context makes it clear that sexual immorality is different from other sins, and adding "other" reflects the implied meaning.
In contrast, adding "other" in Colossians 1:16 introduces a theological claim that is not present in the Greek text. It shifts the meaning of the verse from declaring Christ as the Creator of all things to making Him a created being who creates "other things," which is not a minor clarification but a major doctrinal shift.
When I look at Scripture and the nature of God, I often reflect on the words of Ezra Abbot:
Delete"When we consider further the fact...that Christ is nowhere called God in any unambiguous passage by any writer of the New Testament and that it is nowhere recorded that he ever claimed this title, we cannot reasonably regard this abstinence from the use of the term as accidental."
We do not have one clear reference to Jesus as "God" in the Bible. We do have dozens of clear, unambiguous statements referring to Jesus as God's Son, and we have dozens of clear, unambiguous utterances of Jesus calling God his Father.
Since Jesus is the Son of God, then, logically, he cannot be God at the same time.
This is how we need to approach Scripture.
For my readers, please see my posts which deal with nwhat is posted here by "Anonymous":
https://newworldtranslation.blogspot.com/2018/04/philippians-29-11-and-words-other-and.html
https://newworldtranslation.blogspot.com/2018/08/colossians-1-and-first-born-of-creation.html
https://newworldtranslation.blogspot.com/2018/02/the-new-world-translation-and-words.html
See https://newworldtranslation.blogspot.com/2018/08/colossians-1-and-first-born-of-creation.html
ReplyDelete