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New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (Study Edition)

C3

Verses Where the Name Jehovah Does Not Appear as Part of Direct or Indirect Quotations

The following list shows the remaining verses where the name Jehovah occurs in the main text of the Christian Greek Scriptures of the New World Translation. These verses do not contain either a direct or an indirect quotation from the “Old Testament” that uses the Tetragrammaton. However, there are either strong contextual grounds or linguistic reasons for restoring the divine name in these verses. After each occurrence, reasons are provided for restoring the divine name in that particular verse.​—See the section “ Summary of Reasons for Restoring the Divine Name in the Christian Greek Scriptures.”

Under the heading “Support,” examples are given of lexicons, reference works, or commentaries that support the use of the divine name in a particular verse in the Christian Greek Scriptures, commonly called the New Testament, or that indicate that the verse makes reference to the divine name. Although some of these publications may reflect a belief in the unscriptural teaching of the Trinity, they do agree on the use of the divine name in certain verses.

This support also includes a number of Bible translations into different languages that use such renderings as Jehovah, Yahveh, Yahweh, יהוה (YHWH, or the Tetragrammaton), LORD, and ADONAI in the main text or that otherwise, in footnotes and marginal notes, indicate that this is a reference to Jehovah God. Under the heading “Supporting References,” a list is provided of such Bible translations that have restored the divine name in a particular verse or that have indicated that this verse is a reference to Jehovah God. These translations may not always use the divine name in the same verses as the New World Translation, but they do use some form of the divine name in the Christian Greek Scriptures. These translations have been designated by the letter J followed by a number. (The letter J stands for the name Jehovah.) The complete listing of these references is found in Appendix C4.

It should be noted, though, that the New World Bible Translation Committee did not rely on these translations as the basis for restoring the divine name in the Christian Greek Scriptures. Rather, these J-References provide proof that other translators have made similar decisions when using the divine name in their versions of the “New Testament.” For further background information, see Appendix C1.

 SUMMARY OF REASONS FOR RESTORING THE DIVINE NAME IN THE CHRISTIAN GREEK SCRIPTURES

FACTORS TO CONSIDER:

  • Is this wording a quote from a verse in the Hebrew Scriptures that contains the divine name? (See Appendix C2.)

  • Does this involve a Hebrew idiom or an expression that normally includes the divine name? (For example, “Jehovah’s angel,” Mt 1:20)

  • Does the divine name appear in the context surrounding a quotation taken from the Hebrew Scriptures? (For example, “spoken by Jehovah,” Mt 1:22; 2:15)

  • In Greek, is the definite article missing from before Kyʹri·os (Lord), where it would normally be expected grammatically, thus indicating that a proper name may originally have appeared in the Greek text? (For example, Mr 13:20)

  • Would the divine name have been used in the verse to avoid ambiguity? (For example, “all the things Jehovah has done for you,” Mr 5:19)