I'm a little late coming to this conversation - didn't notice it but I'm thoroughly enjoying it.
Lets not get things twisted here. The NWT wasn't translated leveraging anything of ancient origin. Even if the adherents are given that fakeout story of the translation committee choosing to remain unnamed, the writers of the NWT told the rest of the world not only who translated but what they knew of ancient languages during the Scotland trial. That book they wrote is just a remix of a Bible written in English with a little bias strewn about.
Now on to my opinion:
I'll grant you that in thousands of years there HAVE been opinions introduced into that which some of us now accept as our guide. Oh well... Suck it up. There were many re-writes and sincere attempts have been made to reconcile discrepancies and sometimes decisions had to be made that may have discredited other manuscripts. Oh well... suck that up too. Guess what?... Same goes for the inclusion of the books. Read 'em. Food for thought darn it.
As a believer, I'll also make the appalling statement that with that knowledge, anyone who believes that one must accept ONLY the literal interpretation of every story in the Bible isn't using sound judgement. Yep, I said it. Suck it up.
Can I tell you which version is most accurate? Absolutely not. No man today has enough information to make that determination. It is said that the devil is in the details anyways... :) Read as many translations as you can get your hands on and remain neutral realizing that there may still be a piece that is unknown to you. Here, I will honestly admit that until I looked into the background of the NWT, in ignorance, I may have included it in my verse comparisons but now I won't even call it a Bible.
We are told that early Christians had a heavenly hope. They didn't even have a compiled New Testament for crying out loud so I have to ask, did the detail matter? I suspect not.
Have you ever thought how this famous statement of Jesus: “NO MAN HAS ASCENDED UP TO HEAVEN BUT HE THAT CAME DOWN FROM HEAVEN, EVEN THE SON OF MAN WHICH IS IN HEAVEN”? (John 3:13)
Not all versions read that way. As an fyi, the WTS KI seems to leave off the "in heaven" part.
HarryMac: Love your chart. :)