Hey hope that first stuff helped that i posted. You might also get the children involved with another youth group (another local church that doesn't involve so much control so they can learn) and get them another copy of the bible, not the NWT. Let them explore this and what it says and not depend on the WTS to tell them what it means. this can be a beautiful learning experience. I like the NLT. it speaks in an understandable language and doesn't use tricky words to sway the meaning of what god's word says.
Another book that I read that helped me with the different translations of the bible is "God's Word into English" by Greene (i can't remember the author's first name, sorry) it is an older book published in the 60's i think (?). here are some of the stuff i found in it that helped me:
While some of us may be reluctant to relinquish old word and expressions which have acquired special meaning, we must bear in mind that the revision of these archaisms is a genuine attempt to be true to the Greek text (the same goal with the KJ translators had) by restoring for the modern reader the precise meaning intended.
Reasons for New Translations:
a. The discovery of more accurate texts in Greek and Hebrew.
b. The continual change in the English language.
c. Renewed emphasis on readily intelligible translators.
d. The new information as to the meaning of Biblical Terms.
e. Improvements in the interpretation of passages.
More Accurate Texts:
The King James and ASV were dependent on the available Hebrew manuscripts, all of which read (gives symbols) ?arim ?Cities? but the Bible scholars on occasion to wonder about this reading because the Assyrian kings whose conquering armies destroyed cities in Palestine did not do so because they ?despised cities.? There had to be some other explanation to account for this word. The answer was forthcoming in 1947 of in the spring of that year in Arab Bedouin discovered a cave in the cliffs overlooking the northwestern rim of the Dead Sea in
One of the manuscripts from Cave one was a leather scroll in Hebrew containing the entire book of Isaiah. Information gained subsequent to the discovery has shown that it dates from the second or first centuries BC, just before the Roman armies swept into southern . This very early Hebrew manuscript, preserved through the centuries by the hot, dry climate of the area reads (gives symbols) ?edim ?Witnessed, treaties? in the difficult passage in Isa. 33:8. With this new variant reading available the RSV was available to improve the sense of the passage by translating, ?The highways lie was, the wayfaring man ceases. Covenant are broken, witnessing are despised, there is no regard for man.? The parallelism of the verse could be indicated even more clearly by translating, ?Covenants are broken, treaties are despised?? Ignoring the vowels, which were not indicated from the originally reading (symbols) to (Change of symbols) is easily explained.
Renewed Emphasis on Intelligibility:
Another important reason for revision of God?s Word is the increased demand by the common people that a translation by as intelligibility as possible. A case in point is the idiomatic phrase ?children of the bride chamber? which occurs in the KJV in Matt. 9:15, Mark 2:19, and Luke 5:34. But the expression is meaningless to (or grossly misinterpreted by) the average reader, so most of the translations made in the 20 th century have striven for intelligibility by reading ?wedding guest? or friends of the bridegroom.?
The reader may wonder how new meaning can be given to words which were used in certain specific ways by people two thousand or more yeas ago. Actually the meanings for these Biblical terms are ancient; it is only our understanding for the meaning which is new. We came by this information through tens of thousands of written document discovered in Bible lands during the last 75 years the most important of these new sources of information have been the thousands of papyrus (ancient type of paper) fragments and scrolls ranging all the way back from love letters to grocery lists.
Ex:
Paul uses the adjective ataktos (I Thess. 5:14), the adverb ataktos (2 Thess. 3:6,11) and the related verb atakteo (2 Thess. 3:7). KJV and ASV translated it ?unruly, disorderly, walk or behaves disorderly.? The papyri, however, indicate the words, as paul used them, meant ?idle, idleness, be idle?. This led to the change in the RSV.
it is neat with his perspective of the dead sea scrolls and how they improved stuff in the understanding of the bible.
enough of my rambling, just try to get the children involved with some thing else so they don't feel that they will be destroyed or something like that. Be safe, follow God and rejoice always!
