careful

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Posts by careful

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  27

  Zechariah 12:10 Corruption in the NWT

  by Sea Breeze in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  here's a question for those who still support watchtower on this forum.

  why did watchtower leave out the word "me" in zech.

  zechariah 12:10 reads like this: .

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  careful

  A belated thought since I seem to have missed the discussion here as it occurred.

  The following translations, none produced by the WTS, have "to him" or "the one/the one whom" here:

  James Moffatt (1935), Smith-Goodspeed (1948), Jerusalem Bible (1966), New Jerusalem Bible (1985), Today's English Bible/Good News Bible (1976), New English Bible (1976), Revised English Bible (1989), New American Bible (1970, rev. 2010), Contemporary English Version (1995), English Standard Version (2001), RSV (1952), NRSV (1989), NRSVue (2023), Common English Bible (2013).

  Surely these translators, trained in the ancient biblical languages, in the problems of translation, and in the ancient world in general did not feel they were doing anything questionable or blamable.

  Of course, a few do render the Heb here as "to me," but they are the minority (KJV, Rotherham, NIV, NASB, HCSB), and while The New Jewish Publication Society Tanakh Translation Study Bible (2007) has "to Me" in the text, the commentator clarifies that rendering by the following note on this verse:

  "The Heb is ambiguous, because it may refer to a person or group whom they have pierced. Although the identity of the pierced one/ones is unclear, if the text is read as the continuation of v. 9—as the structure of the section set by the in that day openings suggests—it is more likely that it points to an individual or group from within the nations." p. 1264.

  It is wise for someone who is beginning to study the Bible seriously, obviously outside of what is spoon-fed at the org's meetings, to be cautious and not quickly jump to any conclusion about the org's mistranslating/corrupting this or that passage when some inconsistency is first perceived by simply looking at different translations. There are so many passages with difficulties and ambiguities in them that the wise course is to find out first whether a given passage is one of the many that has problems. Certainly this is one—as history has made clear.
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  4

  Is Watchtower letting Ukrainian draftees flap in the wind without legal assistance?

  by Balaamsass2 in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  is this like the situation in mexico vs malawi ray franz wrote about in his book "crisis of conscience:?

  why leave any mention of professed neutrality out of their government filings?

  may 18, 2025, 10:29 a.m.. court in odesa region rules that jehovah's witnesses' charter does not prohibit them from fighting.

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  careful

  There are some issues here that need clarification.

  1. The link in English reports on three different cases. One man received a suspended sentence, another, a fine, another, a prison sentence.

  2. The org has approved alternative service, yet the GB has never spelled out publicly just what that means per Witness who may be ordered to report. Indeed, the Ukr.-Russ. War is the first real test case since the org changed its stance on the matter. Yet there has been nothing publicly released in the WTS publications explaining just what this alternative service constitutes in the U-R War. We can glean some bits and pieces from reports like this, but surely like everything else, the good Witnesses will do whatever the GB commands. Yet those directions must be taking place thru the branch committee members as relayed by the COs to the publishers via the local BOE — all hush-hush.
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  15

  5 Shocking Reasons Why Elders Are Leaving The Jehovah’s Witnesses — The Hidden Truth!

  by Golden4Altar in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  5 shocking reasons why elders are leaving the jehovah’s witnesses — the hidden truth!

  (kingdom wisdom).

  thousands of jehovah’s witness elders around the world are stepping down… and no one is talking about it.

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  careful

  Who is this chap KingdomWisdom01 who put out this vid? Does anyone know?
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  8

  2025*S*147*06*June*English*German*French!

  by Atlantis in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  2025*s*147*06*june ( next elder manual is due in september ).

  english*german*french.

  https://app.filemail.com/d/rausnpplnmhsemj .

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  careful

  " This transfer has been deleted."
  
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  5

  Do not gaze about!

  by slimboyfat in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  the 2013 revision of the nwt has destroyed some of the best phrases in the original version and rendered them utterly bland.

  a case in point is isaiah 41:10 which was as evocative as it was peculiar in the original nwt.

  do not be afraid, for i am with you.

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  careful

  The Bible For Dummies
  

  You got it! Lots of changes in line with conservative/evangelical Bible translations. Few, if any, from liberal, more educated sources/translations.
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  10

  Former Jehovah's Witness sentenced for child sexual assault

  by blondie in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  6/3/2025 former jehovah's witness sentenced for child sexual assault shaun sheffer, 47, of harmony was found guilty in january of three counts each of rape and indecent assault, including assault of a person less than 13 who had a mental disability.

  he also was convicted of corruption of minors.... https://triblive.com/local/regional/former-jehovahs-witness-sentenced-for-child-sexual-assault/ .

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  careful

  Thanks for the report, blondie. I have to wonder about his current status in the org, whether he is DFed/removed for this or some other reason.
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  5

  Attack near St Catherine's Monastery

  by Earnest in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  following on from the bombings of coptic churches in egypt, there was an attack earlier this month on a checkpoint near st catherine's monastery.

  this monastery dates back to the time of justinian and has a number of early bible mss including part of codex sinaiticus of the fourth century.. i am surprised this hasn't happened before because isis is active in northern sinai and it would be a major event were they to gain access and wreak havoc at st catherine's monastery.

  although the isolation of the monastery has contributed to its survival over 1400 years, it is in the forefront of digitising its manuscript collection.

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  careful

  Thanks, Earnest, for sharing this latest development.
  
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  5

  The Prophetic Days in Daniel Fulfilled

  by EisMe in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  “this will be the final topic i post.

  the structured fulfillment of prophecy has now been made undeniably clear, and after completing one final task—the letter to the governing body of jehovah’s witnesses—i will take my rest.

  the truth has been presented, the timeline confirmed, and all that remains is the culmination of prophecy itself.” estephan leuese.

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  careful

  This will be the final topic I post.
  

  If only this were true!!!
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  51

  You Could Be Stuck in a University When Your Parent Dies. Convention Day 2 Video

  by liam in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the governing body is going all out at this years convention.

  they are still discouraging university education.

  i guess the end must be real close .

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  careful

  It's still not clear to me just what "stuck in a university" means. Does it mean students can't leave campus when the need arises? That's absurd. Does it mean that there's a distance between the campus and the parents' home? That's what airline and/or automobile travel is/are for.

  Furthermore, about half of university students attend a local campus in a city environment and many live with their parents or in nearby housing while doing so. Just how is "stuck in a university" to be understood here? Was that phrase used in the assembly program?
  
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  26

  Things Rutherford got wrong that Fred Franz had to clear up

  by slimboyfat in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i was interested by the suggestion in a recent discussion that rutherford was in some way preferable to fred franz, because i’ve not come across this view before.

  it made me rethink my assumptions and try to work out why i hold the opposite view and prefer fred franz to rutherford.

  i haven’t done any additional research, so i’m only drawing on what i can remember off the top of my head, but i thought i’d list a few things where i reckon fred franz’s approach was preferable to rutherford.

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  careful

  I’ve read that it was Gene Smalley who came up with the blood ban and maintained it over the decades.
  

  Wasn't blood transfusion banned back in the 1950s? Was Smalley at Bethel then? Was he even an adult then? Since when have underlings set policy/doctrine? The organizational model has, since JFR, always been from the top down, from the anointed rulers to the non-anointed other sheep flunkies, not any other way. What uninformed source were you reading?

  Smalley has, however, been the point man in defending the issue, apparently supposing that Jehovah would never have guided his people into such an egregious doctrinal/practical error that has caused the death of so many.

  Franz was preferable to Rutherford
  

  Isn't that a bit like preferring simple imprisonment over imprisonment with daily floggings?