Our further examination of the falsification of the Bible (primarily the New Testament) by the Jehovah’s Witnesses continues through an analysis of particular New Testament passages and important events described therein. These passages contain key truths regarding Christology, which Jehovah’s Witnesses distort most significantly by denying the divine nature of our Lord Jesus Christ.
One such momentous event from the Gospels that we shall examine here is the Annunciation (Luke 1:26–37). The first falsification in this Gospel passage (as in many others in the New Testament) is the insertion of the Old Testament divine name Yahweh (or, as they say, Jehovah), which is entirely absent from the original Greek text, where the term “Lord” (κύριος) is generally used. This falsification serves to support their teaching about “Jehovah God,” and to reject the Orthodox doctrine of the Holy Trinity. Thus, instead of “Rejoice, O full of grace, the Lord is with you” (Χαῖρε, κεχαριτωμένη· ὁ κύριος μετὰ σοῦ) (Luke 1:28), the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ translation reads: “Greetings, highly favored one, Jehovah is with you.” Furthermore, instead of “And the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David” (καὶ δώσει αὐτῷ κύριος ὁ θεὸς τὸν θρόνον Δαυὶδ τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ) (Luke 1:32), they write: “Jehovah God will give him the throne of his father David.” Lastly, in place of “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word” (ἰδοὺ ἡ δούλη κυρίου· γένοιτό μοι κατὰ τὸ ῥῆμά σου) (Luke 1:38), they write: “I am Jehovah’s slave girl. Let it happen to me just as you said.”
This falsification also serves to obscure the fact that the noun “Lord” in the New Testament predominantly refers to God. The same applies to the Old Testament, in the Greek translation of the Septuagint, where the divine name Yahweh does not appear, but is instead consistently rendered as “God” and “Lord.” As we have previously noted, of approximately 350 Old Testament quotations in the New Testament, about 300 are cited according to the Septuagint, and only around 50 according to the Masoretic (Hebrew) text. Jehovah’s Witnesses disregard this fact and fabricate such distortions in their translation of the New Testament. This is especially evident in one passage from the Gospels of Matthew and Mark. To explain this, we begin with the detail from the Annunciation passage. We see that Jesus is said to be given the throne of His father David by God. This is stated with reference to Joseph’s lineage, since he was of the house of David (Luke 1:27). Since Joseph is not the biological father of our Lord Jesus Christ, this is to be understood in accordance with the Old Testament Law—Jesus is legally the son of David (legally, through Joseph, He belongs to that genealogical line). Nonetheless, Jesus is, above all, the Son of God. Christ Himself emphasizes this mystery of His sonship when He poses a question to the Pharisees: “What do you think of the Christ? Whose son is He?” They said to Him, “The son of David.” He said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies Your footstool’? If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?” (Matt. 22:42–45; cf. Luke 12:35–37). Jehovah’s Witnesses translate the key part of this passage, Christ’s quotation of Psalm 110:1, as follows: “Jehovah said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand until I place your enemies as a stool for your feet.” This rendering conforms to the Masoretic (Hebrew) text of Scripture, which contains the names Yahweh and Adonai (my Lord), making the translation: “Yahweh said to my Lord.” However, in the Gospel, this citation is not from the Masoretic text but from the Greek Septuagint: εἶπεν ὁ κύριος τῷ κυρίῳ μου (“The Lord said to my Lord”). This is one of the examples in which Jehovah’s Witnesses falsify the fact that most Old Testament quotations in the New Testament are from the Septuagint, not the Masoretic text. The Septuagint consistently translates the divine name Yahweh with the Greek noun Κύριος (Kyrios – Lord), which in such contexts always signifies God. Even its linguistic Hebrew equivalent, Adon(ai) – Lord (my Lord), in the Masoretic text primarily refers to God (over 400 times), and less frequently to an earthly ruler (over 300 times). In the Gospel, then, we find the cited Psalm according to the Septuagint, and our Lord Jesus Christ Himself interprets the word Κύριος, Lord. The first thing He reveals is that the cited Psalm is a prophecy concerning the Messiah—Christ. What message does the Lord convey when He questions the assumption that the Messiah is a descendant of David? He clearly does so persuasively: “If David calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?” Does this indicate a contradiction in the Gospel, since in the Annunciation the angel tells us that God will give the Messiah (Jesus) the throne of His father David? This contradiction only arises if we interpret the word “Lord” (Κύριος) as referring to an earthly king or a mere man. Such an interpretation is illogical within the Psalm itself, as Christ points out to the Pharisees—why would David call his descendant his “Lord” (his master)? By exposing the illogicality of this interpretation, Christ is not denying that the Messiah is from the line of David, as it might initially appear. Rather, He aims to lead us to the full identity of the Messiah. In other words, He provides the true meaning of the word “Lord” in this context—the Messiah is Lord, the Son of God, God Himself. With such an interpretation, the apparent contradiction with the words of the Annunciation disappears, as does the illogicality within the Psalm’s text. Yes, the Messiah is from David’s line, but He is not merely a man—He is God who became man. As such, that is, as God, the Messiah is worthy to be called “Lord” by David.
This possible contradiction in the Gospels and the potential inconsistency in the Psalm, if the word “Lord” is understood to refer to an earthly king, a created man, has evidently escaped the attention of Jehovah’s Witnesses. They have completely severed the word “Lord” in the New Testament from its reference to God by inserting, as we have noted, the Old Testament name of God, Yahweh (which they mispronounce as Jehovah). For example, in Romans 10:13, where it reads, “For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (πᾶς γὰρ ὃς ἂν ἐπικαλέσηται τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου σωθήσεται), Jehovah’s Witnesses translate: “Everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved.” Here, the Apostle Paul is quoting the prophet Joel (2:32). However, Jehovah’s Witnesses quote the prophet Joel according to the Masoretic (Hebrew) text, which contains the name Yahweh. But Paul is quoting from the Septuagint, which says τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου (the name of the Lord). This is not merely a rejection and falsification of the fact that the Old Testament is cited in the New Testament according to the Septuagint, not the Masoretic text. The insistence of Jehovah’s Witnesses on the Masoretic text clearly aims to detach the noun “Lord” from its reference to God. Nowhere in their translation does the term “Lord” refer to God, not even where New Testament texts explicitly speak of “the Lord God.” For example, the words of Revelation 1:8, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God” (κύριος ὁ θεός), are rendered: “I am the Alpha and the Omega, says Jehovah God.” Likewise, “We give thanks to You, O Lord God” (Rev. 1:17) is translated as: “We thank You, Jehovah God…” Also, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel” (Luke 1:68) becomes: “May Jehovah, the God of Israel, be praised,” etc. What purpose do these falsifications serve? They serve to support their heresy that the Lord Jesus Christ is a created being, and not God, the Second Hypostasis of the Holy Trinity. By separating the noun “Lord” from God—even where it explicitly appears in the original Greek text of the New Testament—Jehovah’s Witnesses link it to Jesus Christ, whom they have no problem calling “Lord.” For example, they faithfully translate Philippians 2:11: “And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord…” Yet they fail to notice (or refuse to notice) that when Paul says that “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow” (Phil. 2:10), he is alluding to the prophet Isaiah, who quotes the words of God Himself, stating that every knee shall bow to God (Isa. 45:13). Clearly, to confess Jesus Christ as Lord is to confess Him as God—that is, to worship Him as God.
It must be noted that in the Book of Revelation (17:14), the Lord Jesus Christ is called “Lord of lords” (κύριος κυρίων). This phrase in the Old Testament refers exclusively to God: “Praise the Lord of lords” (Ps. 135:3); “For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords” (Deut. 10:17). Once again, it is clear that “Lord” indeed refers to God, and that to confess Jesus Christ as Lord is to confess Him as the Lord of lords—that is, as God. In the Masoretic text (Old Testament), we also clearly encounter the phrase “Lord Yahweh” (Adonai Yahweh) more than 280 times. The falsifications of Jehovah’s Witnesses, inserted to support their heresy, collapse before these irrefutable facts.
Beware that you be not deceived. (Luke 21:8)
Presbyter Dr. Aleksandar Milojkov
