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Could you please explain why most other Bible translations of Revelation 5:9,10 say that a kingdom of priests shall be ruling on the earth whereas the New World Translations says that they are to rule as kings over the earth. I have done a bit of research and found that a lot of the different Bibles have a different translation about this, which makes it hard to help a student to understand that the 144,000 are going to rule over the earth as kings and priests and not on the earth, which is what other Bible translations have said.
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| The problem a passage like Revelation 5:9-10 presents is wholly artificial. Thus, when approaching a seeming discrepancy in translations we should try to avoid the tendency to make an issue of minor wording differences. True enough, minor differences in wording can affect the meaning dramatically. John 1:1 is a classic example. But should a doctrine as important as the relationship of God and Christ, for example, be determined on the basis of a translator’s use of an indefinite article or lack of one? Our understanding of the Scriptures, particularly as regards crucial Bible doctrines, should not be based upon one letter, word or verse. Our goal as Bible teachers is to enable others to see the big picture – otherwise known as “the truth.” Focusing on prepositions is counter-productive. So, when approaching questions that may arise due to minor textual variations, unless there is clear cut proof that one translation is grammatically incorrect, it is best to set that particular verse aside and look elsewhere in the Scriptures to verify the intent of the verse in question. In this case we would have to find an answer to the question: Will the kingdom of God rule from heaven over the earth, or will it rule on the earth? By considering what the entire Bible teaches on that topic rather than one verse we will assist others to attain a much deeper knowledge of the truth and help them to learn how to solve these kinds of problems. |
The e-Watchman Mailbag Collection
April 05, 2006
