To ME or not to ME! That is the Question!

The text I will look at, in some detail, is John 14:14. It reads in  the KIT (see below). To learn more about the KIT click here and here.

The Greek text in the KIT comes from Westcott and Hort (WH) and as you can see it has Jesus saying, "If you ask ME in MY name" whereas the NWT has rendered it, "If you ask in MY name." The Word ME  has been eliminated by the WT. For more information on WH go here.

Which is correct? 

The answer has HUGE implications on WT doctrine which states that you CANNOT pray to Jesus since he is a created being. You can only pray to God. If Jesus is prayed to, it becomes evident that Christ is God in the same sense as the Father is God. For the WT, ME has to be excluded from the text, or they are wrong about Jesus. The WT has a vested interest to discount the evidence for the inclusion of ME in John 14:14. On the other hand, if ME is included or not included, both are compatible with the Historic Christian Faith.

FYI. Ancient manuscripts fall into two general “families”: the "Byzantine" (manuscripts found mostly in Eastern Europe--these manuscripts generally DO NOT have the word ME at John 14:14) and the "Alexandrian" (manuscripts found mostly in Northern Africa--these manuscripts generally DO have the word ME at John 14:14). 

The Textus Receptus (Received Text or TR, from which we get the KJV and other Bibles) rely heavily on Byzantine manuscripts whereas WH rely heavily on the Alexandrian manuscripts. For more information on Alexandrian manuscripts go here and for more information on Byzantine manuscripts go here. Information on Textus Receptus can be found here.

BACK TO JOHN 14:14. IN DEFENSE OF THE WT translation of John 14:14, a WT apologist here gives two reasons for eliminating ME in the verse. The Apologists words are in BLUE.

(1) Many "trinitarian" Bibles such as KJV, NKJV, ASV, RSV, and others have the verse rendered, "If you ask anything in my name, I will do it." All these translations use the Greek found in TR, however, as noted below, older and more reliable manuscripts (P66 and P75), were discovered in the 1950's which have the word ME at John 14:14. Further note, that the NASB (New American Standard) and the NRSV (New Revised Standard) both, taking advantage of older and more reliable manuscripts, have included ME at John 14:14.

(2) The apologist further claims John 14:14 is a disputed text and cites still another WT apologist here. This Second Apologist states:

“New Testament textual scholars consider the Alexandrian text to be generally “the best text and the most faithful in preserving the original.”" (Bruce M. Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, p.5). This statement favors the WH text--no help for the WT translation of John 14:14. 

The Second Apologist continues, “the “me” reading is found in a number of such ancient textual witnesses including P66 (2^nd century.) Again, this statement favors the WH text--no help for the WT translation of John 14:14. 

FYI. A "textual witness" is defined as writings inscribed or printed on paper, parchment, papyrus, or similar materials. Note that P66 refers to Papyrus Number 66. Ancient manuscripts, when discovered, are given a letter like “P” for papyrus, indicating the kind of material they were written on AND a number.  Here, here and here are lists of the OLDEST Greek Manuscripts that contain portions of the Gospel of John. After you look at these lists, you should further note that ONLY TWO contain John 14:14: P66 and P75 and both are dated 2^nd/3^rd century and both are in the Alexandrian family of manuscripts, having been discovered in Egypt in the 1950's.

The Second Apologist has already stated that P66 contains ME. But what about P75?

You can find the text of P75 here. Below is John 14:14 from P75. 

εαν τι αιτησητε με εν τω ον̣οματι μου τουτο ποιησ

It is identical to WH  and the KIT at John 14:14 and is translated as: 

  εαν         τι                  αιτησητε           με    εν   τω   ον̣οματι     μου    τουτο   ποιησ

if ever  anything   you should ask   ME  in   the   name      of me   this     I shall do

This information favors the WH text--again no help for the WT translation of John 14:14.

The Second Apologist in his final argument then states, “The Sahidic Coptic text (2^nd/3^rd century) is also in the Alexandrian text family. Like still other ancient witnesses it does not have “me” at John 14:14.

There are only two ancient manuscripts from the Alexandrian text family dated 2^nd/3^rd century that have John 14:14, P66 and P75, and as I have just shown, they both have ME included. What text the Second Apologist is talking about is a  mystery. He DOES NOT provide a link or a reference that can be looked up and his statement verified.

My opinion: Which text is correct at John 14:14, TR or WH? Both P66 and P75 were discovered in the 1950’s. They are the EARLIEST copies of John 14:14 and date between 175 to 225 AD. Although both TR and WH were compiled before the 1950’s, only the manuscripts used by WH at John 14:14 agree with P66 and P75. Therefore, I believe WH is correct at John 14:14.

The WT also believes WH to be the earliest and most reliable text. Page nine (9) of the purple KIT reads, “the Greek text that we have used as the basis of our New World Translation is the widely accepted Westcott and Hort text (1881), by reason of its admitted excellence.”

One last note. Also on page nine (9) of the KIT the WT states, “Where we have varied from the reading of the Westcott and Hort text, our footnotes show the basis for our preferred reading.”

The WT has definitely varied from the WH text at John 14:14 by leaving out the word ME and thus changing the whole meaning of the text. However, there is no such footnote for John 14:14. The WT just changed the verse and did not give a reason for doing so.

If you are interested in looking deeper into John 14:14, I found these two sites very helpful: here and here.

For a comprehensive answer to the question, Can we pray to Jesus? go here.