Presto-Change-O! Part 5 “Addendum”

Back in February, 2010 I did an in-depth look at John 8:58 which is here. The controversy centered around the WT translating the Greek phrase “ego eimi” as “I HAVE BEEN” whereas Bible after Bible translates the phrase as “I AM.” Go here to see how other Bibles translate that phrase.

NOW FOR THE ADDENDUM

You can see that there is a huge difference between “I AM,” present tense and “I HAVE BEEN” past tense.

In the book of John “ego eimi,” is used 23 times. I have listed all 23 times below and how the WT translated each one in their Bible, The New World Translation.

 John 4:26  I am                                               John 6:20  I am                                             John 6:35  I am                                               John 6:41  I am                                               John 6:48  I am                                             John 6:51  I am                                               John 8:12  I am                                               John 8:18  I am                                               John 8:24  I am                                              John 8:58  I have been                                       John 10:7  I am                                             John 10:9  I am                                             John 10:11 I am                                               John 10:14 I am                                             John 11:25 I am                                             John 13:19 I am                                             John 14:16 I am                                             John 15:1  I am                                             John 15:1  I am                                             John 15:5  I am                                             John 18:5  I am                                             John 18:6  I am                                             John 18:8  I am 

What stands out when YOU look at this list? In all the verses EXCEPT John 8:58 the WT has translated “ego eimi” as “I AM.” What is even more damning for the WT is that if you look in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures (KIT) 1969, Purple Cover, the words "ego eimi," in all 23 verses on the Greek side,  are rendered “I AM.” However, when you look at the right side, the NWT side, the Translation committee has translated John 8:58, and only John 8:58 as, “I HAVE BEEN.”

Why the inconsistence?

Bible scholars link John 8:58 and Exodus 3:13-14 where Moses said to God, "Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you.' Now they may say to me, 'What is His name?' What shall I say to them?" God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM"; and He said, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, “I AM” has sent me to you.'"

In John 8:58, Jesus took the divine name, I AM, and applied it to himself. The WT could not have their devotees believing the Bible over their false doctrines, so what were they to do. Simple, Presto Change-O! ego eimi is translated, in the NWT (right side) “I HAVE BEEN’ instead of “I AM.” Now there is no link between Jesus and Jehovah—WT problem solved.

The WT, to make doubly sure, no JW will see the connection between John 8:58 and Exodus 3:13-14 has a footnote in the KIT. It reads:

“It (ego eimi at John 8:58) is not the same as “ho ohn” meaning “The Being” or “The I Am” at Exodus 3:14.”

What the WT doesn’t tell you, is that in Exodus 3:14 the entire phrase is “ego eimi ho ohn,” “I am that I am.” Knowing the entire phrase makes the connection between John 8:58 and Exodus 3:14 quite clear and the WT intellectually dishonest.