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The Bible and the translation · Claim record

The 1984 Reference Bible printed the added word as “all [other] things”, in square brackets marking it as supplied; the 2013 revision prints “all other things” with no brackets and no footnote.

Claim ID claim-bible-col-1-16-brackets-removedConcerns 2013Later reinterpretation
Later reinterpretation · 2013 Verified

The 1984 Reference Bible printed the added word as “all [other] things”, in square brackets marking it as supplied; the 2013 revision prints “all other things” with no brackets and no footnote. New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures—With References, 1984New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (Study Edition), 2013New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, 2013

The organisation’s position or later explanation: The 2013 revision's Appendix A2, “Features of This Revision”, documents many vocabulary and style changes but does not mention the removal of square brackets. No official explanation was located.

Show the evidence (3 sources)
Primary JW publication Verified

New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures—With References, “Colossians 1:16-20”

1984 · Colossians 1:16-20 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania

“because by means of him all [other] things were created in the heavens and upon the earth … All [other] things have been created through him and for him. 17 Also, he is before all [other] things and by means of him all [other] things were made to exist … 20 and through him to reconcile again to himself all [other] things”

In the 1984 Reference Bible the same five occurrences of 'other' are enclosed in square brackets, which that edition uses to mark words supplied by the translators.

Official source

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. Chapter page opened on wol.jw.org on 19 September 2026; brackets present in the text as displayed and read directly.

Corroborated by. src-nwtv-nwt2013-col-1-16

Notes. This is the direct confirmation that the 1984 edition bracketed 'other' at Colossians 1:16, 17 and 20 and the 2013 edition does not.

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-nwtv-rbi8-col-1-16

Primary JW publication Verified

New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (Study Edition), “Colossians 1:16-20”

2013 · Colossians 1:16-20 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania

“because by means of him all other things were created in the heavens and on the earth … All other things have been created through him and for him. 17 Also, he is before all other things, and by means of him all other things were made to exist … 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all other things by making peace through the blood he shed on the torture stake”

The word 'other' appears five times in these verses in the 2013 revision, with no brackets and no footnote marking it as an addition.

Official source

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. Chapter page opened on wol.jw.org on 19 September 2026 and the running text of verses 15-23 read in full; the absence of brackets confirmed by eye.

Corroborated by. src-nwtv-rbi8-col-1-16, src-nwtv-int-col-1-16

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-nwtv-nwt2013-col-1-16

Primary JW publication Verified

New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, “Appendix A2: Features of This Revision”

2013 · pp.1722-1725 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania

“The English verb “impale” was used in previous versions of this Bible in connection with the execution of Jesus. While this term could refer to the way that Jesus was nailed to the torture stake, it is more often used in reference to the ancient method of execution by running a sharp stake through the body and fixing the victim on it. Since Jesus was not impaled with the torture stake, this revision uses such expressions as “executed on a stake” and “nailed to the stake” with regard to the manner in which Jesus was fastened to the torture stake.”

The 2013 revision's own account of one change it made. The appendix sets out many vocabulary changes ('long-suffering' to 'patience', 'Sheol' and 'Hades' to 'the Grave', 'soul' rendered by sense) but says nothing about the removal of the 1984 edition's square brackets.

Official source

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. Appendix A2 opened in full on wol.jw.org on 19 September 2026; page markers 1722, 1723 and 1724 read from the page-number spans. I searched the whole appendix for the word 'bracket' and found no occurrence. Independent audit, 19 September 2026: the quotation previously stopped mid-sentence after “nailed to the stake” and closed with a full stop; the rest of the sentence has been restored.

Notes. Useful as evidence that the organisation does document its revisions — which makes the silence about the brackets worth noting, carefully and without imputing motive.

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-nwtv-nwt-a2-impale

Claim page

A direct link to this claim is https://jwtruth.org/evidence/claim-bible-col-1-16-brackets-removed/. Every source above opens the original document or the best available copy. If you believe the wording, date or context is wrong, report an error.