JWTruth.orgDocumented comparison resource
Search

The Bible and the translation · Claim record

The Watch Tower Society's own Kingdom Interlinear prints, beneath the Greek of John 1:1, the word-for-word glosses “and” “god” “was” “the” “Word” — with no indefinite article anywhere in the line — while the New World Translation column beside it reads “and the Word was a god”.

Claim ID claim-bible-john-1-1-kit-literalConcerns 1985Explicit statement
Explicit statement · 1985 Verified

The Watch Tower Society's own Kingdom Interlinear prints, beneath the Greek of John 1:1, the word-for-word glosses “and” “god” “was” “the” “Word” — with no indefinite article anywhere in the line — while the New World Translation column beside it reads “and the Word was a god”. The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures, 1985The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures, 1985

The organisation’s position or later explanation: The organisation's Appendix 2A states that “with equal justification the indefinite article ‘a’ is inserted before the anarthrous θεός in the predicate of John 1:1”, and that English requires an article where Greek does not.

Show the evidence (2 sources)
Primary JW publication Verified

The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures, “John 1:1 (word-for-word English under the Greek)”

1985 · John 1:1 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania

“Ἐν In ἀρχῇ beginning ἦν was ὁ the λόγος, Word, καὶ and ὁ the λόγος Word ἦν was πρὸς toward τὸν the θεόν, God, καὶ and θεὸς god ἦν was ὁ the λόγος. Word.”

The Watch Tower Society's own interlinear sets its word-for-word English beneath the Westcott and Hort Greek text. Its literal line for the third clause reads 'and god was the Word'; the New World Translation column beside it reads 'and the Word was a god'.

Official source

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. Interlinear text opened on wol.jw.org on 19 September 2026 and the Greek and the English gloss read directly from the page.

Corroborated by. src-nwtv-nwt2013-john-1-1

Notes. The Kingdom Interlinear is itself a Watch Tower publication, so this is primary evidence of what the organisation's own scholars took the Greek to say word for word.

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-nwtv-int-john-1-1

Primary JW publication Verified

The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures, “Appendix 2A: Jesus—A Godlike One; Divine”

1985 · pp.1139-1140 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania

“The articular construction of the noun points to an identity, a personality, whereas a singular anarthrous predicate noun preceding the verb points to a quality about someone. Therefore, John’s statement that the Word, or Logos, was “a god” or “divine” or “godlike” does not mean that he was the God with whom he was.”

The organisation's fullest published defence of 'a god'. The appendix also lists seven other translations that render the clause 'a god', 'divine' or 'godlike', quotes Philip B. Harner's 1973 Journal of Biblical Literature article, and gives a chart of anarthrous predicate nouns in Mark and John (apparition, prophet, thief, king and so on) where translators supply 'a'.

Official source

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. Appendix opened in full on wol.jw.org on 19 September 2026; page markers 1139 and 1140 read from the HTML page-number spans.

Notes. The appendix quotes Harner: 'In John 1:1 I think that the qualitative force of the predicate is so prominent that the noun cannot be regarded as definite.' It does not quote any rendering Harner himself proposed.

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-nwtv-int-app2a

Claim page

A direct link to this claim is https://jwtruth.org/evidence/claim-bible-john-1-1-kit-literal/. 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.