The Watchtower, “A Milestone for Lovers of God’s Word”
“Just who translated this remarkable Bible? The Watchtower of September 15, 1950, said: “The men who compose the translation committee have indicated their desire . . . to remain anonymous, and specifically do not want their names to be published while they are in life or after death. The purpose of the translation is to exalt the name of the living, true God.” Some critics charged that the work should be summarily dismissed as the product of amateurs, but not all took such an unreasonable stance.”
The article marks the hundred-millionth copy of the translation. It acknowledges that 'upon its release, this translation was subjected to severe criticism', defends the anonymity of the translators by quoting Alan S. Duthie ('If we know who the translators or the publishers of a particular Bible translation are, does it help us to decide whether that translation is good or bad? Not directly. … There is no substitute for examining the characteristics of each translation itself'), and cites the Andover Newton Quarterly of January 1963 for the view that the translation shows 'the presence in the movement of scholars qualified to deal intelligently with the many problems of Biblical translation'.
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Provenance and verification note for The Watchtower, A Milestone for Lovers of God’s Word
Confidence note. Opened on the Watchtower Online Library on 19 September 2026 and read in full; the quotations were transcribed from the page (w99 10/15 pp. 28-31). [Independent audit, 19 September 2026] Fetched and read again; the quotation is verbatim and the page markers in the HTML (data-no="28" through "31") confirm pp. 28-31. The Duthie quotation in the context field is also verbatim.
Notes. This is the organisation's own statement of why the translators are not named, and its own acknowledgement of the criticism. It is the best single source for the organisation's answer to the 'amateur translators' charge.
Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-nwt-w99-milestone