Acts 20:7, "breaking bread" and the New World Translation (NWT)

Subject:  Answering an objection to Acts 20:7

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See my answer below:

> <<Acts 20:7 KJV `And upon the first day of the week, when the
> disciples came together to break bread . . .'>>
>
> <<Acts 20:7 NWT `On the first day of the week, when we were
gathered
> together to have a meal . . .'>>
>
> <<My dispute here is NOT about whether the disciples gathered
> together to observe a special ceremony of bread breaking; it is
> about the deliberate mistranslation of plain Greek that can be
seen
> even by one such as myself who has only a rudimentary knowledge of
> Greek. The Greek here is KLASAI-break, and ARTON-bread. There are
no
> other meanings in English for those two Greek words, so the NWT
> rendering is a deliberate mistranslation. And no "updated English"
> can be justified here, as I cannot think of any adult English
> speaker who doesn't know what 'break bread' means.>>
>
> <<An interesting aside-the JWs' own lexicon,the Kingdom
> International Translation, correctly translates the two Greek
words
> above. Why, then, were they left out of their own bible?>>
>
> Well, what sayest thou, Heinz? is this, or is this not a
> deliberate mistranslation ? ? If not,why?

Reply: That's a little dramatic isn't it? (BTW, the Kingdom International Translation is actually the the Kingdom Interlinear Translation, and it is not a lexicon.) The New World Translation here simply engaged in a little dynamic equivalence, though I must admit that I prefer the reading "break bread" for a formal equivalent translation. However, you are working under the assumption that a Bible MUST ONLY translate word for word, but this is a common fallacy:

"He[the translator] thinks that as long as he keeps the 'same' words he cannot be too far wrong with the meaning. Instead, what he has done is not translation at all - he has put a new, and therefore wrong message in the bible. Whenever this happens, the problem has become very serious indeed." Norman Mundhenk, What Translation are you Using, The Bible Translator, Oct 1974, pp 419,420

For instance, in 1 Samuel 24:3, the original expression used here means "cover his feet", but the NKJV and NASB have "relieve himself." Is this is a mistranslation? No, but this follows the original meaning better and therefore it is an improvement.

The King James Version has "the eyes of your understanding" at Eph. 1:18, though the literal meaning is "the eyes of your heart." What the KJV translators did was introduce a meaning for meaning (dynamic equivalent) translation, and it works well.

Now, the expression "break bread" also occurs elsewhere in Acts (see 2:42, 46; 20:11) and the NWT uses the term "meal(s)" each time. Practically each time, the NWT, in its inaugural edition, its Greek Interlinear edition, and its Reference Edition, informs the reader what the literal term is. So the reader is well served in that he knows the literal meaning, and what it means in modern english.

Other Bibles have also rendered this expression similarly: "On Sunday, when we met for a meal." An American Translation by William F. Beck
"we gathered together for the fellowship meal." Good News Bible
"We all met together to eat the supper of the Lord" International English Bible
"a meal" 21st Century NT
Notice that the above Bibles may have insinuated the Lord's Supper, but still did not use the term "break bread."

ARTOS occurs 95 times in the Greek New Testament, and you will be amazed at how many
Bibles use different word for it:
The NIV translates it 4 times as FOOD (Matt. 7:2, 5; Luke 15:17; 2 Th. 3:8).
The NRSV translates it as MEAL at Lk 14:1
The NASB translates it as MEAL at Mark 3:20
Many Bibles,including the NIV above, actually leave it UNTRANSLATED several times.
The ultimate in lexicons, the BAGD, lists "eat a meal" as a definition of "break bread" (see p.110).
Thayer's Lexicon says that it can refer to "food of any kind" and Perschbacker's Analytical Greek Lexicon says, that, besides BREAD, it can also mean "food" and "maintenance, living, necessaries of life." (See also UBS3)

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