How Jehovah’s Witnesses Translate John 17:3 in their Bible

I am sure you know the John 17:3 scripture; every Jehovah’s Witness knows that verse, or should know it. If you don’t know it, here it is:

“This means everlasting life, their taking in knowledge of you, the only true God, and of the one whom you sent forth, Jesus Christ.” – John 17:3 | New World Translation

From my experience, Jehovah’s Witnesses on average only know about 15 to 25 scriptures in total but this is one of the foundation scriptures. It’s one of the founding members of the JW scriptureology and probably the first one I learned.

Okay, so why do I bring it up? Well, John 17:3 is different within the New World Translation (sound a tad Masonic?), when compared to every other translation I’ve ever seen!

The Jehovah’s Witness Organisation bible translation states that everlasting life comes from gaining knowledge about God and Jesus. All other versions state that everlasting life comes from KNOWING God and Jesus. This infers an intimate relationship that goes far beyond just knowing stuff. The Organisation spends precious little time encouraging their members to get to KNOW God and Jesus, but they spend a hell of a lot of time encouraging their members to take in knowledge (from The Organisation’s publications) about God and Jesus. Funny that, isn’t it?

This is not a distinction without a difference, either. It’s like a person saying to another, “you know all about me, but you don’t know me at all.”

I will assert that a person can come to know God without reading a single verse in the Bible, or any other holy book. I will assert that a person can come to know Jesus, while being ignorant of the many things written about Jesus.

But only the act of “learning” truly sells books and magazines. The “taking in of knowledge” is a never-ending cycle which requires books and more books because “taking in” implies a life-long continuum of learning. Pyramid schemes use these tactics. Oh, guess what? Cults do too.

Learning about but never being able to know God is The Organisation’s rendition of the Gospels. Yes, it sells books, but what misery it creates for poor little Jehovah’s Witnesses who believe they can only intellectualize God, but never really know God.

Still think being a Jehovah’s Witness doesn’t mean you’re in a cult? Maybe you need to “learn”, and/or “take in knowledge” of how cults work.