Category: Theocratic

Categories
Names Theocratic

Jīngdú Běn

Jīngdú (Jīng·dú Meticulous · Reading 精读 精讀) Běn ({Root or Stem of a (Plant)} → [Edition] 本) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

For a while now, the top-of-the-line English version of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures Bible has been the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (Study Edition).

English New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (Study Edition)

Happily, the Mandarin version of this, Shèngjīng Xīn Shìjiè Yìběn (Jīngdú Běn) ((Shèng·jīng (The) Holy · Scriptures 圣经 聖經) (Xīn New 新) (Shì·jiè World · Extent → [World] 世界) (Yì·běn Translated · {Root → [Edition]} 译本 譯本) ((Jīng·dú Meticulous · Reading 精读 精讀) (Běn {Root or Stem of a (Plant)} → [Edition] 本))) → [New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (Study Edition)]) 🔗, is now available on the Watchtower ONLINE LIBRARY.

Mandarin New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (Study Edition)
As can be seen, the Mandarin expression that has been chosen to translate “Study Edition” is “Jīngdú (Jīng·dú Meticulous · Reading 精读 精讀) Běn ({Root or Stem of a (Plant)} → [Edition] 本)”, this week’s MEotW. “Jīngdú (Jīng·dú meticulous · reading 精读 精讀)” literally means “meticulous reading”. “Meticulous” is defined as “showing or acting with extreme care and concern for details”, and that is indeed connected to effective study.

Categories
Culture Language Learning Theocratic

qiánchéng

qiánchéng (qián·chéng {[being] pious; sincere; devout} · {[being] sincere; honest; genuine} → [[having] godly devotion] 虔诚 虔誠) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

Appendix A2 of the English New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (Study Edition), entitled “Features of This Revision”, discusses vocabulary changes that have been made in the current revision, words that have been translated differently than before. As noted in various entries in the excellent resource Referenced Theo. Expressions (RTE), Appendix A2 of the current Mandarin version of the New World Translation Bible (nwt) correspondingly discusses words that have been translated differently in the current revision of the Mandarin NWT Bible, compared to how they had been translated before.

Since we base what we say in Jehovah’s service on his Word the Bible, the vocabulary used in it—and the way those vocabulary words are translated—should be reflected in how we speak in our ministry, at our meetings, etc. So, it is beneficial for us Mandarin field language-learners to be familiar with the latest thinking from the organization on how Bible terms should be translated into Mandarin.

Current Godly Devotion

Sometimes, some words just gradually get used less and less, and people turn to using other words instead. Appendix A2 of the English New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (Study Edition) gives these examples of English words that have fallen out of fashion so much that they may no longer be correctly or easily understood by modern readers, and the words that the English NWT Bible now uses instead of them:

The now obsolete meaning of “dumb” was replaced with “speechless.” (Matthew 9:32, 33) The term “harlot” was changed to “prostitute.” (Genesis 38:15) In this revision, “fornication” is usually rendered as “sexual immorality”; “loose conduct” as “brazen conduct”; and “revelries” as “wild parties.”

One example of a word used in the previous major revision of the Mandarin NWT Bible that may no longer be correctly or easily understood by modern readers is “jìngqián (jìng·qián respecting · pious → [godly] | respecting · {being pious} → [godliness; godly devotion] 敬虔)”, used in the past, for example, to translate the English expression “godly devotion”. Now, “qiánchéng (qián·chéng {[being] pious; sincere; devout} · {[being] sincere; honest; genuine} → [[having] godly devotion] 虔诚 虔誠)”, this week’s MEotW, is used instead in the current version of the Mandarin NWT Bible.—Tímótài Qiánshū ((Tímótài Timothy 提摩太) (Qián·shū Earlier · Book 前书 前書) → [1 Timothy]) 6:6.

Categories
Culture Language Learning Theocratic

chéngnuò

chéngnuò (chéng·nuò {bearing [of]} · promising → [promise (v or n)] 承诺 承諾) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

Appendix A2 of the English New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (Study Edition), entitled “Features of This Revision”, discusses vocabulary changes that have been made in the current revision, words that have been translated differently than before. As noted in various entries in the excellent resource Referenced Theo. Expressions (RTE), Appendix A2 of the current Mandarin version of the New World Translation Bible (nwt) correspondingly discusses words that have been translated differently in the current revision of the Mandarin NWT Bible, compared to how they had been translated before.

Since we base what we say in Jehovah’s service on his Word the Bible, the vocabulary used in it—and the way those vocabulary words are translated—should be reflected in how we speak in our ministry, at our meetings, etc. So, it is beneficial for us Mandarin field language-learners to be familiar with the latest thinking from the organization on how Bible terms should be translated into Mandarin.

Promises, Promises

Sometimes, some words just gradually get used less and less, and people turn to using other words instead. Appendix A2 of the English New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (Study Edition) gives these examples of English words that have fallen out of fashion so much that they may no longer be correctly or easily understood by modern readers, and the words that the English NWT Bible now uses instead of them:

The now obsolete meaning of “dumb” was replaced with “speechless.” (Matthew 9:32, 33) The term “harlot” was changed to “prostitute.” (Genesis 38:15) In this revision, “fornication” is usually rendered as “sexual immorality”; “loose conduct” as “brazen conduct”; and “revelries” as “wild parties.”

One example of a word used in the previous major revision of the Mandarin NWT Bible that may no longer be correctly or easily understood by modern readers is “yīngxǔ (promising 应许 應許)”. Now, “chéngnuò (chéng·nuò {bearing [of]} · promising → [promise (v or n)] 承诺 承諾)”, this week’s MEotW, is used instead in the current version of the Mandarin NWT Bible.—Bǐdé Hòushū ((Bǐdé Peter 彼得) (Hòu·shū Later · Book 后书 後/后書) → [2 Peter]) 3:13.