607 and the new New World Translation

This page assumes a basic understanding of Jehovah’s Witnesses’ teachings about 607 BCE. For more information, see 607 for Beginners and Jehovah’s Witnesses and 1914.

With much anticipation among the Jehovah’s Witness community, and yet apparently still some surprise, October 2013 saw the release of a significant revision of their translation of the Bible, the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures.

Certain features that had previously been touted as superior to other translations are not present in the new revision. These include the New World Translation’s fairly ‘wooden’ use of ‘progressive actions’, for example, “proceeded to say” instead of “said”. Excessive literalism of some phrases has been paraphrased; for example, the expression “anyone urinating against a wall” (1 Samuel 25:34; 1 Kings 14:10; 21:21; 2 Kings 9:8) has been replaced with “male”, as found in most Bible translations. Similarly, the previous New World Translation’s fairly unique rendering at Jeremiah 5:8: “Horses seized with sexual heat, having [strong] testicles”, has become, “They are like eager, lustful horses,” which is also very similar to most other translations. Other examples of ‘cleaning up’ include the removal of “cock” (“rooster”) and “ass” (“donkey”).

Jeremiah

Chapter 25

Surprisingly, the revision does not make any substantial change to Jeremiah 25:11–12, which still clearly states that the 70 years was a period during which all the nations would serve Babylon, rather than a period of Jewish exile. Additionally, Jeremiah 25:12 still provides cross-references to Daniel 5:26, 30 for the judgement of Babylon’s king at the end of the 70 years.

There is, though, a change to the first half of Jeremiah 25:29 that highlights another problem with Jehovah’s Witnesses’ distorted chronology. It previously stated:

For, look! it is upon the city upon which my name is called that I am starting off in bringing calamity, and should YOU yourselves in any way go free of punishment?”’

The 2013 revision renders this as:

For look! if I am bringing calamity first on the city that bears my name, should you go unpunished?”’

Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that this verse refers, purportedly eighteen years in advance, to the destruction of Jerusalem in 607 BCE, and that other nations impacted by Babylon would only suffer calamities after that.

The portion previously rendered as “that I am starting off in” and now rendered as “first”, are in both cases adverbial forms instead of a correct rendering of the Hebrew verb chalal (חָלַל, Strong’s H2490), meaning “to begin”.^* Most Bible translations render the verb chalal at this verse as “begin”, “am beginning” or “have begun”. The context of the verse is consistent with a calamity that begins in Jerusalem in the fourth year of Jehoiakim (per Jeremiah 25:1) rather than at some later point. If first were the intended meaning, the correct Hebrew term would be ri’shown (רִאשׁוֹן, Strong’s H7223).
* The Hebrew word chalal can also mean to profane or to pierce, neither of which support a rendering of first.

A rendering that suggests that other nations would suffer calamity only after calamity struck Jerusalem is not consistent with the fact that Assyria was destroyed by Babylon not only more than twenty years prior to Jerusalem’s destruction, but also several years before Jehoiakim’s 4^th year.

Chapter 29

There is also a notable difference in the new translation of Jeremiah 29:10. Previously, this verse stated:

“For this is what Jehovah has said, ‘In accord with the fulfilling of seventy years at Babylon I shall turn my attention to YOU people, and I will establish toward YOU my good word in bringing YOU back to this place.’

The ambiguous expression, “in accord with”, was originally used to allow some leeway for the 70 years to end only once the Jews had actually returned to Jerusalem in, allegedly, 537 BCE. However, the new revision renders the verse in a manner that is not consistent with their interpretation:

“For this is what Jehovah says, ‘When 70 years at Babylon are fulfilled, I will turn my attention to you, and I will make good my promise by bringing you back to this place.’”

Despite the context, the verse still incorrectly says “at Babylon”.^* However, the revised rendering quite clearly states that the Jews would only be released after the 70 years had ended (and certainly not that 70 years would end once they had already returned).
* Even in their own interpretation, Jews exiled in 607 BCE were not actually ‘at Babylon’ for 70 years, because they include the two 4-month journeys from Judea to Babylon and from Babylon back to Judea as part of the 70 years.

Even worse, their interpretation of the verse is entirely redundant. If the 70 years were really a period for which the Jews were at Babylon, and the Jews had already returned once that period had ended, there would be no point at all for Jehovah to “turn my attention to you, and … make good my promise by bringing you back to this place” because they would by then already be there.

The following diagram depicts Jehovah’s Witnesses’ view of the ‘70 years’, along with some of the scriptures that contradict their view:

Daniel

Verses in the book of Daniel that relate to the 70 years are not changed in a way that affects the meaning of the verses, and the word “kingship” is still employed (and inconsistently interpreted) at Daniel 1:1 and Daniel 2:1.

The 2013 revision abandons the distinctive translation of the Hebrew noun chorbah as “devastations” at Daniel 9:2, instead rendering it as “desolation” as found in most other translations. Because Daniel 9:2 makes reference to “the word of Jeremiah” (at Jeremiah 29:10) regarding the 70 years, it is now even less plausible to make the claim that Daniel thought the 70 years would soon end, since their own rendering of Jeremiah 29:10 now more clearly states that the Jews would return to their homeland only after the 70 years had already ended.

2 Chronicles

There has been no substantial change to the reference to 70 years at 2 Chronicles 36:21. The rendering of the verse still incorrectly associates ‘paying off Sabbaths’ with “Jehovah’s word spoken by Jeremiah”, despite the fact that Jeremiah never mentioned paying off Sabbaths.

The separately rendered phrases, “until the land had paid off its sabbaths” and “All the days it lay desolate it kept sabbath” should actually be rendered as a single parenthetical statement, directly referencing Leviticus 26:34: “At that time the land will pay off its sabbaths all the days of its lying desolated”. Leviticus 25:8 identifies the period for paying off Sabbaths as 49 years, which is also the length of time from the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 BCE^* until the Jews returned in 538 BCE.
* Various sources say the event occurred in 586 BCE. However, see 586 or 587?

Zechariah

There have been no substantial changes to the references to 70 years at Zechariah^* 1:12 and 7:5.
* Although Zechariah actually refers to the 70-year period from the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 BCE until Darius’ 4^th year (518 BCE), Jehovah’s Witnesses believe these verses refer to the same period of 70 years as Jeremiah, Daniel and 2 Chronicles.

Colossians

The awkward rendering “kingdom of the Son of his love” at Colossians 1:13 has also been abandoned, in favour of “kingdom of his beloved Son”. The former rendering has previously been used by the Watch Tower Society to imply a separate kingdom to the one supposedly set up in 1914; however, there is no indication that their interpretation of the verse has changed.

Index

The entry for 70 in the Bible Words Index has been substantially reduced. Of the verses relevant to their interpretation of Babylon’s 70 years, only Daniel 9:2 is still listed. The section previously also included Jeremiah 25:11, Jeremiah 29:10 and Zechariah 7:5.

Charts

Appendix A6 provides charts for the reigns of kings of Judah and Israel. The charts provide essentially the same information about the reigns as other Watch Tower Society publications, such as Insight on the Scriptures. As such, they do not take into consideration various co-regencies (or rivalries), except where verses about reigns would otherwise be very obviously contradictory. For Judah, the following overlapping periods are not taken into account: Asa & Jehoshaphat (about 3 years), Jehoshaphat & Jehoram^* (about 6 years; Insight speculates about a shorter co-regency), Jehoram & Ahaziah (about 2 years), Amaziah & Azariah (about 24 years), Azariah & Jotham (about 11 years), Jotham & Ahaz^* (about 4 years), Ahaz & Hezekiah^* (about 14 years), and Hezekiah & Manasseh (about 10 years). For Israel, the following overlapping periods are ignored: Ahab & Ahaziah (about a year), Ahab & Jehoram^* (about 4 years), Jehoahaz & Jehoash (about 2 years), Jehoash & Jeroboam (about 12 years), Menahem & Pekah (rivalry, about 10 years), Pekahiah & Pekah (about 2 years).^† There are also some discrepancies between the years given for the beginning of each reign and the corresponding durations provided, even where the years are not given as approximate.
* Indicates kings for whom the length of reign given in the Bible does not include the period of co-regency.
† Where “about” is used above, the period is the upper limit; the actual period of overlap may be some number of months less, but not a full year. For more information about how various overlapping reigns can be deduced from the Bible, see the Comments column for the relevant events in the timeline from 1048 BCE to 515 BCE (PDF). A simplified timeline (PDF) in a style similar to that appearing in the New World Translation is also available.

In total, the Society’s chart extends the length of the reigns for the divided monarchy of Israel and Judah (after Solomon) by 68 years. This discrepancy corresponds to the period from the supposed beginning of Jewish exile in 607 BCE until the actual end of Babylon’s 70 years in 539 BCE. The Society’s chronology is manipulated in order to apply the period of 390 years at Ezekiel 4:5 to the division of Judah and Israel until its date for the fall of Jerusalem. However, when correctly accounting for various co-regencies, the 390-year period actually runs from 929 BCE until the end of Babylon’s 70 years in 539 BCE.^* It makes much more sense that the 390 years to ‘carry their error’ would end only once their punishment had also ended. This is consistent with the first ‘seven weeks’ (49 years) of Daniel’s ‘70 weeks’ starting with the fall of Jerusalem in 587 BCE and ending with the return of the Jews in 538 BCE (Daniel 9:24), only after the people had ‘atoned for their error’ (Daniel 9:2–6). The 40 years at Ezekiel 4:6 correspond to the period from Jeremiah beginning to prophesy in Josiah’s 13^th year (627 BCE) until the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 BCE.
* See the timeline linked above. When the timeline was originally compiled, no consideration was given to Ezekiel’s ‘390 years’; however, the period aligns perfectly.

There were actually only 50 years from the destruction of Jerusalem until the year the Watch Tower Society assigns for the Jews’ return, and therefore only 48 years from the fall of Jerusalem until the actual end of Babylon’s 70 years. However, the Society extends the lengths of reign of Judean kings by 68 years. To make up the difference of the missing period of approximately 20 years when aligning the reigns of Judah with those of Israel, spurious periods are inserted prior to the reigns of Zechariah (10.5 years) and Hoshea (9.5 years).

Various scriptures indicate the years of reign of kings of Judah and Israel relative to one another. The following table shows these correlations, including the points at which the Watch Tower Society’s chronology cannot be reconciled with the Bible. Alignment in the Watch Tower column is considered plausible if it can be interpreted as consistent with the scripture for that row, regardless of whether co-regencies are properly taken into account.

Some misalignments in the Watch Tower Society’s chronology could be resolved by reducing the reign of Jeroboam (I) by one year, increasing Ahab’s reign by one year, and decreasing the reigns of Ahaziah (of Israel) and Athaliah by one year each. However, this would defeat the purpose for adjusting the reigns by 68 years, as Jeroboam’s reign would then start in the wrong year for ending the period of 390 years in 607 BCE.

For more information about the Watch Tower Society’s erroneous chronology throughout the Judean monarchy and the Neo-Babylonian period, see the JW timeline from 1118 BCE to 515 BCE (PDF).

Verse	Judah			Israel			Bible		Watch Tower
	Name	Year	Length	Name	Year	Length	Year (BCE)	Alignment	Year (BCE)	Difference	Alignment
2 Samuel 5:4	David	1	40				1008	✓	1077	69 years earlier	✓
2 Samuel 2:10		?		Ish-bosheth	1	2	?	✓ starting point of Ish-bosheth’s reign not stated	?		✓ starting point of Ish-bosheth’s reign not stated
2 Samuel 2:11; 5:5		8		David	1	33	1001	✓	1070		✓
1 Kings 11:42	Solomon				1	40	969	✓	1037	68 years earlier§	✓
1 Kings 12:20 1 Kings 14:20		1		Jeroboam	1	22	929	✓	997		✓
1 Kings 14:21	Rehoboam		17					✓			✓
1 Kings 15:1–2	Abijah (Abijam)	1	3		18		912	✓	980		✓
1 Kings 15:9–10	Asa	1	41		20		909	✓*	978		✓ (but “counted from 977” per Insight)
1 Kings 15:25		2		Nadab	1	2	908	✓	976¶		✗ 1 year late‡
1 Kings 15:28, 33		3		Baasha	1	24	907	✓	975¶		✗ 1 year late‡
1 Kings 16:8		26		Elah	1	2	884	✓	952¶		✗ 1 year late‡
1 Kings 16:15		27		Zimri	1	7 days	883	✓	951¶		✗ 1 year late‡
1 Kings 16:21		27		Omri/Tibni	1		883	✓			✗ 1 year late‡
1 Kings 16:23		31		Omri		12	879	✓ includes rivalry with Tibni	947¶		✗ 1 year late‡
1 Kings 16:29		38		Ahab	1	22	872	✓	940¶		✗ 1 year late‡ ✗ 1 year too short
1 Kings 22:41–42	Jehoshaphat	1	25		4		871	✓ includes Jehoshaphat’s co-regency with Asa	937	66 years earlier	✓ (✗ 936 per Insight)
1 Kings 22:51		17		Ahaziah	1	2	855	✓ co-regent with Ahab	920¶	65 years earlier	✗ 1 year late‡ ✗ 1 year too long (✓ 919 per Insight)
2 Kings 3:1		18		Jehoram	1	12†	854	✓ 1st year of co-regency with Ahab	917¶	63 years earlier	✗ Jehoram (son of Ahab) 3 years late
2 Kings 1:17	Jehoram (co-regent with Jehoshaphat)	2			1		851	✓ 1st year of sole reign		66 years earlier	✗ Jehoram (son of Ahab) 2 years early
2 Kings 8:16–17	Jehoram	1	8†		5		847	✓ 1st year of sole reign	913		✓ 1st year of sole reign
2 Kings 9:29	Ahaziah	1	1		11		840	✓*	906¶		✓*
2 Kings 8:25–26 2 Chronicles 22:2					12			✓			✓
2 Kings 10:36				Jehu	1	28		✓	905¶	65 years earlier	✗ 1 year too long (✓ 904 per Insight)
2 Kings 11:3	Athaliah	1	6					✓			✗ 1 year too long
2 Kings 12:1	Jehoash	1	40		7		834	✓	898	64 years earlier	✓*
2 Kings 13:1		23		Jehoahaz	1	17	813	✓*	876	63 years earlier	✓
2 Kings 13:10		37		Jehoash	1	16†	798	✓ 1st year of co-regency with Jehoahaz	862¶	64 years earlier	✓
2 Kings 14:1–2	Amaziah	1	29		2		795	✓* 2nd year of sole reign	858	63 years earlier	✓ 2nd year of sole reign
2 Kings 14:21; 15:2	Uzziah (Azariah)	1	52				790	✓ 1st year of co-regency with Amaziah	829	39 years earlier	✓
2 Kings 14:23	Amaziah	15		Jeroboam	1	41	781	✓	844¶	63 years earlier	✓
2 Kings 14:17		Final		15 years after Jehoash			767	✓	828	61 years earlier	✓
2 Kings 15:1	Uzziah	1			27			✓ 1st year of sole reign	829	62 years earlier	✗ Uzziah 11 years early
2 Kings 15:8		38		Zechariah	1	6 months	753	✓	‘803¶’ 792¶	39 years earlier, excluding spurious period	✗ spurious 10½-year gap between Jeroboam & Zechariah
2 Kings 15:13		39		Shallum	1	1 month	752	✓	791¶		✓
2 Kings 15:17				Menahem	1	10		✓			✗ 1 year too long (✓ 790 per Insight)
2 Kings 15:32	Jotham	1	16	Pekah	2		749	✓ 1st year of co-regency with Uzziah; 2nd year of Pekah’s rivalry with Menahem	777	28 years earlier	✓
2 Kings 15:23	Uzziah	50		Pekahiah	1	2	742	✓*	780¶	38 years earlier	✓
2 Kings 15:27		52		Pekah	1	20	740	✓* 1st year of sole reign	778¶		✓
2 Kings 16:1–2	Ahaz	1	16†		17		734	✓ 1st year of rivalry with Jotham; 17th year of Pekah includes rivalry with Menahem and co-regency with Pekahiah	762	28 years earlier	✓ (but “counted from 761” per Insight)
2 Kings 15:30	Jotham	20		Hoshea	1	9	731	✓* 20th year includes 4-year rivalry with Ahaz	‘758¶’ 748¶	17 years earlier, excluding spurious period	✗ spurious 9½-year period between Pekah & Hoshea
2 Kings 18:1	Hezekiah	1			3		728	✓* 1st year of co-regency with Ahaz	746	28 years earlier	✓
2 Kings 18:9		4			7		725	✓ 4th year of co-regency with Ahaz	742	27 years earlier	✗ 1 year late‡
2 Kings 18:10		6			9		723	✓ 6th year of co-regency with Ahaz	740		✗ 1 year late‡
2 Kings 17:11	Ahaz	12						✓ Hoshea’s 9th year ✓ Ahaz’ 12th year including rivalry with Jotham	751 (Ahaz) 748 (Hoshea)	28 years earlier 25 years earlier	✗ ‘1st’ year of Hoshea after spurious period ✗ Ahaz’ 12th year is 3 years earlier than Hoshea’s ‘1st’
2 Kings 16:20 2 Kings 18:2 2 Chronicles 29:1	Hezekiah	1	29†				715	✓ 1st year of sole reign	746	31 years earlier	✗ 1 year too long (✓ 745 per Insight)
2 Kings 18:13 Isaiah 36:1		14					702	✓ 14th year of sole reign	732	30 years earlier	✓
2 Kings 21:1	Manasseh	1	55				696	✓ co-regent with Hezekiah	716	20 years earlier	✓
2 Kings 21:19	Amon	1	2				641	✓	661		✓
2 Kings 22:1	Josiah	1	31				639	✓	659		✓
2 Kings 23:31	Jehoahaz	1	3 months				609	✓ started late 609	628		✓ started early 628
2 Kings 23:36	Eliakim (Jehoiakim)	1	11				608	✓	628		✓
2 Kings 24:8	Jehoiachin	1	3 months				598	✓	618		✓
2 Kings 24:18	Zedekiah (Mattaniah)	1	11				597	✓	617		✓

* The calendar year for Judah for this event is one greater than the year given for Israel but is consistent with Tishri-based dating for Judah and Nisan-based dating for Israel. Comparison of various verses (e. g., 2 Kings 18:1, 9–10; 2 Kings 8:25–26; 10:36) confirms Judah used Tishri-based dating and Israel used Nisan-based dating for reigns.
† The recorded length of this reign does not include the initial period of co-regency.
‡ This misalignment can only be reconciled if the dating systems for the reigns are arbitrarily changed.
§ This 68-year discrepancy corresponds to the spurious period from 607 BCE until Babylon’s fall in 539 BCE, which makes up the remainder of Ezekiel’s ‘390 years’.
¶ The Watch Tower Society gives the year for the start of this reign as approximate.
¹ In light of 2 Kings 15:30, the Watch Tower Society claims 2 Kings 17:1 refers to Hoshea ‘beginning’ to reign (in 748 BCE) ‘in some sense’ in Ahaz’ 12^th year (even though it says Ahaz’ reign began in 762 BCE). Some Bible commentaries suggest Hoshea’s reign ‘became peaceful’ in Hoshea’s 9^th year (Ahaz’ 12^th year), even though that would be during Shalmaneser’s siege. However, Hoshea had actually reigned 9 years by the time of Ahaz’ 12^th year. Most translations, including the previous NWT, use “became” or “began” at this verse for Hoshea’s reign, but it does not appear in the original text. Young’s Literal Translation and Douay-Rheims have renderings consistent with 2 Kings 15:30. The rendering has been improved in the revised NWT, but their interpretation remains flawed and internally contradictory.Scripture quotations, unless otherwise stated, are from the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures Copyright ©2013 Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society.
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