- NWT Christian Greek Scriptures footnote 1951 version:
I have been = ego eimi after the aorist infinitive clause and hence properly rendered in the perfect indefinite tense.
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- WT 10/15/50
It appears that, except in the book of Revelation, the New World Translation has done away with the historical present and has rendered all cases of it as verbs in the past tense. Thus, where the King James reads, “Then the devil leaveth [historical present] him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him,” we now read: “Then the Devil left him, and, look! angels came and began to minister to him.” (Matt. 4:11, NW) Note that expression, “began to minister,” instead of “ministered”. This is because the verb “minister” is put in the imperfect tense and here it denotes the beginning of an action that continues for a time.
WT 2/15/57
The Greek verb there used, eimi´, is literally in the present tense, but in view of its being preceded by the aorist infinitive clause which refers to Abraham’s past, the Greek verb eimi´ must be viewed as a historical present. Regarding the historical present Hadley and Allen’s Greek Grammar says, in section 828: HISTORICAL PRESENT.—In vivid narration, a past event is often thought of and expressed as present: . . . The present in this use is freely interchanged with the past tenses . . . ”
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- Kingdom Interlinear Translation 1969
I have been = ego eimi after the aorist infinitive clause and hence properly rendered in the perfect tense.
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- New World Translation with References 1984 (p. 1582-1583)
The action expressed in Joh 8:58 started “before Abraham came into existence” and is still in progress. In such situation εἰμί (ei·mi´), which is the first-person singular present indicative, is properly translated by the perfect indicative. Examples of the same syntax are found in Lu 2:48; 13:7; 15:29; Joh 5:6; 14:9; 15:27; Ac 15:21; 2Co 12:19; 1Jo 3:8.
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Some verses may not read the same as what a person is accustomed to. Which rendering is right? Readers are invited to examine manuscript support cited in footnotes of the Reference edition of the New World Translation, read explanations given in the appendix, and compare the rendering with a variety of other translations. They will generally find that some other translators have also seen the need to express the matter in a similar manner. Reasoning from the Scriptures p. 277-278
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Errors can be made in translations, but one error is a mistake. Two is carelessness at best. Three is a lie. The Watchtower is trying to hide the fact that Jesus was called by the divine name, “I Am.”
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