Instead of YHWH (or, JHVH) they substituted the words Kyʹri·os, “Lord,” and The·osʹ, “God.”

In view of this, what is the modern translator to do? Is he justified or authorized in entering the divine name, Jehovah, into a translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures? In the LXX the Greek words Kyʹri·os and The·osʹ have been used to crowd out the distinctive name of the Supreme Deity. Every comprehensive Greek-English dictionary states that these two Greek words have been used as equivalents of the divine name.f Hence, the modern translator is warranted in using the divine name as an equivalent of those two Greek words, that is, at places where the writers of the Christian Greek Scriptures quote verses, passages, and expressions from the Hebrew Scriptures or from the LXX where the divine name occurs.

Throughout the centuries many translations of parts or of all the Christian Greek Scriptures have been made into Hebrew. Such translations, designated in this work by “J” with a superior number, have restored the divine name to the Christian Greek Scriptures in various places. They have restored the divine name not only when coming upon quotations from the Hebrew Scriptures but also in other places where the texts called for such restoration.

How may modern translators determine when to render the Greek words Kyʹri·os and The·osʹ as the divine name? By determining where the inspired Christian writers have quoted from the Hebrew Scriptures. Then they must refer back to the Hebrew text to locate whether the divine name appears there. In this way they can determine the identity to be given to Kyʹri·os and The·osʹ, and make appropriate use of the personal name.

To avoid overstepping the bounds of a translator into the field of exegesis, we have tried to be most cautious about rendering the divine name, always carefully considering the Hebrew Scriptures as a background. We have looked for some agreement with us by the Hebrew versions we consulted to confirm our rendering. Thus, out of the 237 times that we have restored Jehovah’s name in the body of our translation, there is only one instance wherein we have no support or agreement from any of the Hebrew versions. But in this one instance, namely, at 1 Corinthians 7:17, the context and related texts strongly support restoring the divine name.

While many are inclined to view the pronunciation “Yahweh” as the more correct way, we have retained the form “Jehovah” because of people’s familiarity with it for centuries. Moreover, it preserves, equally with other forms, the four letters of the divine name, YHWH (or, JHVH).

We count ourselves happy to be privileged to present this revision of The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures in the interest of Bible education, at this time of the dawn of a righteous “new heavens and a new earth,” where the name of the Author of the Holy Scriptures will be known and honored by all. We shall be grateful if it guides many to right Scriptural understanding and action at this critical time when “everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved.”—2 Peter 3:13; Acts 2:21.

TEXTUAL SYMBOLS: Throughout our footnotes, when giving textual information, it has been necessary to refer to many early manuscripts, papyruses, and codices. Following is a chart of the major symbols that are referenced in the footnotes of this publication.

א (ʼAʹleph) Codex Sinaiticus, Gr., fourth cent. C.E., British Museum, H.S., G.S.

A Codex Alexandrinus, Gr., fifth cent. C.E., British Museum, H.S., G.S.

Arm Armenian Version, fourth to thirteenth cent. C.E.; H.S., G.S.

B Vatican ms 1209, Gr., fourth cent. C.E., Vatican City, Rome, H.S., G.S.

C Codex Ephraemi rescriptus, Gr., fifth cent. C.E., Paris, H.S., G.S.

D Bezae Codices, Gr. and Lat., fifth and sixth cent. C.E., Cambridge, England, G.S.

It Old Latin Versions, Itala, second to fourth cent. C.E.; H.S., G.S.

J¹ Matthew, Heb., edited by J. du Tillet, with a Lat. translation by J. Mercier, Paris, 1555.

J² Matthew, Heb., incorporated as a separate chapter in ʼEʹven boʹchan [“Tried Stone”], by Shem-Tob ben Isaac Ibn Shaprut, 1385. Mss of 16th and 17th cent., Jewish Theological Seminary, New York.

J³ Matthew and Hebrews, Heb. and Lat., by Sebastian Münster, Basel, 1537 and 1557 respectively.

J⁴ Matthew, Heb., by J. Quinquarboreus, Paris, 1551.

J⁵ Liturgical Gospels, Heb., by F. Petri, Wittemberg, 1573.

J⁶ Liturgical Gospels, German, Lat., Gr., and Heb., by Johann Clajus, Leipzig, 1576.

J⁷ Christian Greek Scriptures in 12 languages, including Heb., by Elias Hutter, Nuremberg, 1599.

J⁸ Christian Greek Scriptures, Heb., by William Robertson, London, 1661.

J⁹ Gospels, Heb. and Lat., by Giovanni Battista Jona, Rome, 1668.

J¹⁰ The New Testament . . . in Hebrew and English, by Richard Caddick, Vol. I-III, containing Matthew—1 Corinthians, London, 1798-1805.

J¹¹ Christian Greek Scriptures, Heb., by Thomas Fry and others, London, 1817.

J¹² Christian Greek Scriptures, Heb., by William Greenfield, London, 1831.

J¹³ Christian Greek Scriptures, Heb., by A. McCaul, M. S. Alexander, J. C. Reichardt, and S. Hoga, London, 1838.

J¹⁴ Christian Greek Scriptures, Heb., by J. C. Reichardt, London, 1846.

J¹⁵ Luke, Acts, Romans, and Hebrews, Heb., by J. H. R. Biesenthal, Berlin, 1855, 1867, 1853, and 1858 respectively.

J¹⁶ Christian Greek Scriptures, Heb., by J. C. Reichardt and J. H. R. Biesenthal, London, 1866.

J¹⁷ Christian Greek Scriptures, Heb., by Franz Delitzsch, London, 1981 ed.

J¹⁸ Christian Greek Scriptures, Heb., by Isaac Salkinson and C. D. Ginsburg, London.

J¹⁹ John, Heb., by Moshe I. Ben Maeir, Denver, Colorado, 1957.

J²⁰ A Concordance to the Greek Testament, by W. F. Moulton and A. S. Geden, fourth ed., Edinburgh, 1963.

J²¹ The Emphatic Diaglott (Greek-English interlinear), by Benjamin Wilson, New York, 1864, reprint by Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, Brooklyn, 1942.

J²² Christian Greek Scriptures, Heb., by United Bible Societies, Jerusalem, 1979.

J²³ Christian Greek Scriptures, Heb., by J. Bauchet, Rome, 1975.

J²⁴ A Literal Translation of the New Testament . . . From the Text of the Vatican Manuscript, by Herman Heinfetter, London, 1863.

J²⁵ St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, by W. G. Rutherford, London, 1900.

J²⁶ Psalms and Matthew 1:1—3:6, Heb., by Anton Margaritha, Leipzig, 1533.

J²⁷ Die heilige Schrift des neuen Testaments, by Dominik von Brentano, third ed., Vienna and Prague, 1796.