The Gentile Times Reconsidered Chronology Christ

212 THE GENTILE TIMES RECONSIDERED
Rotherham’s The Emphasized Bible (3rd ed., 1897): “That as soon as
there are fulfilled to Babylon seventy years.”
American Standard Version (1901): “After seventy years are
accomplished for Babylon.”
New American Standard Version (1973): “When seventy years have
been completed for Babylon.”
New International Version (1978): “When seventy years are
completed for Babylon.”
The New Jerusalem Bible (1985): “When the seventy years granted to
Babylon are over.”
Other translations give expression to the same thought in other
words:
Smith-Goodspeed’s The Complete Bible (1931): “As soon as
Babylon has finished seventy years.”
Byington’s The Bible In Living English (1972): “As soon as Babylon
has had a full seventy years.”
The Anchor Bible (John Bright: Jeremiah, 2nd ed., 1986): “Only when
Babylon’s seventy years have been completed.”
Tanakh. The Holy Scriptures (The Jewish Publication Society, 1988):
“When Babylon’s seventy years are over.”
The Revised English Bible (1989): “When a full seventy years have
passed over Babylon
All these translations express the same thought, namely, that the
seventy years refer to the Babylonian supremacy, not to the Jewish
captivity nor to the desolation following the destruction of
Jerusalem in 587 B.C.E.
That this is what the Hebrew text meant to say is supported by
the fact that it is in agreement with Jeremiah’s prophecy at
Jeremiah 25:11 on the seventy years’ servitude. As long as the
Babylonian king held supremacy, other nations had to serve him.
The New World Translation, however, is not the only translation
that renders the preposition l e by “at” in Jeremiah 29:10. Some
other translations, too, use the preposition “at” in this text. The
best known is the King James Version (KJV), originally published in
1611, which for more than three centuries remained the Authorized
Version (AV) for Anglican and many other Protestant churches. In
the course of time this translation has acquired an authority and
sanctity of its own. This is also reflected in modern revisions of