What about Revelation 5:10?

Question: In Revelation 5:10, the NWT says: "and you made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God, and they are to rule as kings over the earth". I have a "Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures" and in the front inside cover there is a chart, "Diagram Illustrating Basic Meanings of Greek Prepositions". It shows that theGreek preposition, "eppi" means "upon" and another as meaning "over". The literal Greek says "upon", but the English translation says, "over.” Why is the clear meaning of this preposition changed here? How can you look at the Greek as saying one thing and the English saying another word in exact opposition to the Greek? Isn't this an example of bias on the part of the translators?


Every translator has a bias toward what they perceive to be the truth, or at least they should have. In the case of the NWT publishers and Jehovah’s Witnesses it is our belief that God’s heavenly kingdom is just that – heavenly. From that doctrinal perspective, then, the kingdom will rule over the earth, not “upon” it, as if to infer it is an earthly kingdom and not heavenly in nature. But, it could also be said that God’s heavenly kingdom will extend its rule “upon” the earth. Whichever word is used it is best not to place so much emphasis on a single preposition in a particular verse. Thankfully our discerning the truth regarding the nature of God’s kingdom does not depend upon how a particular translator translated a particular preposition. The Bible as a whole clearly establishes the truth regarding God’s kingdom.