The Danish Bible Society removed the word “Israel” from its new edition of the New Testament, the Danish news website 24NYT reported on Sunday.
The “Bible 2020” edition that the group released instead refers to “the people of Israel” and the “Land of Israel” as “Jews” or “land of the Jews,” respectively.
Jan Frost, a supporter of Israel from Denmark who read the new edition, said in a YouTube video that he counted 59 omissions out of 60 references to Israel.
The translators of the new edition defended their decision by explaining that the land of Israel in biblical times is not identical to present-day Israel. At the same time, in the Old Testament translation released as part of the Bible 2020 project, direct references to the land of Israel and its kings remained, i24News reported.
The publication also cited a Danish Christian newspaper that discovered a mistranslation in the New Testament edition that mixed up the Hebrew “friend” or “kinsman” and “enemy.” The mistake was later fixed in the book’s electronic edition.
Imam Mohammad Tawhidi, an Iranian-born Shi’ite cleric and former radical who now preaches about peace, censured the omission on Monday.
He wrote on Twitter, “Danish Bible Society has published a new Bible that does not include the word ‘Israel’ whether it refers to the Holy Land or to the Israelites. ‘Israel’ has been replaced with ‘Jews’ or erased altogether. The agenda is to present Jews as stateless. It’s false and against God.”
