In the New World Translation of the Holy Bible (NWT), it reads as follows at Genesis 2:3:
And God went on to bless the seventh day and to declare it sacred, for on it God has been resting from all the work that he has created, all that he purposed to make.
In the King James Version (KJV) the same verse reads as:
And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
You’ll notice that in the NWT, the reader is led to believe that God is still resting, whereas in the KJV, the reader is led to believe that God had rested or that he has finished resting.
These bible’s clearly contradict each other. So which one is correct?
Jehovah’s Witnesses attempt to explain their rendition with the following statement:
If God rested on the seventh day, how has he continued working? The context of the Genesis creation account shows that the statement that God “began to rest on the seventh day from all his work that he had been doing” refers specifically to his work of physical creation respecting the earth. (Genesis 2:2-4) Jesus did not contradict this, however, when he said that God “has kept working until now,” because he was talking about other works of God. (John 5:17) God’s works include the inspiration of the Bible and his guidance and care of mankind.—Psalm 20:6; 105:5; 2 Peter 1:21.
Source: JW.org
What a complex way to justify their “seeming” contradiction. If the NWT had translated Genesis 2:3 like the KJV, there would be no contradiction at all to justify! Why? Because if God had rested, that’s something He would have done in the past and has now finished resting. Therefore he could easily continue to work after having rested and there is no contradiction to be found.
And although there isn’t a contradiction within the KJV, we find that the NWT is at odds with itself.
In the NWT at Hebrews 4:4,10 it reads:
For in one place he has said of the seventh day as follows:”And God rested on the seventh day from all his works…For the man who has entered into God’s rest has also rested from his own works, just as God did from his own.”
Within the NWT at Genesis, the reader is led to believe that God is resting. But in Hebrews, the reader is told that God has rested. What’s worse is that Hebrews is quoting from Genesis 2:3.
This is a clear contradiction within a bible translation!
Unlike the NWT, the KJV is not at odds with itself. The wording in Hebrews 4:4,10 aligns with the wording found in the same bible for Genesis 2:3:
For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works…For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.
So is God Resting or Rested?
For there truly to be non contradiction, God has clearly rested. He is no longer resting.