The Watch Tower Society's own Kingdom Interlinear glosses προσκυνέω as “worship” where the object is God — Matthew 4:10, Revelation 4:10 — and as “do obeisance” where the object is Jesus — Matthew 14:33 and Matthew 28:9, 17. The Greek verb is the same in every case.
Claim ID claim-bible-proskyneo-split-by-referentConcerns 1985Explicit statement
The organisation’s position or later explanation: The organisation's study note on Matthew 14:33 states the principle directly: “They rendered obeisance to him, not as to a god or a deity, but as to ‘God’s Son.’” On its own account the English rendering is chosen according to who the object is understood to be.
2013 · study note, Matthew 14:33 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania
“did obeisance to him: Or “bowed down to him; paid him homage.” These people recognized Jesus as God’s representative. They rendered obeisance to him, not as to a god or a deity, but as to “God’s Son.””
The note makes explicit that the choice between 'worship' and 'obeisance' for προσκυνέω is governed by who the object is held to be.
A direct link to this claim is https://jwtruth.org/evidence/claim-bible-proskyneo-split-by-referent/. Every source above opens the original document or the best available copy. If you believe the wording, date or context is wrong, report an error.