NEW YORK – Jehovah’s Witnesses released the New World Translation in 33 languages in 2020 – the most in any year since releasing their first translation in 1950. As of Dec. 31, 2020, the New World Translation is published in 195 languages.
One of many milestones in their 2020 translation work was reached on Feb. 15, when Geoffrey Jackson, a member of the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses, announced the completion of the first complete Bible in American Sign Language. Speaking at the Witnesses’ release event in Florida, Mr. Jackson said, “As far as we know, Jehovah’s Witnesses are the first organization or group of persons to release the complete Bible in American Sign Language (ASL). And probably that means it’s the first complete Bible in sign language in the world (and) in the history of mankind.”
Another highlight came with the release of the New World Translationin Bislama, a language spoken by about 10,000 people on the remote island of Vanuatu, some 1,100 miles (1,770 kilometers) north of Australia.
Now, however, there is a new Bible translation available in Bislama free of charge.
Jehovah’s Witnesses have been producing and distributing Bibles since the early 20th century. Over time, they acquired printing rights to the King James and the American Standard versions of the Scriptures, among others.
In the Philippines, special events were held during January 2019. Brother Mark Sanderson, a member of the Governing Body, released the Bible in Cebuano, Tagalog, and Waray-Waray. Over 163,000 copies of the New World Translation were distributed to the attendees including those who were tied in to the programs from different parts of Cebu, Leyte and Metro Manila. The complete revised version of the New World Translation has now been translated to six languages in the Philippines including Hiligaynon, Iloko, and Pangasinan.
The translation work is carried out by teams of volunteer translators who work in the areas where the target languages are spoken. The translation, publishing, and printing work of the Witnesses is all supported by voluntary donations. This allows the Witnesses to make the New World Translation available worldwide free of charge.
Scholars and linguists who examine the translations are often impressed.
For example, the Bislama translation released earlier this year won praise from Carol Aru, M.A., a linguist formerly associated with the University of the South Pacific and now working as a consultant. After comparing the New World Translation with some other English Bibles and the other recognized Bible in Bislama, she said: “It is not easy to translate some of the Old Testament books such as Genesis to convey the actual meaning and not [be] just a literal translation. But I note that your translation did a good job ensuring this.”
Because of Bislama’s many variations in spelling, Aru said she often finds herself making many corrections in Bislama texts, but she saw no need for that with the Bislama New World Translation.
Jehovah’s Witnesses plan to release the Bible, in whole or in part, in 36 more languages in 2021.
