On Tuesday, August 29, 2023, the revised New World Translation was released in Lingala. Additionally, portions of the New World Translation were released in the Alur, Kinande, Kipende, Kisonge, Kituba, and Uruund languages. Brother Mark Sanderson, a member of the Governing Body, spoke to the 75,715 people in attendance at Martyr’s Stadium in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, during the “Exercise Patience”! Regional Convention. Another 219,457 people were tied in via video stream at 53 Assembly Halls and other locations throughout the branch territory. Printed copies of the revised New World Translation in Lingala and the New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures in Kisonge were distributed. Printed copies of the remaining translations will be available at a later time. The digital editions of all translations were immediately available for download. The releases were as follows:

• Approximately 1,750,000 people speak Alur, primarily in Mahagi

• 1,609 publishers serve in 45 Alur-speaking congregations

• Jehovah’s Witnesses first began translating publications into Alur in 2013

• The remote translation office (RTO) is located in Bunia

• Approximately 903,000 people speak Kinande in Ituri and North Kivu

• 4,793 publishers serve in 78 Kinande-speaking congregations

• Jehovah’s Witnesses first began translating publications into Kinande in 1998

• The RTO is located in Butembo

• An estimated 2 million people speak Kipende in the provinces of Kasai, Kwango, and Kwilu

• 3,349 publishers serve in 88 Kipende-speaking congregations

• Jehovah’s Witnesses first began translating publications into Kipende in 1996

• The RTO is located in Kikwit

• Approximately 1 million people speak Kisonge, mostly in the province of Lomami

• 1,043 publishers serve in 31 Kisonge-speaking congregations

• Jehovah’s Witnesses first began translating publications into Kisonge in 2006

• The translation office is located in Kinshasa

• Kituba is spoken by over 12 million people across the southern part of Republic of the Congo as well as in Angola and Gabon

• 2,137 publishers serve in 30 Kituba-speaking congregations

• The RTO for Kituba was opened in Pointe-Noire in 2019

• Over 40 million people speak Lingala

• 74,023 publishers serve in 1,266 Lingala-speaking congregations

• Jehovah’s Witnesses first began translating publications into Lingala in the 1960’s

• The Lingala New World Translation was released in 2009

• The translation office is located in Kinshasa

• Approximately 153,000 people speak Uruund, primarily in the province of Lualaba

• 553 publishers serve in 19 Uruund-speaking congregations

• Jehovah’s Witnesses first began translating publications into Uruund in 1994

• The RTO is located in Kolwezi

These new and revised translations will be of great use to the brothers and sisters working in these language fields. One Kituba-speaking publisher commented: “We observed that people in the territory would often not listen to us because we were not using publications in their language. For example, when we read scriptures in French, they did not understand. With this new translation, even if people are not able to read well, they will be able to listen and benefit from God’s Word.” Speaking about the benefits of the revised New World Translation in Lingala, one reader said: “Having such simple sentences to use in the ministry will be like having a treasure to share with those we meet.”

We are confident that Jehovah will bless the use of these new translations as our brothers and sisters reach those who are “eager to hear the word of God.”—Acts 13:7.