On July 19, 2019, Brother Stephen Lett of the Governing Body enthusiastically announced the release of the New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures in Icelandic at the international convention in Copenhagen, Denmark.

On Friday morning of the convention, the chairman invited all in the Icelandic-language field to meet in a small lounge within the stadium complex during the noon break. During this special meeting, Brother Lett presented the Bible to the 341 grateful brothers and sisters who were in attendance.

For centuries, Bible translation has been an important part of Iceland’s literary heritage. In 1540, Oddur Gottskálksson published the first translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures into Icelandic. Since 2010, our Icelandic fellow worshippers have been using the Bible of the 21st Century, published by the Icelandic Bible Company. Now, the brothers and sisters in the Icelandic field are eager to use the newly released translation to share the good news with the more than 300,000 people who speak the language.

A brother on the translation team states: “The translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures into Icelandic took almost four years. What makes this translation unique is that it fully restores Jehovah’s name to its rightful place in the Scriptures. This is in harmony with Jesus’ prayer recorded at John 17:26: ‘I have made your name known to them and will make it known.’”

We are grateful for Jehovah’s continued blessing on our commission to preach the good news to the entire inhabited earth, which is largely made possible due to our translation work. It is our prayer that many more will want to learn about “the magnificent things of God” as they read from his Word in the language of their heart.—Acts 2:11.