On May 27, 2023, Brother Jaroslav Sekela, a member of the Czech-Slovak Branch Committee, released The Bible—The Book of Matthew in the Romany (Eastern Slovakia) language. The Bible book was released during a special meeting held in the town of Michalovce in eastern Slovakia. All those attending this special event received printed copies. The Bible book was also made available in electronic format.

Romany is related to languages such as Bengali, Hindi, and Punjabi. A large number of words in Romany have been adopted from local languages in the regions where Romany people have settled. This results in many variations in the vocabulary of the Romany dialect spoken in eastern Slovakia. The translation team took these variations into consideration during the project.

Another translation of the Bible in Romany (Eastern Slovakia) is available, but it replaces God’s name, Jehovah, with phrases such as o Raj and o Del, which mean “Lord” and “God.” Additionally, a number of verses are paraphrased, which makes it difficult for a reader to grasp the original thoughts. This newly released translation of the book of Matthew contains Jehovah’s name and is written in clear language.

A translator who worked on this project said: “When it comes to translating the Bible, it is very important that the translation conveys God’s message accurately so that people will come to know and love him.”

Another translator stated: “Since the Romany people often have to struggle against discrimination, Matthew 10:31 can be particularly comforting. It reminds us that Jehovah notices even sparrows, which had very little value to people in Bible times. We are more precious to Jehovah than many sparrows.”

We are confident that this translation will help readers continue to learn about and recognize Jehovah’s love and care for them.—1 Peter 5:7.