“If you believe that the Bible is God’s word to mankind, that means God is communicating with us. . . . If your religion affects the whole of your life, then South African Sign language must be that of everyday life.” So wrote scholar Alan S. Duthie in his book Bible Translations and How to Choose Between Them.

Lovers of God’s Word wholeheartedly agree. They fervently believe that “all Scripture is inspired of God and beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness.” (2 Timothy 3:​16) The Bible is not just an ancient book. It is “alive and exerts power,” offering real solutions to the problems of everyday life. (Hebrews 4:​12) For that sacred book to be understood and applied by its readers, though, it must be in the language of everyday life so that it can be read and understood by the common people.

Lovers of God’s Word therefore welcome the release of the New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures in South African Sign Language. Jehovah’s Witnesses announced the release of this modern translation on March 05, 2023. The translation is clear and accurate, making possible an understanding of God’s message that was never before available in the the South African Sign language. You may wonder, though, who is responsible for this remarkable translation?

While the New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures may be new to the South AfricanSign language-speaking people, it has actually been around since 1950. At that time, it was released in the English language by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society​—an international Bible Society with a long history of Bible publishing. The Watchtower of September 15, 1950, stated: “The men who compose the translation committee have indicated their desire . . . to remain anonymous, and specifically do not want their names to be published while they are in life or after death. The purpose of the translation is to exalt the name of the living, true God.”

The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, a one-volume edition of the entire Bible, was released in 1961. And while the names of its translators remain undisclosed to this day, there can be no question as to their motives or the depth of their devotion. The foreword to the 2013 edition stated: “Recognizing the importance of the Bible’s message, we have undertaken the revision of this text with a profound respect for the content of the Bible. We feel the full weight of our responsibility to convey its message accurately. . . . Our goal has been to produce a translation that is not only faithful to the original texts but also clear and easy to read.”

To date, 245,000,000 of the New World Translation have been produced worldwide in whole or in part in 250 languages. What have its many readers discovered?

Jesus taught his disciples to pray: “Our Father in the heavens, let your name be sanctified.” (Matthew 6:9) The Bible identifies God by his personal name, Jehovah, nearly 7,000 times. (Exodus 3:​15; Psalm 83:18) Following the death of Jesus’ apostles, the Christian congregation was infected by a wrong view that many Jews had of avoiding the use of God’s name. (Acts 20:29, 30; 1 Timothy 4:1) Copyists of the Greek portions of Scripture began replacing God’s personal name, Jehovah, with words that mean “God” and “Lord.”

The New World Bible Translation Committee has restored the name Jehovah to the Christian Greek Scriptures, a the name appearing there 237 times. This restoration is based, not on the whim of the translators, but on sound, careful scholarship. For example, Luke 4:​18 quotes the words of Isaiah 61:1. In the original Hebrew text, the name Jehovah appeared in that verse in Isaiah. Appropriately, then, in the New World Translation, Luke 4:​18 is rendered: “Jehovah’s spirit is upon me, because he anointed me to declare good news to the poor.”

Such renderings help readers distinguish Jehovah God from his only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ. For instance, many translations render Matthew 22:44: “The Lord said unto my Lord.” (King James Version) But just who is speaking to whom? Actually, this verse quotes part of Psalm 110:1, which in the original Hebrew text contains the divine name. The New World Translation therefore renders Matthew 22:44: “Jehovah said to my Lord.” The distinction between Jehovah God and his Son is not academic. (Mark 13:32; John 8:​17, 18; 14:28) We must understand this distinction in order to gain salvation. Says Acts 2:​21: “Everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved.”

Painstaking care was taken to render the original Greek as accurately and faithfully as possible in simple, modern language. For instance, the New World Translation endeavors to convey the nuances of Greek verbs. In many modern languages, verbs are conjugated to express the time of a verb’s action​—that is, past, present, or future. In Greek the verbs also indicate what kind of action is involved​—whether it is momentary, completed, or continuous. Consider Jesus’ words found at Matthew 6:​33. The Greek verb meaning “seek” conveys the idea of continuous action. The full impact of Jesus’ words are thus brought out in the rendering: “Keep on, then, seeking first the Kingdom and his righteousness, and all these other things will be added to you.” Similarly, Matthew 7:7 is rendered: “Keep on asking, and it will be given you; keep on seeking, and you will find; keep on knocking, and it will be opened to you.”​—Romans 1:​32; 6:2; Galatians 5:​15.

The release of the Christian Greek Scriptures in South African Sign Language is only the beginning. Plans have been made to translate the entire Bible in due time. Can readers be sure, though, that the South African Sign Language version will have the accuracy and clarity of its English counterpart?

Yes, indeed. This is because the work of translation has been closely supervised by the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Wisely, it was decided that Bible translation would be handled as a team effort. (Proverbs 11:14) Translation teams were thus established throughout the world. A department called Translation Services was set up at the World Headquarters of Jehovah’s Witnesses to meet the needs of those teams, to answer questions from the translators, and to harmonize the different language editions of the New World Translation. In addition, the computerized Watchtower Translation System was developed to assist Bible translators. Among other things, the translation system indicates how each Hebrew and Greek word is rendered in the English edition​—a great aid to translators in selecting equivalent words. Make no mistake: Translation work still requires much human effort. But computerization has greatly simplified the lofty goal set for Bible translation teams, that of rendering the New World Translation with the same accuracy and clarity as the English version.

We urge you to examine the New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures. You can read it online or in the JW Library app, or you can obtain a printed copy from the local congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses. You will also enjoy its numerous special features: the clear, readable type; the outline of contents, which gives you an overview of each Bible book and helps you locate familiar verses more quickly; and the fascinating appendix material. Most important, you can read this Bible with the confidence that it accurately transmits the very sayings of God in the language of everyday life.

Outline of Contents: Found at the beginning of each Bible book, this feature makes it easy to locate familiar Bible verses quickly

Accurate translation: Painstaking care was taken to render the original Greek into English and then into South African Sign Language as accurately and faithfully as possible

Easy-to-read type: A new typeface makes reading a delight

Verses grouped in paragraphs: Instead of making each verse a separate paragraph, verses are grouped to help the reader follow the thought of the Bible writer

Footnotes: Provide alternative renderings, word-for-word translations, and background information

Concordance: In the section entitled “Bible Words Index,” selected words and their location in the Bible are listed

Glossary: Provides brief definitions of hundreds of words used in the Bible