“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 [the Bible’s] 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. After all, the so-called New Testament was written, not in the classical Greek used by philosophers like Plato, but in the common, everyday Greek called Koine. Yes, the Bible was written so that it could be read and understood by the common people.

To this end, in recent years a number of modern translations have been produced in various languages. The result has for the most part been quite beneficial. The Scriptures have been made more accessible to the public at large. Even so, many of these new versions fall short when it comes to unbiased accuracy and clarity. For example, some tend to obscure the Bible’s clear teachings on the condition of the dead and the name of the true God.

Lovers of God’s Word therefore welcome the  release of the New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures in [cite language]. Jehovah’s Witnesses announced the release of this modern translation on [date]. Because the translators did not allow religious teachings to influence their work, the translation offers unprecedented accuracy in its renderings, making possible a depth of Bible understanding that was never before available in the [language] 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 [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.”

Were the members of the translation committee qualified to take on this task? Some disgruntled scholars have argued that without a disclosure of the translators’ names and academic credentials, the work should be summarily dismissed as the work of amateurs. But not all scholars take such an unreasonable stance. Writes Alan S. Duthie: “If we know who the translators or the publishers of a particular Bible translation are, does it help us to decide whether that translation is good or bad? Not directly. There is no substitute for examining the characteristics of each translation itself.” *

To date, over 170,300,224 copies of the New World Translation in whole or in part in 98 languages have been produced worldwide. 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) Yet, in most translations, God is a nameless entity, identified only by the title “God” or “Lord.” Originally, however, this was not the case. In the Hebrew Scriptures, God was plainly identified nearly 7,000 times by his personal name, Jehovah. (Exodus 3:15; Psalm 83:18) In later years, superstitious fears caused the Jewish people to cease using the divine name. Following the death of Jesus’ apostles, the Christian congregation was infected by this superstitious viewpoint. (Acts 20:29, 30; 1 Timothy 4:1) Copyists of the Greek portions of Scripture began replacing God’s personal name, Jehovah, with the Greek words Kyʹri·os and The·osʹ, which mean “Lord” and “God” respectively.

The New World Bible Translation Committee  has taken the bold step of restoring the name Jehovah to the Christian Greek Scriptures (“New Testament”), 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.” (American Standard 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.” Grasping the distinction the Scriptures make between Jehovah God and his Son is not academic. (Mark 13:32; John 8:17, 18; 14:28) It is crucial to one’s salvation. Says Acts 2:21: “Everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved.”

There are additional outstanding features of the New World Translation. The highly refined Greek master text by Westcott and Hort served as the basis for this translation. However, other early papyri and master texts, such as those by Nestle and Aland and by the United Bible  Societies, were consulted. Painstaking care was then taken to render the original Greek as accurately and faithfully as possible in simple, modern language. Doing so not only preserved much of the flavor and color of the original Bible writings but also opened up a world of understanding.

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 [language] is only the beginning. Plans have been made to translate the entire Bible in due time. Can readers be sure, though, that the [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 into other languages would best be handled as a team effort. Bible translation teams were thus established in a number of lands 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 Bible 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. 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. 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 vernacular equivalents.

The success of these arrangements can readily be seen by looking at the results. We urge you to examine the New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures. You can obtain it from the publishers of this magazine. 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; the detailed maps; 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.