On Friday, August 18, 2023, Brother José Luis Peña, a member of the Central America Branch Committee, released the New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures in Kekchi. The release was announced during the first day of the “Exercise Patience”! Regional Convention held in San Juan Chamelco, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala. The 590 in attendance received printed copies of the new translation. Digital and audio formats were also made available for download. Kekchi is spoken by over 1,300,000 people in Belize and Guatemala. Currently, some 520 Kekchi-speaking publishers serve in 17 congregations and 4 groups in the two countries.

Several brothers and sisters commented on how the new release will help those from the Kekchi-speaking community to understand Jehovah’s Word more accurately. A sister shared one example: “At 1 Timothy 1:11, the New World Translation describes Jehovah as ‘the happy God.’ However, some other Bible translations in Kekchi fail to accurately describe this aspect of Jehovah’s personality. Now I can use this verse to remind people that knowing Jehovah can make us happy even during difficult times.”

We are confident that this new translation will help many more sincere Kekchi-speaking people to come to know and love Jehovah and treasure his Word.—Proverbs 7:1, 2.