On August 18, 2023, Brother Kenneth Cook, Jr., of the Governing Body released the revised New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures in Chichewa. The Bible was released on the first day of the 2023 “Exercise Patience”! Regional Convention held at the Lilongwe Assembly Hall in Lilongwe, Malawi. Attendees received printed copies of the Bible and also had the option of downloading a digital edition by connecting their devices to JW Box.

The release talk was live streamed via the JW satellite channel to two stadiums in the central and southern regions of the country, several rural assembly sites, and most Kingdom Halls in Malawi. Additionally, the program was live streamed to select Kingdom Halls in Chichewa-speaking territories in Mozambique. A total of 77,112 enjoyed the Bible release talk at the two stadiums and the rural assembly sites, while thousands more connected to the program at Kingdom Halls.

Chichewa is the national language of Malawi and is spoken by more than ten million people in the country. It is also spoken in parts of Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures in Chichewa was released in 2006, and the entire New World Translation was released in 2010. The brothers and sisters are now delighted to have the complete revised New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures in Chichewa.

One publisher commented: “Many Chichewa-speaking people we meet in the ministry have Bible translations that use very archaic language. When we ask people to read a verse from their own Bible, they often cannot understand the point of the verse. The revised edition of the New World Translation is very straightforward by comparison. I cannot wait to use it in the ministry!”

We are confident that this revised New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures will help our Chichewa-speaking brothers and sisters as well as interested ones to find ‘delight in the law of Jehovah.’—Psalm 1:2.