Skip to content

Skip to table of contents

New World Bible Translation Committee

New World Bible Translation Committee

A group of anointed Christians appointed by the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses to produce a translation of the Bible in modern English. In order to give due honor to the Author of the Bible, the committee members have chosen to remain anonymous.

Formed in the 1940’s, the original committee produced the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures in installments, beginning with the Christian Greek Scriptures, released in 1950. The complete Bible in one volume was released in 1961. The committee also prepared The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures, released in 1969. The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures​—With References, published in English in 1984, included a limited number of textual revisions as well as extensive marginal references, footnotes, and appendix material.

In 2008 the current New World Bible Translation Committee was commissioned to make a comprehensive revision of the New World Translation to reflect changes in English vocabulary and in the way certain words and expressions are now used. The committee also took into consideration newly available Bible manuscripts as well as recent advances in the study of the ancient Biblical languages and manuscripts. The result is the 2013 English revision. Since then, the revised New World Translation has also been produced in many other languages.