Jehovah’s Witnesses releases New Testament of the Holy Bible in Urhobo and Pidgin
Admin l Sunday, February 12, 2023
LAGOS, Nigeria – Jehovah’s Witnesses in Nigeria participated in a hybrid event across the country. The event is part of the visit of representatives of the Governing Body of the organization to Nigeria.
The event was broadcast live to Kingdom Halls and Assembly Halls of Jehovah’s Witnesses located around the country.
A key highlight of the event was the release of the New Testament of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures in Urhobo and Pidgin English by Mr. Jeffrey Winder, a member of the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses. The new Bible translations bring to [ ] the total number of Bible translations produced by Jehovah’s Witnesses in Nigerian languages.
Reasons for Translating the Bible into Urhobo and Pidgin English
Pidgin English is spoken by over 75 million persons in Nigeria. Users are in West Africa, Europe and the US. These speakers deserve to understand God’s Word without the hinderance of language. The idea is to produce a Pidgin translation that could speak to the heart of English Pidgin speakers in different countries of West and Central Africa.
There are about 5 million users of the Urhobo language. The language has some dialects and has changed over time. This translation in Urhobo is done in accord-ance with the dynamism of the language and can easily be understood by various dialectal groups within the Urhobo community
In a world so full of problems, the message of the Bible brings the comfort and hope we so desperately need. Our goal is not financial profit; we are motivated by love for people, because we want to help as many people as possible to have access to this message in their language.
Who are the translators?
All translators are Jehovah’s Witnesses volunteers and have chosen to remain anonymous. What other publications of Jehovah’s Witnesses are available in Urhobo and Pidgin, besides the Bible?
Jehovah’s Witnesses have been publishing an increasing number of videos in Urhobo and Pidgin English with the content of Bible-based books, magazines, movies and songs with advice that helps people deal with everyday challenges. There is content available for all audiences: children, young people, parents, fam-ilies.
The most widely distributed magazine in the world – The Watchtower – is also available in Urhobo and Pidgin.
Pidgin and Urhobo language publications can easily be accessed from jw.org by selecting the required language from the top right corner of the site. Also, the publications, including the newly released Urhobo and Pidgin English Transla-tions, can be downloaded and read on JW Library App.
Who pays for the work done by Jehovah’s Witnesses?
Advertisement
All the material produced by Jehovah’s Witnesses are made available free of charge. Their publications are part of a voluntary work to help people around the world to understand the Bible. Expenses for their work are covered by dona-tions.
Fast Facts
Jehovah’s Witnesses have been active in Nigeria since 1921. They now number over 400,000
Their educational work is carried out in over 240 lands and is voluntary
All publications produced by the Witnesses, including the Bible, are distributed free of charge
The Witnesses respect each person’s right to decide whether to listen or not to their message.
There are no national or social barriers among Jehovah’s Witnesses – they are from hundreds of countries, speak hundreds of languages and address one an-other simply as Brothers and Sisters
There is no clergy-laity distinction among them.
What are the characteristics of the New World Translation and what manuscripts were used to produce it?
Hebrew (Old Testament) Text: The New World Translation of the Hebrew Scriptures (1953-1960, in English) was based on Rudolf Kittel’s Biblia Hebraica. Since then, updated editions of the Hebrew text, such as the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia and the Biblia Hebraica Quinta, have included recent research based on the Dead Sea Scrolls and other ancient manuscripts.
These scholarly works reproduce the Leningrad Codex and include notes with comparative texts from other sources, such as the Samaritan Pentateuch, the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Greek Septuagint, the Aramaic Targum, the Latin Vulgate, and the Syriac Peshit-ta. The editions of Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia and Biblia Hebraica Quinta were consulted.
Greek (New Testament) text: In the late 19th century, scholars B. F. Westcott and F.J.A. Hort compared existing manuscripts and fragments of the Bible in preparing a standard Greek text that they believed faithfully reflected the origi-nal writings.
The standard text of these scholars was used as the basis for this translation, in addition to other ancient papyri, probably dating from the second and third centuries CE. Furthermore, standard texts such as those by Nestle and Aland and the United Bible Societies reflect recent scholarly research. Some of the findings from these surveys were included in the 2013 revision of the New World Translation of the Bible.
1 Comment
Any bible translation that the JW organization would produce is not a translation that any sincere student of true biblical doctrine should or would use, They totally deny the deity of Christ, and their translations reflect this in key passages. There are many many scriptures in the old testament that associate Elohim for example directly applying to Christ in the new testament. They will use a few scriptures to support their claims that Christ was a good man a perfect man and a good example to follow, which is true, any Christian would not disagree with that, but when examing the entirety of the scriptures of the old and new testament which will speak only truth, the deity of Christ wonderfully shines forth including the Holy Spirit, which is also mistranslated in their translations as God’s “active force”. Again, examining true biblical doctrine will support the deity of Christ 100%. To teach differently is to teach a different gospel spoken by the apostle Paul or any writer that the Holy Spirit inspired to write. ( Galatians 1:8 (NSB) But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed.