Colin Carson, a member of the Board of Trustees of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Malawi, presented the new translation. This is the first ever translation of the Bible in MSL. All those in attendance were able to download this new Bible translation.

Important details about the project

There are more than 400,000 deaf people in Malawi.

There are 16 Malawi Sign Language congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Malawi.

The MSL Christian Greek Scriptures Bible is available in digital format.

An organized group of people who regularly meet to worship God and study the Bible.

The translation work started in February 2020. However, a month later, COVID-19 hit and the team had to go into lockdown. The project was then suspended. After some time, the project resumed. On August 8, 2021, the first Bible book to be released in MSL was The Good News According to Matthew.

“It was a joy to see the completion of this project. All translation work was carried out by volunteers. The result is an accurate translation that clearly conveys the Bible’s message of comfort and hope,” comments Augustine Semo who supervises the Translation Department of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Malawi.

Concerning the Bible-release event, Clement Tchauya a deaf Jehovah’s Witness from Ntcheu who was in attendance, enthusiastically stated: “I am so happy! I know that God was behind the translation and production of this new Bible.

It could never have come about without his help! I am so appreciative to have this release. I’m excited to be able to read God’s thoughts in the language of my heart and the way it is currently spoken! God’s Word is very much alive, just like our language.”

“According to the statistics, Malawi has over 400,000 people that are deaf and would benefit from any resources in Malawi Sign Language,” said Gift Thakwalakwa, spokesperson for Jehovah’s Witnesses. “The release of the Bible in Malawi Sign Language has brought the Bible to these people’s homes and will help them understand the Bible in a language they use day to day.”

Around the world, the New World Translation has been translated in whole or in part in more than 260 languages. For more information about the activities of Jehovah’s Witnesses, visit the section “About Us” on the website jw.org©.