The year 2023 marks 75 years of Jehovah’s Witnesses translating Bible-based publications into Sinhala, Sri Lanka’s most widely spoken language.

Our publications in Sri Lanka were initially published in English only, since English was the official language of the country during colonial rule. But in 1948, the first publication in Sinhala was released, the booklet The Joy of All the People. One year after the booklet’s release, the number of publishers in Sri Lanka had more than doubled from 12 to 25.

In 1953, the booklet Basis for Belief in a New World and the book The Truth Shall Make You Free became available in Sinhala. Just a few years later, in March 1958, our brothers reached a major translation milestone—the release of the first Sinhala issue of The Watchtower.

The culmination of the Sinhala translation work came in 2009. That year, Brother Stephen Lett, a member of the Governing Body, visited Sri Lanka and announced the release of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures in Sinhala.

One of the brothers who attended the Bible release said: “When I received the New World Translation in Sinhala, I was filled with deep gratitude to Jehovah, our Grand Instructor. The translation is easy to read and understand, making it easy for me to see how to apply the information in my life.”

It is clear that Jehovah is blessing the 4,839 publishers in the 63 Sinhala-speaking congregations as well as all of the 7,121 publishers in Sri Lanka. We know that Jehovah’s blessing will continue as they speak and teach the “pure language.”—Zephaniah 3:9.