On August 13, 2023, Brother Roy Zeeman, a member of the Suriname Branch Committee, released the Bible books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in the Aukan language. There were 2,713 people in attendance at the special meeting held at the Assembly Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the city of Paramaribo, Suriname. An additional 691 were tied in via live stream at a Kingdom Hall in Cayenne, French Guiana, and several other locations. All four Gospels were immediately available in digital format. In addition, printed copies of The Bible—The Good News According to Matthew were available. The remaining three Gospels will be available in print when the entire New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures is released in Aukan.

Aukan is a creole language primarily spoken by people living in Suriname and neighboring French Guiana. It is mainly a spoken language with limited written material. Publishers in Aukan-speaking congregations currently use the New World Translation in Sranantongo for the meetings and the ministry. While Sranantongo is widely spoken in Suriname, many Aukan speakers are not fluent in the language. Therefore, publishers often face the challenge of having to translate Bible texts into Aukan while in the ministry. One translator stated: “We are excited to have this new release available that will now allow Aukan-speaking people of all ages and educational backgrounds to benefit fully from God’s Word.”

Along with our Aukan-speaking brothers and sisters, we are confident that this new Bible release will help even more sincere ones to glorify Jehovah.—Psalm 34:1.