Fifty-eight years after it was incorporated the Society began printing copies of the Authorized or King James Episcopalian Version of the Bible of the year 1611. Sixty years after it was incorporated the Society began to print copies of the American Standard Version Bible of 1901. And now seventy-seven years after it was incorporated, the Watch Tower Society produces for the first time, namely, in this year 1961, the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures in one volume, under one cover, a Bible translation that came out in six successive separate volumes from 1950 to 1960. This is only in the English language and not usable by Jehovah’s witnesses in the 157 other languages in which we preach and teach today in 181 lands.

²⁶ So we do not need to have our own Bible translation in order to preach and teach the glorious message for which Jehovah’s witnesses are distinguished from all the sects of Christendom—the good news of the established kingdom of Jehovah God and of his Christ. We use what Bibles are available in all languages.

27. (a) If not that of Bible translations, what is the real question today? (b) What, then, should the united publishers do with regard to the “word of life”?

²⁷ It is today a question, not of Bible translations, but of teaching the true Kingdom message from the Bible. Continue onward, then, you united publishers of the “word of life.” Keep a tight unbreakable grip upon it, but do this by at the same time sharing the “word of life” with others in this dying world. The “word of life” is for all the world, for all nations. “Be glad, you nations, with his people,” says Jehovah God himself. (Deut. 32:43; Rom. 15:10) All of you, then, gladden the life seekers of all the nations by unitedly publishing to them God’s glorious “word of life.”

Bible Correct About Sennacherib’s Death

IN THE days of King Hezekiah an attempted conquest of Jerusalem was thwarted by divine execution of 185,000 Assyrian invaders. In his Universal Jewish History Philip Biberfeld, LL.D., relates the episode and observes: “The Bible report concluded with the assassination of Sennaherib. ‘So Sennaherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh. And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the home of Nisroh his god, that Adrammeleh and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword: and they escaped into the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead.’ [2 Kings 19:36, 37]

“In contradiction to this report, the Babylonian Chronicle stated that on the 20th of Tebet, Sennaherib, king of Assyria, was killed by his son in a revolt. Thus, he was assassinated by only one of his sons. The same account was given by Berossus and Nabonid. With respect to this event of first rate significance for Babylonian-Assyrian history all indications seemed to be that the Babylonian records were more reliable than the Biblical ones. However, the fact is that the opposite is true. In a more recently discovered fragment of the prism of Esarhaddon, he reports himself that his brothers revolted and slew Sennaherib, their father, to gain the kingship. Before he could reach them in Nineveh, they fled from there to unknown parts.

“The Babylonian Chronicle, Nabonid, and Berossus were mistaken; only the Biblical account proved to be correct. It was confirmed in all the minor details by the inscription of Esarhaddon and proved to be more accurate regarding this event of Babylonian-Assyrian history than the Babylonian sources themselves. This is a fact of utmost importance for the evaluation of even contemporary sources not in accord with Biblical tradition.”