Simultaneous for Ten Years!

WHEN asked how she felt ten years ago when the Spanish edition of The Watchtower began to be published simultaneously with the English, one dear Spanish sister responded: ‘We feel it is a blessing because now we were in the same, what do you say, step with English. When I say English, all the time I think of the organization. We refer to the organization as “Mama.” We feel close, near. It’s beautiful. It’s wonderful!’

This faithful sister expressed the feelings of many non-English readers. In years gone by, articles appeared in the Spanish edition of The Watchtower some six months after they were published in English. Other languages experienced similar delays. Understandably, there was an intense desire to publish the same material, at the same time, in many languages.

So beginning with the issue of April 1, 1984, the Spanish edition was the first to become simultaneous with the English edition. Other languages soon followed. By the start of 1985, editions in 23 languages were simultaneous. As translators were located and trained, editions in more languages caught up with the English.

This issue of The Watchtower marks the tenth year of simultaneous publication. The Watchtower is now published in 116 languages, 85 of them simultaneously. This means that 99.3 percent of the total average production of 16,100,000 copies of The Watchtower are produced with the same cover design and articles. Of those attending the weekly Watchtower Study, over 95 percent consider the same material at the same time.

Awake!, companion magazine of The Watchtower, is published simultaneously in 37 of its 74 languages. The annual Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses is published in 18 languages. Such simultaneous publication serves to unite God’s people “in the same mind and in the same line of thought.”​—1 Corinthians 1:10.