Biblical Canon

Jehovah's Witnesses use a 66-book biblical canon equivalent to the Protestant canon, excluding the deuterocanonical books accepted by Catholic and Orthodox churches. Their official Bible is the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (NWT), produced by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society and first published in full in 1961, with revised editions in 1984 and 2013. The NWT is distinctive in several translation choices that reflect JW theological commitments: most significantly, John 1:1 is rendered 'the Word was a god' (lowercase) rather than 'the Word was God,' and the divine name 'Jehovah' is inserted approximately 7,000 times in the Old Testament and 237 times in the New Testament.

Biblical scholars outside the organization have critiqued certain NWT translation choices as doctrinally motivated rather than linguistically justified. Jehovah's Witnesses, however, regard the NWT as an accurate translation that restores the original meaning obscured by traditional translations influenced by Trinitarian theology. The Bible is the supreme authority in all matters, though interpreted exclusively through the Governing Body's official guidance.