English Standard Version

The English Standard Version (ESV) is an English translation of the Bible. It was published in 2001 by Crossway, having been "created by a team of more than 100 leading evangelical scholars and pastors."[6][7][8] The ESV is derived from the 1971 edition of the Revised Standard Version (RSV) text.[1][9]

"ESV" redirects here. For other uses, see ESV (disambiguation).

English Standard Version
Full nameEnglish Standard Version
AbbreviationESV
Complete Bible
published		2001
Derived fromRevised Standard Version (2nd ed., 1971)[1]
Textual basis
Translation typeFormal equivalence
Reading level8.0[4]
Version revision2007, 2011, 2016
PublisherCrossway
CopyrightThe Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®)

Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved.

ESV Text Edition: 2016
Websitewww.esv.org
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.[5]
Genesis 1:1 in other translations
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.[5]
John 3:16 in other translations
The Bible in English
 Bible portal

Crossway states the ESV "emphasizes 'word-for-word' accuracy, literary excellence, and depth of meaning."[6] Crossway claims the ESV adheres to an "essentially literal" translation philosophy that takes into account "differences of grammar, syntax, and idiom between current literary English and the original languages."[10] With regard to gender language, Crossway states, "the goal of the ESV is to render literally what is in the original."[10] The ESV uses some gender-neutral language.[11]

History

During the early 1990s, Crossway president Lane T. Dennis engaged in discussions with various Christian scholars and pastors regarding the need for a new literal translation of the Bible.[12] In 1997, Dennis contacted the National Council of Churches to obtain rights to use the Revised Standard Version (RSV) text as the starting point for a new translation.[13] Crossway later formed a translation committee and started work on the ESV in the late 1990s.[14] In the translation process, approximately six percent of the 1971 RSV text being used for the translation was revised.[15] Crossway claims the ESV continues a legacy begun by the Tyndale New Testament of precision and faithfulness in English translation of the original text, followed in the same standard by "the King James Version of 1611 (KJV), the English Revised Version of 1885 (RV), the American Standard Version of 1901 (ASV), and the Revised Standard Version of 1952 and 1971."[10]

Crossway officially published the ESV in 2001. This was followed by three text revisions: in 2007, 2011, and 2016, respectively.[16]

In 2008, Crossway published the ESV Study Bible, which would go on to sell over 1 million copies.[17] In 2009, the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association named the ESV Study Bible as Christian Book of the Year. This was the first time in the award's 30-year history to be given to a study Bible.[18]

Revisions

2007 Text Edition

Crossway published the first revision of the ESV text in 2007 as the "ESV Text Edition: 2007." The revision made minor changes to the text.[19]

2011 Text Edition

Crossway published the second revision of the ESV text in April 2011 as the "ESV Text Edition: 2011." The revision changed fewer than 500 words in total throughout 275 verses from the 2007 text. These changes were made in each case to "correct grammar, improve consistency, or increase precision in meaning."[20] One notable modification was made in Isaiah 53:5, changing "wounded for our transgressions" to "pierced for our transgressions" in the new text.[21]

2016 Text Edition

Crossway published the third revision of the ESV text in August 2016 as the "ESV Permanent Text Edition (2016)." The revision changed 52 words in total throughout 29 verses from the 2011 text.[22] Coinciding with the release of the revision, Crossway announced “the text of the ESV Bible will remain unchanged in all future editions printed and published by Crossway.”[23] However, in a statement released by Crossway the following month, this policy was abandoned to allow for ongoing "minimal and infrequent" periodic updates to reflect "textual discoveries or changes in English over time."[23] Lane T. Dennis said in the statement: "We apologize for this and for any concern this has caused for readers of the ESV ... Our desire, above all, is to do what is right before the Lord."[24] The revision was subsequently republished as the "ESV Text Edition: 2016."

Use

The ESV has been used as the text for a number of study Bibles, including:

In August 2006, the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod released the Lutheran Service Book (LSB), which uses the ESV as its primary Bible text.[25] With permission from Crossway, the LSB ocassionally uses an alternative reading of the ESV in accordance with the ESV's translation principles.

In January 2009, Oxford University Press published the English Standard Version Bible with Apocrypha. This edition includes an English translation of the Apocrypha by Oxford University Press, being placed in the back of the Bible, intended for "denominations that use those books in liturgical readings and for students who need them for historical purposes."[26] The Apocrypha inside this edition is a revision of the 1977 expanded RSV Apocrypha. Under the editorship of David Aiken, the Apocrypha translation team consisted of David A. deSilva, Dan McCartney, and Bernard A. Taylor. The Göttingen Septuagint was used as the textual basis for all of the Apocrypha, except for 4 Maccabees (being based on Rahlfs' Septuagint) and 2 Esdras (which has a Latin prologue and epilogue to the Greek Apocalypse of Ezra, being based on the 1983 edition of the Stuttgart Vulgate). This edition eventually went out of print.

Anglican and Catholic editions

In February 2018, the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India published the English Standard Version Catholic Edition (ESV-CE), which includes the deuterocanonical books.[27] In agreement with Crossway, the ESV text in this edition was modified by a team of Catholic scholars to adhere to Catholic teaching.[28][29] In 2019, the Augustine Institute published the ESV-CE in North America as The Augustine Bible.[30][31] In April 2020, the Catholic Church in India started using a new English lectionary which uses the ESV-CE text (excluding the Book of Psalms, which uses the Grail Psalms translation instead).[32] In July 2020, the Bishops' Conference of Scotland approved preparation of a new lectionary which uses the ESV-CE as its text.[33] The Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales have also approved the ESV-CE as the text of their lectionary.[34]

In 2019, Anglican Liturgy Press published the ESV: Anglican Edition. This edition includes the Apocrypha, being placed in the back of the Bible.[35]

Criticism

At the 2008 annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society, Mark L. Strauss presented a paper titled "Why the English Standard Version Should Not Become the Standard English Version: How to Make a Good Translation Much Better." In the paper, Strauss criticized the ESV for using dated language among other perceived issues, such as using gender-inclusive language inconsistently in translation.[15] ESV translator William D. Mounce responded to Strauss's criticism:

Mark was not part of the original TNIV [Today's New International Version] team but has been used by Zondervan as one of their most eloquent spokesmen and is now a member of the CBT (Committee for Bible Translation) ... While the content of the paper was helpful, I am afraid that it only increased the gap between the two "sides" of the [translation philosophy] debate. There has been a lot of hurt and damage done toward people on both sides of this debate (e.g., someone shot a bullet through a TNIV and mailed it to the publisher), and I got the feeling that Mark was getting tired of being attacked. I would be tired if I were in his shoes. He kept saying that the ESV has "missed" or "not considered" certain translational issues. While I am sure they were not intentional, these are emotionally charged words that do not help in the debate. They are in essence ad hominem arguments focusing on our competence (or perceived lack thereof) and not on the facts. He was not in the translation meetings and does not know if we in fact did miss or did not consider these issues ... The solution to this debate is to recognize that there are different translation philosophies, different goals and means by which to reach those goals, and the goal of the translator is to be consistent in achieving those goals. In all but one of his examples, our translation was the one required by our translation philosophy.[36]

In 2020, the Association of Catholic Priests criticized the ESV for not using gender-inclusive language. The Association of Catholic Priests perceived the use of terms such as "mankind" and "brothers" to be "not just out of sync with modern usage but are culturally regarded as diminishing and disrespectful of women.”[37]

Criticism has arisen in the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod—which uses the ESV as its official translation—of the ESV's frequent translation of the Hebrew word mishpatim ("judgements" or "decrees") as "rules" being not only an impoverished translation of a very rich word, but also somewhat legalistic. Although, "judgements" and "rules" are understood in similitude like "decrees" and "laws" are understood in similitude.

References
  1. Carter, Joe (September 30, 2016). "9 Things You Should Know About the ESV Bible". The Gospel Coalition. Archived from the original on May 31, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2020. The starting point for the ESV translation was the 1971 edition of the Revised Standard Version (RSV).
  2. "Preface to the English Standard Version". ESV.org. Archived from the original on May 26, 2020. Retrieved January 4, 2021. The ESV is based on the Masoretic text of the Hebrew Bible as found in Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (5th ed., 1997) ... The currently renewed respect among Old Testament scholars for the Masoretic text is reflected in the ESV’s attempt, wherever possible, to translate difficult Hebrew passages as they stand in the Masoretic text rather than resorting to emendations or to finding an alternative reading in the ancient versions. In exceptional, difficult cases, the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Septuagint, the Samaritan Pentateuch, the Syriac Peshitta, the Latin Vulgate, and other sources were consulted to shed possible light on the text, or, if necessary, to support a divergence from the Masoretic text.
  3. "Preface to the English Standard Version". ESV.org. Archived from the original on May 26, 2020. Retrieved January 4, 2021. [The ESV is based] on the Greek text in the 2014 editions of the Greek New Testament (5th corrected ed.), published by the United Bible Societies (UBS), and Novum Testamentum Graece (28th ed., 2012), edited by Nestle and Aland ... in a few difficult cases in the New Testament, the ESV has followed a Greek text different from the text given preference in the UBS/Nestle-Aland 28th edition.
  4. "ESV Readability (Grade Levels)". Crossway. August 8, 2005. Archived from the original on March 17, 2015. Flesch Reading Ease: 74.9, Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level: 7.4 ... That’s why we say in marketing materials that the ESV reads at an eighth-grade level.
  5. Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. You may not copy or download more than 500 consecutive verses of the ESV Bible or more than one half of any book of the ESV Bible.
  6. "About the ESV". ESV.org. Archived from the original on January 4, 2020. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
  7. "Oversight Committee". ESV.org. Archived from the original on November 25, 2020. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  8. "Review Scholars". ESV.org. Archived from the original on November 28, 2020. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  9. Stec, D (July 2004), "Review: The Holy Bible: English Standard Version", Vetus Testamentum, Leiden: Brill, 54 (3): 421, ISSN 0042-4935, JSTOR 1518879
  10. "Preface to the English Standard Version". ESV.org. Archived from the original on May 26, 2020. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  11. Decker, Rodney (2004), "The English Standard Version: A Review Article" (PDF), The Journal of Ministry & Theology, 8 (2): 16–17
  12. Carter, Joe (September 30, 2016). "9 Things You Should Know About the ESV Bible". The Gospel Coalition. Archived from the original on May 31, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2020. The idea for the ESV Bible originated in the early 1990s when Lane T. Dennis, president of the nonprofit book publishing ministry Crossway, discussed the need for a new literal translation of the Bible with various Christian scholars and pastors.
  13. "The History of the English Standard Version". Vimeo (Crossway). October 24, 2018. Archived from the original on January 3, 2021. Retrieved January 4, 2021. And then in 1997 I had a call from John Piper, and John Piper said 'Yes, we really do need this [a new translation].' And so, I made a phone call to obtain the rights to the RSV text; and to adapt and revise, and basically create a new translation.
  14. Carter, Joe (September 30, 2016). "9 Things You Should Know About the ESV Bible". The Gospel Coalition. Archived from the original on May 31, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2020. Near the end of the decade, the translation committee began work.
  15. Strauss, Mark L. (November 25, 2008), Why the English Standard Version (ESV) should not become the Standard English Version (PDF), Presented at the annual Evangelical Theological Society meeting in Providence, Rhode Island, San Diego, retrieved November 19, 2014
  16. "Bible Versions Differences". Blue Letter Bible. Archived from the original on January 7, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2021. [Copyright permission text] This publication contains The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001, 2007, 2011, 2016 by Crossway Bibles a division of Good News Publishers.
  17. "ESV Study Bible". Crossway. Archived from the original on January 7, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2021. Over 1 Million Copies Sold ... Published: October 15, 2008
  18. Hodges, Sam (March 20, 2009). "`ESV Study Bible' wins Christian Book of the Year award". The Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on January 7, 2020. Retrieved January 7, 2020. For the first time in the award's 30-year history, a study Bible was named Christian Book of the Year: the ESV Study Bible (Crossway).
  19. Butterfield, Glen (2013). Bible Unity. WestBowPress. p. 42. ISBN 978-1-4908-0549-8. The ESV underwent a minor revision in 2007.
  20. Dennis, Lane T., Word Changes in the ESV Bible Text – 2011 (PDF), Crossway, retrieved December 7, 2012
  21. Butterfield, Glen (2013). Bible Unity. WestBowPress. p. 42. ISBN 978-1-4908-0549-8. The most notable verse change was "wounded for our transgressions" to "pierced for our transgressions" in Isaiah 53:5 which matched the New American Standard Bible rendering.
  22. "ESV Permanent Text Edition (2016): Word Changes". ESV.org. Archived from the original on August 20, 2016.
  23. "Crossway Statement on the ESV Bible Text". Crossway. September 28, 2016. Archived from the original on April 22, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  24. Weber, Jeremy (September 28, 2016). "Theology: Crossway Reverses Decision to Make ESV Bible Text Permanent (Amid much public debate, publisher says strategy for a 'stable' Bible was a 'mistake')". Christianity Today (September 2016). Archived from the original on August 5, 2017.
  25. "10 years of 'Lutheran Service Book'". Reporter (Official Newspaper of The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod). November 28, 2016. Archived from the original on January 7, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2021. Published in August 2006, LSB is used by 85 percent of all LCMS congregations, with 1.1 million individual copies sold.
  26. "English Standard Version Bible with Apocrypha". Google Books. Archived from the original on January 6, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  27. "Catholic Edition of ESV Bible Launched". Daijiworld. February 10, 2018. Archived from the original on February 12, 2018. The launch of ESV-CE (English Standard Version – Catholic Edition) Bible took place on February 4 [2018] as Oswald Cardinal Gracias, archbishop of Bombay, and president of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI) officially released the first copy of the first edition.
  28. Jesserer Smith, Peter (May 13, 2020). "Augustine Institute Publishes Major New Catholic Bible". National Catholic Register. Archived from the original on January 1, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2021. And then after those changes were made, the Bible was agreed upon both by Crossway and by the bishops’ conference, and it was approved on Feb. 4, 2018.
  29. "ESV Catholic Edition Bible". ESV® Catholic Edition Bible. Archived from the original on January 1, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2021. It was reviewed by a team of Catholic scholars in India, who modified the translation to ensure it adhered to Catholic teaching.
  30. "The Augustine Bible (ESV-CE)". Logos Bible Software. Archived from the original on January 1, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2021. Print Publication Date: 2019
  31. Smith, Peter Jesserer (May 13, 2020). "Augustine Institute Publishes Major New Catholic Bible". National Catholic Register. Archived from the original on January 1, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2021. The English Standard Version — Catholic Edition published in the U.S. as The Augustine Bible ... The Augustine Institute is now bringing English-speaking Catholics in North America a major new revision of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible called the English Standard Version - Catholic Edition that began as a joint-venture between Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India and Crossway, an evangelical Protestant publishing house.
  32. Team ICM (February 16, 2020). "CCBI Releases New Lectionary". Indian Catholic Matters. Archived from the original on January 6, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2021. The Church in India will begin to officially use this Lectionary in the liturgical celebrations from 5 April 2020, Palm Sunday ... the English Standard Version Catholic Edition (ESVCE) of the Bible has been used throughout this Lectionary, with the exception of the translation of the Psalms, which has been taken from the ‘Grail Psalms’, approved by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
  33. "A New Lectionary for Scotland". Scottish Catholic Media Office. July 24, 2020. Archived from the original on January 7, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2021. The Scottish Bishops voted at their July 2020 meeting to use it.
  34. "A New Lectionary for Scotland". Scottish Catholic Media Office. July 24, 2020. Archived from the original on January 7, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2021. It [the ESV-CE] has been accepted by the Bishops of England and Wales as the basis for their own Lectionary.
  35. "ESV with Apocrypha". Anglican House Publishers. Archived from the original on January 1, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2021. Imprint: Anglican Liturgy Press (2019) ... The books of the Apocrypha are collected here in the back of the Bible and reproduced in slightly smaller type than the canonical books of the ESV Old Testament and New Testament, in order to reflect the Apocrypha’s less authoritative status within the Anglican Church in North America.
  36. Mounce, Bill (2011), ETS Day 2 by Bill Mounce, Zondervan, retrieved December 7, 2012
  37. Mac Donald, Sarah (October 29, 2020). "Priests warn against language of new lectionary". The Tablet. Archived from the original on January 6, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
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