English Standard Version | |
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Full name | English Standard Version |
Abbreviation | ESV |
Complete Bible published |
2001 (revisions in 2007, 2011 and 2016); Apocrypha 2009 |
Derived from | RSV—1971 Revision |
Textual basis |
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Translation type | Formal Equivalence |
Reading level | 8.0 |
Version revision |
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Publisher | Crossway Bibles |
Copyright | 2001: Crossway Bibles, a ministry of the Good News Publishers of Wheaton, Illinois, U.S.; Apocrypha 2009 by Oxford University Press. |
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.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
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The English Standard Version (ESV) is an English translation of the Christian Bible. It is a revision of the 1971 edition of the Revised Standard Version that employs an "essentially literal" translation philosophy.
Work on this translation was prompted, in the early 1990s, by what Lane T. Dennis stated was a need for a new literal translation by scholars and pastors. A translation committee was formed, and it sought and received permission from the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA to use the 1971 edition of the RSV as the English textual basis for the ESV. About 6 percent was revised in the ESV.
The stated intent of the translators was to follow an "essentially literal" translation philosophy while taking into account differences of grammar, syntax, and idiom between current literary English and the original languages. The ESV uses some gender-neutral language.
In 2007, the ESV underwent a minor revision, and the publisher did not identify the updated text as a revised edition. The update changed about 500 words by focusing on grammar, consistency, and clarity. One notable change was from "wounded for our transgressions" to "pierced for our transgressions".
In April 2011, another edition was issued, and the 2007 edition has been gradually phased out.
In August 2016, Crossway announced the "ESV Permanent Text Edition" with 52 word changes in 29 verses. The publishers announced their intention to leave the text alone for the foreseeable future after this update. However, this policy was abandoned as a "mistake" the following month, with Crossway announcing that they would still consider "minimal and infrequent" updates to reflect "textual discoveries or changes in English over time". Lane Dennis, Crossway's president and CEO, said: "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."
The publisher, citing that the ESV has been growing in popularity, authorized an edition of the ESV with the Biblical apocrypha included, which was developed by Oxford University Press and published in January 2009. The publisher's hope for this new edition which includes the Apocrypha is that it will be used widely in seminaries and divinity schools where these books are used as a part of academic study.