Crossway backs off from decision to make ESV Bible translation permanent
Crossway, the publisher of the English Standard Version (ESV) of the Bible, has decided not to make the text of the popular Bible translation permanent.
The publishing house issued a statement last month that the changes to 52 words in 29 verses of the ESV were final, but it made an announcement on Wednesday declaring that the decision had been a mistake.
"We desired for there to be a stable and standard text that would serve the reading, memorizing, preaching, and liturgical needs of Christians worldwide from one generation to another," Crossway stated, adding, "We have become convinced that this decision was a mistake."
Crossway explained that in order to serve future generations, it should allow regular updating of the text "to reflect the realities of biblical scholarship such as textual discoveries or changes in English over time."
The publishing company stated that the changes will be "minimal and infrequent" and added that it will "remain open in principle to such changes."
Mark Norton, Bible development director at Tyndale House Publishers, said that his publishing company faces the same challenges as Crossway when it comes to the New Living Translation (NLT).
"We are at a moment in the NLT's translation life where we plan to put a soft lock on the text, but we will continue to review well-reasoned queries as they are raised," he told Christianity Today.
Tremper Longman III, a member of the NLT translation committee, noted that there is a need for constant updates to Bible translations because of the changes to the English language.
He asserted that even the modern Bible translations will sound more stilted like the King James Version (KJV) as time goes by.
New Testament scholar Scot McKnight, who previously criticized some of the revisions to the text, expressed his approval of Crossway's latest decision. "Good for the ESV. That's step one," he tweeted.
The 2015 State of the Bible report revealed that the ESV is the fourth most popular Bible Version among American Bible readers. It is the preferred version of 15 percent of Millennials. About 39 percent of Americans still prefer the much older KJV.
