Last month, Crossway announced that it would not be updating the current ESV Bible translation, and that it would be maintained as it is for posterity. Now, however, the Christian publisher is backtracking on that decision.
According to a statement on Crossway’s website, the publishers say, “We have become convinced that this decision was a mistake.”
Crossway initially stated that “the text of the ESV Bible will remain unchanged in all future editions printed and published by Crossway.” The goal was to “stabilize the English Standard Version” as a translation that could be used “for generations to come.”
The hope was to make the ESV a uniformly standard translation, similar to the how the King James Version has become so standardized and common.
Along with their statement that the decision was a mistake, Crossway issued an apology to their readers:
“We apologize for this and for any concern this has caused for readers of the ESV, and we want to explain what we now believe to be the way forward. Our desire, above all, is to do what is right before the Lord,” said the statement.
The publishers say they still want the ESV to be a reliable, standard translation, but that they will continue to make updates and improvements based on biblical scholarship.
Photo courtesy: Thinkstockphotos.com
Publication date: September 29, 2016
