(CP) The English Standard Version (ESV) Bible is undergoing its first text update in nearly a decade, with revisions to 36 passages across 42 verses, the ESV Translation Oversight Committee announced.
The changes, aimed at improving accuracy and clarity, will be rolled out gradually over the next two years, the committee revealed in an update Monday.
The TOC, a standing committee of the Crossway Board of Directors, oversees the ESV's publication and ensures its faithfulness to the original biblical texts. The latest update involves 68 word changes, approximately one per 11,000 words of the translation, along with modifications to 57 footnotes and punctuation adjustments in 14 verses.
"Given that more than 540 editions of the ESV are currently in print worldwide, the rollout of the text update will take nearly two years to complete," the committee said. "The first copies of the new ESV text editions will be released in the spring of 2025, and, Lord willing, almost all of them will be published by the fall of 2026."
One of the most significant changes involves Genesis 3:16, a verse that has been widely discussed among theologians. The ESV's 2016 edition translated the Hebrew preposition el as "contrary to," rendering the verse:
"Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you."
In the 2025 revision, the verse will revert to its 2001 translation:
"Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you."
The revision aligns the translation with historic English Bible versions such as the Revised Standard Version (RSV), New American Standard Bible (NASB) and New King James Version (NKJV), the TOC said
"The interpretive options can now be seen in the alternative renderings provided in the footnotes: 'Or to, or toward, or against,'" the committee said. "The conjunction 'but' has been changed to 'and' in Genesis 3:16 and 4:7 so as not to impose a contrast that is not explicit in the Hebrew text."
J.I. Packer, the late general editor of the ESV, often emphasized the importance of preserving interpretive options for readers. The TOC reiterated his guidance:
"We respect readers when we pass along to them the job of interpretive work, not going beyond what the linguistic details require and not foreclosing the interpretive options."
Another notable change appears in John 1:18, where the phrase "the only God" has been revised to "God the only Son." The TOC contends the update reflects the Greek terms "theos" and "monogenēs" and maintains consistency with John 1:14.
The updated footnote acknowledges manuscript variations, providing alternative readings such as "the only God who" and "the only Son."
Other changes include:
- Genesis 2:14: Clarifies that the third river, the Tigris, flows east of Assyria with a footnote stating "Or Asshur."
- Genesis 6:14: Provides additional clarity about the term "gopher wood," stating, "Transliterated from Hebrew; the identity of this tree is uncertain."
- Exodus 20:11: Now reads, "For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth" instead of "For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth."
- Deuteronomy 32:17: Adjusts "They sacrificed to demons that were no gods" to "They sacrificed to demons that were not God."
While Crossway does not plan frequent text updates, the TOC said the ESV remains open to revisions when new archaeological, linguistic or textual discoveries provide better clarity.
"With this purpose in mind, we are committed to maintaining a faithful, stable, and standard ESV Bible text that will meet the reading, memorizing, preaching, and liturgical needs of Christians worldwide," the committee said.
Since its first publication in 2001, more than 315 million copies of the ESV have been distributed, with many given away through ministry partnerships.
"We know that no Bible translation is perfect, but we also know that God uses imperfect and inadequate things to his honor and praise," the TOC concluded, quoting from the ESV preface.
"So to our triune God and to his people, we offer what we have done, with our prayers that it may prove useful, with gratitude for much help given, and with ongoing wonder that our God should ever have entrusted to us so momentous a task. To God alone be the glory!"
TOC editors changed the previous translation of Genesis 3:16 to "Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you" in 2016, drawing criticism from some, including Northern Seminary New Testament professor Scot McKnight.
At the time, McKnight told CP that the word changes had "profoundly negative implications."
"This new translation of Genesis 3:16 suggests the curse against the woman is an act of God (a curse) that seals estrangement, alienation and tension between females and males," he said. "By so rendering this verse, the ESV creates the impression that females and males are contrarians with one another."
"Some think they make women rebellious and men authoritarian in response. That is a sad and potentially dangerous interpretation for it gives the wrong kind of males a ready-made excuse for domination," he added.
Edits made to the 2025 English Standard Version Bible can be found here.
