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Honoring God and His Word on the Occasion of the 25th Anniversary of the ESV
This article is part of the ESV 25th Anniversary series.
“The Most Valuable Thing That This World Affords”
A poignant historical anecdote is narrated in the Preface to every one of the more than 300 million copies of the English Standard Version of the Bible that have been distributed since its initial publication. At every British coronation service, the ascending monarch is handed a Bible as the following words are publicly uttered:
“This book is the most valuable thing that this world affords. Here is wisdom; this is the royal law; these are the lively oracles of God. Blessed is he that readeth and they that hear the words of this book, that keep, and do the things contained in it. For these are the words of eternal life; able to make you wise and happy in this world, nay wise unto salvation and so happy for evermore, through faith which is in Christ Jesus, to whom be glory for ever. Amen.”
This conviction that the Bible is the most precious earthly treasure any human could ever possess has always fueled the living church’s posture toward Scripture. And it has fueled Crossway’s stewardship of the English Standard Version. The blessing God has given this translation, the care with which it has been translated, and the elegance with which it has been presented all reflect this settled conviction.
William Tyndale published his first edition of the English New Testament in 1526, and Crossway published its first ESV in 2001. This fall—500 years since Tyndale’s first text and 25 years since Crossway’s first text—we pause to honor God and his Word by celebrating together the wondrous gift of specific divine revelation through the very words of the Hebrew Old Testament and the Greek New Testament. And we celebrate the further divine gift of the words of God in essentially literal English rendering—beginning with Tyndale and all the way up to its modern-day heir, the English Standard Version.
Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the ESV
As we commemorate the 25th anniversary of the ESV Bible and the 500th anniversary of William Tyndale’s New Testament, Crossway gives thanks for God’s faithfulness in preserving his Word across the centuries and for generations to come.
Five Marks of Fruitful Bible Translation
In pursuit of such essentially literal rendering, the work of faithful Bible translation has been marked by five core traits.
1) Accuracy
Our Lord, quoting Deuteronomy, fended off the devil’s attacks with the truth that “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4). Tyndale was so insistent on getting every word right that he coined scores of new words just to try to capture the exact wording of the original text (including atonement, Passover, scape-goat, and mercy-seat). A faithful translation seeks to be maximally transparent to the original text.
2) Readability
As accuracy is sought, it must be pursued in tandem with the goal of rendering the text in sensical, clear English. This does not mean a translation should render the text in everyday street language in an overly colloquial way. We want to summon readers up into the language and thought world of Scripture, not bring Scripture down into pre-existing ways of expression. But as we bring readers up into the language of Scripture, we want to do it with clear readability.
3) Beauty of Expression
This has been a hallmark of Tyndale’s text, those English texts that carried his vision forward, such as the King James Version, and the ESV today. Chief is accuracy, and second is readability; but with these goals in mind, a translation seeks to present an accurate and readable text with the beauty and dignity that befits a book that is the very Word of God.
4) Beauty of Presentation
Fourth is excellence in terms of the incarnated physical object of these words that are presented accurately, readably, and beautifully. Anyone who has seen a page out of those early printings of the 1611 KJV, with its ornately decorated initials beginning each chapter, has seen the great labors toward beauty of presentation of which the Word of God is uniquely worthy. The ESV carries this value forward with the remarkable suite of handsome editions of the Scripture—both in terms of cover design and materials, on the one hand, down to the very fonts and spacings of the text on the page, on the other hand.
5) Prayerful Stewardship
Finally, every faithful translation is an endeavor carried out in the presence of God himself. It is his Word. Translators are mere stewards. And in handling “the oracles of God” (1 Pet. 4:11) we are to do so with our knees on the earth and our eyes lifted to heaven. The fifth and most vital mark of a faithful translation is thus prayerful stewardship. And as I join my heart with yours in celebrating the 25th birthday of the translation today that has sought to carry forward these five marks, I thank God for the clear trait of prayerful stewardship that has been the lifeblood of the ESV.
This conviction that the Bible is the most precious earthly treasure any human could ever possess has always fueled the living church’s posture toward Scripture.
A Personal Note
I know this because God gave me ten years working with the ESV at Crossway. They were ten of the sweetest and most fulfilling years of my life. I saw the Lord’s work being done in the Lord’s way (as Francis Schaeffer, Crossway’s spiritual godfather, put it). I saw a publishing team function as if God was actually there.
The work is the Lord’s, the fruit is the Lord’s, the Word is the Lord’s, and the glory is the Lord’s. But God used the faith and prayer of Crossway’s leadership to send the ESV across the globe to bless and fortify countless believers young and old.
One of the more rewarding experiences in my ten years working at Crossway with the ESV Bible was supporting my boss, Dr. Lane Dennis, then-CEO of Crossway, as we met with the leadership of The Gideons International. The Gideons would go on to adopt the ESV as their primary English text as they continued their distinctive ministry of global Bible distribution. Here is what we read in the preface of every Gideons Bible. This conviction, shared deeply by Crossway, is the animating force behind the creation and stewardship of the English Standard Version of the Bible.
The Bible contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding, its histories are true, and its decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, and practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you.
It is the traveler’s map, the pilgrim’s staff, the pilot’s compass, the soldier’s sword, and the Christian’s charter. Here Paradise is restored, Heaven opened, and the gates of hell disclosed.
Christ is its grand subject, our good the design, and the glory of God its end.
It should fill the memory, rule the heart, and guide the feet. Read it slowly, frequently, and prayerfully. It is a mine of wealth, a paradise of glory, and river of pleasure. It is given you in life, will be opened at the judgment, and be remembered forever.
It involves the highest responsibility, will reward the greatest labor, and will condemn all who trifle with its sacred contents.
This, with Crossway, we all confess and believe. And this trenchantly articulated conviction regarding the unspeakable worth of God’s very Word is, and by God’s grace will remain, the reason the ESV exists—for this past generation, and for generations into the future, as “one generation shall commend your works to another” (Ps. 145:4).
To God alone be the glory.
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