The ESV Turns Five

The press release:

Wheaton, IL—Five years ago, on October 1, 2001, the English Standard Version (ESV) Bible was introduced to the world. Today, the ESV is available in more than one hundred formats, has seen nearly 3 million copies distributed worldwide, and is reaching the world in creative and strategic ways. ESV General Editor J. I. Packer recently stated, “I find myself suspecting very strongly that my work on the translation of the ESV Bible was the most important thing that I have done for the Kingdom, and that the product of our labors is perhaps the biggest milestone in Bible translation in the past fifty years or more.”

Through the innovative web presence and wide availability of the ESV text, Crossway is inviting readers to investigate God’s Word in formats that are specially suited to their needs. The ESV text is broadly available, with more than fifty electronic licenses issued. It is accessible through Logos, PC Study Bible, BibleWorks, Online Bible, E-Sword, Quick Verse, and many other Bible software programs. The ESV website currently receives more than 3.5 million unique searches of the ESV text per month and more than 30 million searches per year. Visit the main ESV Bible website or the ESV Bible blog site to learn more about the ESV media ministry.

Partnerships with ministries and with Bible societies worldwide have enabled Crossway Bibles to extend the ESV Bible ministry. The Reformation Study Bible (Ligonier Ministries) and the Scofield III Bible (Oxford Bibles) are both available with the ESV text, and the creation of the ESV Study Bible is currently underway. Similarly, through partnerships forged with the Bible Society in Britain and with Bible Societies in India, Kenya, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Zimbabwe, and many more countries, 300,000 ESV Bibles are being distributed. Likewise, a number of leading ministry organizations, such as Youth for Christ, Campus Crusade for Christ, Back to the Bible, and Pocket Testament League, have selected the ESV Bible for use in their outreach programs.

The ESV Bible has also been adopted by some of the most influential evangelical churches in America, including Moody Church in Chicago (IL), Tenth Presbyterian in Philadelphia (PA), Harvest Bible Chapel in Rolling Meadows (IL), Bethlehem Baptist in Minneapolis (MN), Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano (TX), James River Assembly in Ozark (MO), The Falls Church in Falls Church (VA), Park Cities Presbyterian in Dallas (TX), and College Church in Wheaton (IL).

“We are indeed grateful for the many partnerships and milestones that we have seen during these last five years,” Crossway president Dr. Lane Dennis noted. “This really isn’t something that we could have achieved through our own strength and our own limited resources. Clearly we have seen the Lord’s hand and His provision for the publication of the ESV from the very beginning, and we want to take great care to give Him all the glory.”

The English Standard Version (ESV) Bible is an essentially literal Bible translation that combines word-for-word precision and accuracy with literary excellence, beauty, and readability. Believing that every word of the Bible is inspired by God, the translators of the ESV sought to be transparent to the original text so that the reader could see the structure and meaning of the original as clearly as possible. For more information on the ESV Bible, visit www.esv.org.

Crossway Books & Bibles is an internationally recognized, not-for-profit publishing ministry founded in 1938. Crossway is the publisher of the ESV Bible, significant Christian books, and gospel literature. For more information on Crossway Books & Bibles, visit www.crossway.com.