“God’s sacred Word...is that inestimable treasure that excelleth all the riches of the earth.”

The words of the King James Bible translators in 1611 and the motivating force behind the publication of the English Standard Version

Combining faithfulness to the text and a vigorous pursuit of accuracy with simplicity, beauty, and dignity of expression, the English Standard Version is an “essentially literal” translation that seeks as far as possible to capture the precise wording of the original text and the personal style of each Bible writer. As such, its emphasis is on “word-for-word” correspondence, at the same time taking into account differences of grammar, syntax, and idiom between current literary English and the original languages. Thus it seeks to be transparent to the original text, letting the reader see as directly as possible the structure and meaning of the original.

As an essentially literal translation, then, the ESV seeks to carry over every possible nuance of meaning in the original words of Scripture into our own language. As such, it is ideally suited for in-depth study of the Bible. Indeed, with its emphasis on literary excellence, the ESV is equally suited for public reading and preaching, for private reading and reflection, for both academic and devotional study, and for Scripture memorization.