Reflections on the ESV After 25 Years

Posted on October 12, 2026 
Filed under Resources

As part of a series to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the English Standard Version, ESV publisher Crossway asked Kevin DeYoung to reflect –

“I can’t say that by 2001 I had enough knowledge of the original languages or of the publishing landscape to know that a new English translation was necessary. But I had read enough from various English versions and at least had a moderate understanding of Greek and Hebrew that I was excited for a translation that aimed for the sweet spot between literal but not wooden, between historic but not dated, and between elegant but not esoteric.

That’s what I was hoping the ESV would be, and in my estimation—after reading through it cover-to-cover dozens of times and preaching from it hundreds (if not thousands) of times—I’m convinced the ESV hit its mark.…”

– Full article here.

(Even if you might not be a fan of the ESV, this is an encouraging article.)