The English Standard Version (ESV) Bible is set to undergo its first text update in nearly a decade, with revisions made to 36 passages across 42 verses.
The updates, designed to improve accuracy and clarity, will be gradually implemented over the next two years, according to an announcement from the ESV Translation Oversight Committee released on Monday.
The Translation Oversight Committee (TOC), which is a standing committee of the Crossway Board of Directors, supervises the ESV's publication and ensures its fidelity to the original biblical texts. The latest revision will involve 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 stated. 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 in the upcoming revision pertains to Genesis 3:16, a verse that has generated considerable discussion among theologians.
The ESV's 2016 edition translated the Hebrew preposition "el" as "contrary to," rendering the verse as “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.”
This change 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), according to the TOC.
The committee explained, “The interpretive options can now be seen in the alternative renderings provided in the footnotes: ‘Or to, or toward, or against.’” The conjunction "but" has been replaced with "and" in Genesis 3:16 and 4:7 to avoid imposing a contrast not explicitly stated in the Hebrew text.
Another notable update is found in John 1:18, where the phrase “the only God” has been changed to “God the only Son.” The TOC asserted that this update reflects the Greek terms “theos” and “monogenēs” and maintains consistency with John 1:14. The updated footnote acknowledges manuscript variations, offering alternative readings such as “the only God who” and “the only Son.”
Additional changes include clarifications in Genesis 2:14 regarding the Tigris River and its location, further explanation of the term "gopher wood" in Genesis 6:14, and adjustments to wording in Exodus 20:11 and Deuteronomy 32:17 for improved clarity.
Since its first publication in 2001, more than 315 million copies of the ESV have been distributed, with many being given away through ministry partnerships.
