ESV
Word-for-WordTranslation profile
English Standard Version
ESV
How it translates, how hard it is to read, where it came from, and what makes it distinctive.
Now showing Guided. How it translates, how hard it is to read, where it came from, and what makes it distinctive.
This is an educational comparison guide — not a Bible reader, and not a quiz that picks a best Bible. You can change this anytime.
The short version
ESV stays closer to the wording and structure of the original languages.
These sentences use the listed method, reading-grade, lineage, and notable-facts fields. They are not a ranking.
Translation approach
ESV stays closer to the wording and structure of the original languages. This guide lists this as Word-for-Word.
Reading difficulty
Moderate reading difficulty. This guide lists grade 8.
What makes it distinctive
Theologically conservative.
Lineage / history
This guide lists earlier English work: Revised Standard Version (1971 edition).
How it translates
Translation approach: . ESV stays closer to the wording and structure of the original languages.
Scholars translate each word based upon the word usage at the time of the writing. No translation is actually “word for word,” but the intent is to come as close as possible. This method is also called formal equivalence.
Reading level
Moderate reading difficulty. This guide lists grade 8. Reading level does not measure accuracy.
Where it came from
: Revised Standard Version (1971 edition)
First listed 2001.
Text and source listings
Old Testament: , , , Samaritan Pentateuch, Syriac Peshitta,
New Testament: United Bible Societies , Nestle-Aland Novum Testamentum Graece
What makes it distinctive
A translation’s story
Why this translation exists
1
Before it
Revised Standard Version (1971 edition) → ESV
Revised Standard Version (1971 edition)
2
Why it was created
To produce a modern, readable, and accurate translation in the tradition of the Tyndale Version (1535) and King James Version (1611).
3
How it translates
Word-for-Word. Scholars translate each word based upon the word usage at the time of the writing. No translation is actually “word for word,” but the intent is to come as close as possible. This method is also called formal equivalence.
4
Where it sits
Word-for-Word · Grade 8 · First released 2001 (Modern English).
See it in action
Compare with translations that offer a useful contrast — not a ranking.
RSV
Related English lineage
GNT
Different translation approach
NIrV
Different reading grade
Sample verses
And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.