A NEW STANDARD IN ENGLISH BIBLE VERSIONS
The English Standard Version is a new and highly accurate translation of the Bible from the original sources. It sits in the classic stream of word for word Bible translations, using the Revised Standard Version as a base but incorporating all the most recent advances in scholarship and changes in modern language use. It combines the utmost accuracy with readability and literary beauty, and as such it is ideal for personal devotional use or academic study, public reading or memorization.
The Translation Oversight Committee and Translation Review Board are composed of evangelical scholars from many different denominations and from various countries, led by Dr J. I. Packer of Regent College, Vancouver. Setting aside doctrinal difference and personal preferences they have striven to render the closest possible equivalent to the original in modern English.
In accordance with its commitment to word for word translation, the ESV uses gender-inclusive terms where the original word has no gender-specific connotation, but retains any gender-specific terms as in the original, as well as avoiding unnecessary changes to word order by retaining the generic 'he'.