"[12][13][14][15][16] The ESV relies on recently published critical editions of the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts.

"[12] Since its official publication, the ESV has received endorsement from numerous evangelical pastors and theologians, including John Piper and R. C.

[18] During the early 1990s, Crossway president Lane T. Dennis engaged in discussions with various Christian scholars and pastors regarding the need for a new literal translation of the Bible.

[19] In 1997,[20] Dennis contacted the National Council of Churches (NCC) and proceeded to enter negotiations, alongside Trinity Evangelical Divinity School professor Wayne Grudem, to obtain rights to use the 1971 text edition of the Revised Standard Version (RSV) as the starting point for a new translation.

[21] In September 1998, an agreement was reached with the NCC for Crossway to use and modify the 1971 RSV text, thereby enabling the creation of a new translation.

[21] Crossway moved forward from this position by forming a translation committee and initiating work on the English Standard Version.

[23] In 1999, World reported of "feminists" noticing links between Crossway and the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW).

"[21] Chaired by Dennis, the fourteen-member Translation Oversight Committee was aided by more than fifty biblical experts serving as review scholars.

[32]By late 2023, Paul R. House, J. I. Packer,[e] Leland Ryken, Gordon Wenham, and Bruce Winter had retired from the translation committee.

In addition, the following individuals had joined by this time:[14] In 2008, Crossway published the ESV Study Bible, which would go on to sell more than one million copies.

[36] Having a foreword by Leland Ryken, it features a selection of artwork created by Makoto Fujimura for The Four Holy Gospels,[37] a separate edition produced to match the size of the original KJV printing.

[45] In October 2019, University of Oklahoma sociology professor Samuel L. Perry published a journal article titled "The Bible as a Product of Cultural Power: The Case of Gender Ideology in the English Standard Version."

In the article, Perry attempts to demonstrate "how a more critical approach toward 'the Bible' can provide richer, more sophisticated sociological analyses of power and cultural reproduction within Christian traditions."

"[48][h] In June 2021, Samuel L. Perry published a journal article titled "Whitewashing Evangelical Scripture: The Case of Slavery and Antisemitism in the English Standard Version."

In the article, Perry attempts to demonstrate how "the ESV editors, while modifying certain RSV renderings to establish transitivity for their text among complementarian/biblicist Christians, sought to establish intransitivity between the text and more pejorative social interpretations by progressively re-translating lexically ambiguous terms and introducing footnotes to obviate the Bible's ostensible promotion of slavery and antisemitism.

[50] Boyce College Professor of Biblical Studies Denny Burk points out that Perry makes "a significant error" in referring to Grudem as the general editor of the ESV.

So I carefully read not only the Salon interview but also the scholarly article in the Journal of the American Academy of Religion which gave rise to it. ...

I can be grateful to Perry for some sharp observations, even some warning shots, while still insisting that any view that muzzles God, that severs the link between his intentions and his words, is rebellion. ...

"[53]In November 2022, Crossway began an effort to fund and distribute 1 million ESV Bibles throughout English-speaking regions in the Global South, with a primary focus on Africa and Asia.

Having been designed on a funding model where Bibles produced at cost are either donated or strategically subsidized, the project was initiated to resource Christians and pastors in low-income communities with study Bibles and various other editions, aiming to prevent "biblical illiteracy, spiritual malnourishment, and the transmission of false teaching run rampant.

Grudem also states that the committee removed "every trace of liberal influence that had caused such criticism from evangelicals when the RSV was first published in 1952.

In 2002, Crossway published an unannounced revision to the original 2001 text to make several corrections, these being in areas where it was believed "that a mistake had been made in translation."

This edition includes the Apocrypha, placed at the back of the Bible, intended for "denominations that use those books in liturgical readings and for students who need them for historical purposes.

[67][68] In 2013, Gideons International permanently transitioned from the New King James Version to the ESV as their translation of choice for free of charge distribution Bibles.

"[70] However, in a statement from Lane T. Dennis the following month, the new policy was abandoned "to allow for ongoing periodic updating of the text to reflect the realities of biblical scholarship such as textual discoveries or changes in English over time.

[80][81] In October 2021, following these developments, the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge published its own version of the ESV-CE, newly typeset and with anglicized spelling, in multiple formats.

[89] Shortly after, the New York City-based Fellowship for Performing Arts released an ESV audio Bible read by Max McLean, having been produced by Liz Donato and recorded under a licensing agreement.

The first format released was the New Testament as a set of 12 cassette tapes, having been published by Crossway on October 31, 2003, being the 486th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation.

[94] In late 2023, Crossway finished releasing six new audio Bibles, having been read by Conrad Mbewe, Kristyn Getty, Ray Ortlund, Jackie Hill Perry, Robert Smith Jr., and Michael Reeves.

Ortlund called his recording experience "the most exacting, precise, detailed, and demanding task I've performed since my doctoral work 40 years ago," in addition to being "immensely satisfying."