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== History ==
=== Pre-publication ===
During the early 1990s1980s, [[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]].<ref name=":8">{{Cite web |last=Carter |first=Joe |date=September 30, 2016 |title=9 Things You Should Know About the ESV Bible |url=https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/9-things-you-should-know-about-the-esv-bible/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200531051802/https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/9-things-you-should-know-about-the-esv-bible/ |archive-date=May 31, 2020 |access-date=February 13, 2021 |website=The Gospel Coalition |language=en}}</ref> In 1997,<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 24, 2018 |title=The History of the English Standard Version |url=https://vimeo.com/296936005 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210103230730/https://vimeo.com/296936005 |archive-date=January 3, 2021 |access-date=January 4, 2021 |website=Vimeo (Crossway) |quote=And then in 1997 I had a call from John Piper, and John Piper said, 'Yes, we really do need this.' And so, I made a phone call to obtain the rights to the RSV text; and to adapt and revise, and basically create a new translation.}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":9">{{Cite news |last=Bayly |first=David |date=May 6, 1999 |title=Decline of the NIV? |work=[[World (magazine)|World]] |url=https://wng.org/articles/decline-of-the-niv-1617643998 |url-status=live |url-access=limited |access-date=February 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230213212256/https://wng.org/articles/decline-of-the-niv-1617643998 |archive-date=February 13, 2023}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":9" /> Crossway moved forward from this position by forming a translation committee and initiating work on the English Standard Version. Crossway officially published the ESV in 2001.<ref name=":8" />
In 1999, ''[[World (magazine)|World]]'' reported of "feminists" noticing links between Crossway and the [[Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood]] (CBMW).<ref name=":9" /> Members of the CBMW had earlier been involved in criticizing plans made by [[Zondervan]]'s [[New International Version]] (NIV) translation committee{{Efn|The NIV translation committee, officially called the Committee on Bible Translation (CBT), is described by Zondervan as "a self-governing body of 15 evangelical Bible scholars."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Translation Process |url=https://www.thenivbible.com/about-the-niv/the-niv-translation-process/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413000217/https://www.thenivbible.com/about-the-niv/the-niv-translation-process/ |archive-date=April 13, 2021 |access-date=April 13, 2021 |website=NIV Bible}}</ref>}} to publish a gender-neutral edition of the NIV.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Olasky |first=Susan |date=June 14, 1997 |title=Bailing Out of the Stealth Bible |work=[[World (magazine)|World]] |url=https://wng.org/articles/bailing-out-of-the-stealth-bible-1618010466 |url-status=live |url-access=limited |access-date=February 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230213214328/https://wng.org/articles/bailing-out-of-the-stealth-bible-1618010466 |archive-date=February 13, 2023}}</ref> Grudem, who was president of the CBMW at the time, responded by stating, "This [translation] is not a CBMW project."<ref name=":9" />
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