ESV Bible update includes 68 word edits, reverts Genesis 3:16 translation to 2001 wording

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The English Standard Version (ESV) Bible is set to undergo its first text update in nearly a decade. The ESV Translation Oversight Committee has announced revisions to 36 passages across 42 verses. One of the most significant changes involves Genesis 3:16, a verse that has sparked considerable discussion among theologians. 

The ESV's 2016 edition translated the Hebrew preposition "el" as "contrary to," resulting in the verse: "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 revision 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 interpretive options can now be seen in the alternative renderings provided in the footnotes: 'Or to, or toward, or against,'" the committee stated. "The conjunction 'but' has been changed to 'and' in Genesis 3:16 and 4:7 to avoid imposing a contrast that is not explicit in the Hebrew text." In 2016, editors altered the previous translation of Genesis 3:16 to read, "Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you." 

This change drew criticism from some, including Northern Seminary New Testament professor Scot McKnight. At the time, McKnight told CP that the word changes had "profoundly negative implications." 

"This new translation of Genesis 3:16 suggests the curse against the woman is an act of God (a curse) that seals estrangement, alienation, and tension between females and males," he commented. "By rendering this verse this way, the ESV creates the impression that females and males are oppositional to one another." "Some believe it makes women rebellious and men authoritarian in response. That's a sad and potentially dangerous interpretation, as it gives the wrong kind of males a ready-made excuse for domination," he added.

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