Editing English Standard Version (section)

=== Style ===
Theologian [[Tim Challies]] has praised the ESV for its commitment to literary excellence:

{{Blockquote
| text = ...{{Nbsp}}the book that has most shaped my writing is the Bible—the ESV. Not only is this the book I've read most over the years, but it's also the book I've studied the closest, and memorized most substantially. And then, of all the books I've read, it's one of the finest in its literary quality.{{Nbsp}}... One thing I've always loved about the ESV is its superior use of the English language. Any translation involves a trade-off between precision and readability so that the most-literal translations also tend to be the least-readable. Though the ESV is a precise Bible, its translators chose to place a premium on literary excellence.{{Nbsp}}... They succeeded well, and the Bible they translated is beautiful to read—far more than any of its contemporaries.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Challies |first=Tim |date=March 6, 2019 |title=The Book that Has Most Influenced My Writing |url=https://www.challies.com/articles/the-book-that-has-most-influenced-my-writing/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210803103306/https://www.challies.com/articles/the-book-that-has-most-influenced-my-writing/ |archive-date=August 3, 2021 |access-date=August 3, 2021 |website=Tim Challies}}</ref>
}}

Crossway states that the ESV "retains theological terminology—words such as grace, faith, justification, sanctification, redemption, regeneration, reconciliation, propitiation—because of their central importance for Christian doctrine and also because the underlying Greek words were already becoming key words and technical terms among Christians in New Testament times." It also states that the ESV seeks to let the distinct writing style of each biblical writer come through the translated text.<ref name=":7" />