What’s the ESV-CE?
A Conversation with Mark Giszczak
Faith&Culture welcomes the Augustine Institute’s Professor Mark Giszczak for a conversation about the Augustine Bible, which is the first American edition of the new ESV-CE Bible.
Faith & Culture:
So, just what is the ESV-CE anyway?
Mark Giszczak:
It is a new Catholic translation of the Bible. In 2018, the Catholic Church in India approved this new translation: The English Standard Version, Catholic Edition (ESV-CE). This new translation is a modified form of the ESV Bible, which was translated by evangelical scholars and first released in 2001. The ESV is an update of the trusted Revised Standard Version (1952, 1971). It was reviewed by a team of Catholic scholars in India, who modified the translation to ensure it adhered to Catholic teaching. Now the translation is required for liturgical use throughout India. The translation is essentially literal and as transparent as possible to the original languages.
Faith & Culture:
Is the ESV-CE translation approved by the Catholic Church?
Mark Giszczak:
Yes. Under the Code of Canon Law, 825 §1, only the Vatican or a national bishops’ conference can approve a Bible translation for publication. In accord with canon law, the ESV-CE was approved by the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India on February 4, 2018 and granted the Imprimatur by Cardinal Oswald Gracias, a member of Pope Francis’ top advisory team, the Council of Cardinals. The translation explicitly adhered to the Vatican’s translation principles prescribed by Liturgiam authenticam (2001). The Vatican approved the ESV-CE Lectionary on December 9, 2019, and it is mandated for liturgical use throughout India as of Palm Sunday 2020.
Faith & Culture:
Were any Catholic scholars involved in the preparation of the ESV-CE?
Mark Giszczak:
The team of scholars which the Catholic Bishops of India entrusted with the task of revising the ESV for Catholic use included: Rev. Dr. Lucien Legrand, MEP, Rev. Dr. Assisi Saldanha, CSsR, Rev. Dr. Govindu Rayanna, Rev. Dr. A. Alfred Joseph, Rev. Dr. David Stanly Kumar, Sr. Dr. Prema Vakayil, CSST, Rev. Dr. Shabu Joseph Thottumkal, SDB, Rev. Dr. Stanislas Savarimuthu.
Faith & Culture:
Will the translation sound familiar or foreign?
Mark Giszczak:
If you have ever read the King James Bible or its twentieth century update, the Revised Standard Version, the ESV will sound familiar. As an intentional update of the RSV, the ESV removes archaic-sounding words and phrases, while trying to improve on the translation and changing about 60,000 words in all. It is close enough to the RSV to sound familiar, but different enough to feel fresh.
Faith & Culture:
Does it include the deuterocanonical books?
Mark Giszczak:
The ESV-CE includes all the deuterocanonical books and additions. The original ESV from 2001 was a Protestant publication and so did not include the deuterocanonical books and additions (1 and 2 Maccabees, Tobit, Judith, Sirach, Wisdom, Baruch, additions to Esther, additions to Daniel). The 2018 Catholic Edition of the ESV includes all of the books held to be canonical by the Catholic Church.
Faith & Culture:
Isn’t the ESV a Protestant translation? Doesn’t that pose problems for Catholics?
Mark Giszczak:
The ESV was originally translated by a team of evangelical scholars under the auspices of Crossway Books, a Protestant publisher. It was, however, adapted by Catholic scholars and only then approved by the Catholic Church in India in 2018 as the ESV-Catholic Edition. In this way, the ESV is much like the RSV before it. The RSV was originally released in 1952 as a Protestant translation and only later approved by Catholic bishops in 1965-66. Both the RSV and the ESV are valuable ecumenical efforts that allow Protestants and Catholics to read Scripture together.
Faith & Culture:
Who translated the ESV?
Mark Giszczak:
The 2001 ESV translation effort was headed up by the Translation Oversight Committee brought together by Crossway Books. That original twelve-member team of evangelical scholars included Dr. Clifford John Collins, Dr. Lane T. Dennis, Dr. Wayne A. Grudem, Dr. Paul R. House, Dr. R. Kent Hughes, Dr. Robert H. Mounce, Dr. William D. Mounce, Dr. J.I. Packer, Dr. Leland Ryken, Dr. Vern Sheridan Poythress, Dr. Gordon Wenham, and Dr. Bruce Winter. A group of Catholic scholars in India updated the translation before the 2018 release of the ESV-CE.
Faith & Culture:
When was the ESV-CE released?
Mark Giszczak:
The ESV-CE was first released in India in 2018 by the Asian Trading Corporation. The ESV-CE was released in the United States in 2019 by the Augustine Institute.
