English Standard Version Bible
Shares rank 5 of 6 bible translations by recommenders
Recommended as a sound, close-to-the-source translation for personal reading and study. Its biases are unavoidable, but mostly obvious.
Recommended as a sound, close-to-the-source translation for personal reading and study. Its biases are unavoidable, but mostly obvious.
3 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 3
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 3 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Used personally for reading and study
“The ESV is the translation I have used since it came out for personal reading and study”
Comment from 25 Dec 2025 in “Tell HN: Merry Christmas!” Much closer to the source
“Modern translations like ESV are much closer to source”
Comment from 22 Feb 2026 in “How far back in time can you understand English?” Not bad overall
“The ESV is not bad. It has its (unavoidable) biases but they are mostly of the obvious sort”
Comment from 21 Nov 2025 in “How to stay sane in a world that rewards insanity”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Unavoidable but mostly obvious biases
“The ESV is not bad. It has its (unavoidable) biases but they are mostly of the obvious sort”
Comment from 21 Nov 2025 in “How to stay sane in a world that rewards insanity”
Other bible translations people recommend
The four most recommended other bible translations, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Revised Standard Version Bibleby Bible | 6 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
| New International Version Bibleby Elizabeth Heike and Peter Toon | 5 | 5 | 50% | 3 | — | — |
| New King James Version Bibleby Thomas Nelson | 4 | 1 | 80% | 4 | — | — |
| New Living Translation Bibleby Tyndale House Publishers Staff | 4 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| English Standard Version BibleThis page | 3 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
All 3 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Modern translations like ESV are much closer to source”
“The ESV is the translation I have used since it came out for personal reading and study”
“The ESV is not bad. It has its (unavoidable) biases but they are mostly of the obvious sort”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.