Gospel-Centered Publishing

Anthony Gosling explains a little behind the strapline for Crossway Books and the impact of the ESV Bible.

We live in extraordinary times with instant access to massive amounts of information. Given these extraordinary times, we at Crossway believe that we have an enormous responsibility. Our first responsibility is to remain faithful to God’s Word and to the gospel – but also to remain faithful to the vision and calling that the Lord has entrusted to us. We are committed, then, to publishing content that you can trust, written by authors you can trust, and published in a manner that is honouring to the Lord.

Gospel-Centered Publishing

Anthony Gosling Cutting the Crossway 75th Anniversary cake

This is why we have chosen Gospel-Centered Publishing as the defining statement for ourministry. Gospel-Centered Publishing refers, first, to the good news that, through faith in Christ and his atoning death and resurrection, we are reconciled to God and to one another – today and for all eternity. Second, Gospel-Centered Publishing refers to the way in which the gospel and the truth of the Bible apply to every area of life.

Crossway, a not-for-profit ministry, has been privileged to publish more than 1,500 different titles, including books by Francis Schaeffer, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, John Piper, John MacArthur, J. I. Packer, Chuck Colson, Frank Peretti, Max Lucado, Joni Eareckson Tada, and D. A. Carson. To date, nearly 26 million books have been distributed by Crossway, all fuelled by Crossway’s desire to see God’s Word applied to every area of life.

The English Standard Version
The vision for the English Standard Version (ESV) began in the early 1990s as many evangelical leaders saw a need for a new “word-forword” Bible translation – one that would be characterised by literal accuracy and literary excellence, in the classic stream of the Tyndale New Testament (1526) and the King James Version Bible (1611). With this legacy as the foundation, the ESV Bible (2001) reflects the beauty and majesty of the original languages, first captured centuries ago by these early Bible translations. But the ESV also provides the most recent evangelical Bible scholarship and enduring readability for today, emphasizing “word-for-word” accuracy, literary excellence, and depth of meaning.

The ESV was created by a sixty-member team of evangelical Bible scholars from around the world, with additional review and input provided by the fifty-member ESV Advisory Council. The overall work of revision, review, and final approval was carried out by the twelve-member Translation Oversight Committee, with Dr. J. I. Packer as the General Editor. In the years since its initial publication, the ESV has become the translation of choice for many churches, denominations, ministries, and families around the world.

ESV Bibles are produced with excellence, incorporating high-quality materials and manufacturing procedures with an eye towards keeping the Word of God affordable for customers. The ESV is available in over 70 print editions, in hundreds of different cover designs, and in a variety of cover materials. All leather and TruTone (a flexible synthetic material) editions are backed by a lifetime quality guarantee.

Categories of ESV Print Editions:

• Study Bibles
• Text-only Bibles
• Reference Bibles
• Devotional Bibles
• Children & Youth Bibles
• Parallel Bibles
• Greek and Hebrew Resources

Crossway provides the ESV Bible in new and developing digital media forms to equip God’s people around the world in their understanding and application of God’s Word – anywhere, any time, on every available digital device. The ESV is free online via ESVBible.org, as an e-book, for the iPad, iPhone, Windows phones, and Android phones, on You Version, and in other digital editions.

The ESV Study Bible
The next significant step in the development of the ESV was the publication of the ESV Study Bible in 2008. Created by a team of ninety-fi ve evangelical Bible scholars and teachers under the leadership of Dr. J.I. Packer and Dr. Wayne Grudem, the ESV Study Bible seeks to help people understand the Bible in a deeper way. Over 15,000 study notes, 240 full-colour maps and illustrations, 50 articles, charts, timelines, and book introductions comprise over 2 million words of Bible text, insightful explanation, teaching, and reference material. The ESV Study Bible quickly became a bestselling Bible. In 2009 it was the first Bible to be named the “Christian Book of the Year” by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) and also the first Bible to be simultaneously published in print and online.

Learn more about the ESV at ESVBible.org. Browse all ESV editions at crossway.org/Bibles

Anthony Gosling is Senior Vice President of Sales for Crossway Books. He previously worked with EP Books and Christian Focus in the UK before moving to the US 2 1/2 years ago.