What is wrong with the ESV? [English Standard Version]

The English Standard Version, or the ESV as it is more commonly known, was first published, only ten years ago, in 2001. Since that time it has become quite a favourite among professing evangelicals, particularly among those of a Reformed persuasion who reject the Authorised Version.

The ESV is promoted as following in a long line of succession to other Bible versions. In this line of succession are:
[1] The Revised Version
[2] The American Standard Version
[3] The Revised Standard Version and then
[4] The ESV.

The ESV has subsequently undergone a minor revision in 2007. However, the publisher of the ESV has chosen not to identify the updated text as a second or revised edition; it is simply intended to replace the original ESV under the original name. At present, both editions co-exist on the market.

As we well know modern versions are about more than updating archaic words. It is misleading to suggest that this is the primary motive behind new translations. There is no mention that the ESV follows the Alexandrian text. It is not therefore following in the line of Tyndale's Bible or the Authorised Version.

The ESV claimed to follow a more literal translation philosophy. The outcome is supposedly a translation that is more literal than the NIV, but more idiomatic than the New American Standard Bible.

We want this evening to consider some issues that make the ESV unacceptable.