Comments by ESV Apocrypha Translator

In the comment box from the previous post, it appears that one of the Apocrypha translators, David A deSilva (Ashland Theological Seminary), decided to add some interesting information about the publication process of the ESV w/ Apocrypha. I certainly agree that a Catholic edition of the ESV will probably never happen. There would need to be a not only a willingness to produce a Catholic edition, but it would also need to be approved by a Bishops conference, which is not always the easiest thing to do. Thanks for stopping by my humble little blog Dr. deSilva.

I was very pleased myself to get a copy of this edition in the mail.I can put to rest one question in the preceding comments: OUP did NOT make the decision to place the Apocrypha in the back. Perhaps Luther's solution of separating them out and placing them in between the testaments (a location that makes far better sense historically) was not a sufficient statement regarding their (non-) canonicity. I think a Catholic edition will be a long way off (perhaps scheduled for a few years after the second coming), unfortunately.

It was a privilege, however, to have been asked to work on this. We subjected the RSV to a very thorough revision, correcting it in ways that escaped the notice of the NRSV translators of the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical books. I know that the ESV has occasioned some serious debates on account of its inclusive language policy, and I am very sympathetic to the application of the same in the NRSV and TNIV. I think we attended well to this policy in handling the Apocryphal books, and expect, if we are not judged together with the rest of the translation, that critics from both sides will look favorably on what we have done.

But most importantly, we have put the Apocrypha within the grasp of the devotees of the ESV -- and anything that fosters knowledge of and appreciation for these texts is a project worthy of some part of my short span on this earth. :)

Kind regards,
David deSilva