ESV Gospel Transformation Study Bible: Christ in All of Scripture, Grace for All of Life: Christ in All of Scripture, Grace for All of Life

By Crossway Bibles, Paul F.M. Zahl, Michael Morales and 48 more

"This study Bible is a must-have to help us see Jesus Christ throughout the whole Bible." —biblereviewguys.com

The ESV Gospel Transformation Study Bible is designed to help readers see Christ in all of Scripture, and grace for all of life.

It features book introductions, gospel-centered study notes, and a series of all-new articles—written by a team of over 50 pastors and scholars. This content explains passage-by-passage how God’s redemptive purposes culminate in the gospel and apply to the lives of believers today.

Readers will be challenged to see how the message of the gospel transforms sinners from the inside out.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Crossway Books
• Release date: Apr 2, 2019
• ISBN: 9781433568886

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How to Use the ESV Gospel Transformation Study Bible, ePub Edition

Thank you for purchasing the ESV Gospel Transformation, ePub Edition. This edition is designed to provide all of the content of the print edition of the ESV Gospel Transformation Study Bible in an ePub format.

This Foreword highlights the differences between the print edition and the ePub edition. For more information about the contents of the ESV Gospel Transformation Study Bible, please read the article Introduction to the ESV Gospel Transformation Study Bible.

Accessing Study Notes, Footnotes, and Cross-references

All study notes, footnotes, and cross-references in the ESV Gospel Transformation Study Bible, ePub Edition, are represented as links. Following the links will take you to a page with the study note, footnote, or cross-reference that you chose. You may use the your device's Back button, if available, to return to the ESV text, or you may follow the link back to the original verse by selecting the link at the beginning of the study note, footnote, or cross-reference.

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The ESV Gospel Transformation Study Bible

Table of Contents

Articles and Resources

The Old Testament

The New Testament

The Old Testament

Genesis

Exodus

Leviticus

Numbers

Deuteronomy

Joshua

Judges

Ruth

1 Samuel

2 Samuel

1 Kings

2 Kings

1 Chronicles

2 Chronicles

Ezra

Nehemiah

Esther

Job

Psalms

Proverbs

Ecclesiastes

Song of Solomon

Isaiah

Jeremiah

Lamentations

Ezekiel

Daniel

Hosea

Joel

Amos

Obadiah

Jonah

Micah

Nahum

Habakkuk

Zephaniah

Haggai

Zechariah

Malachi

The New Testament

Matthew

Mark

Luke

John

Acts

Romans

1 Corinthians

2 Corinthians

Galatians

Ephesians

Philippians

Colossians

1 Thessalonians

2 Thessalonians

1 Timothy

2 Timothy

Titus

Philemon

Hebrews

James

1 Peter

2 Peter

1 John

2 John

3 John

Jude

Revelation

Articles and Resources

Title Page

Copyright Information

How to Use The ESV Gospel Transformation Study Bible, ePub Edition

Accessing Study Notes, Footnotes, and Cross-references

Editors

Introduction to the ESV Gospel Transformation Study Bible

The Gospel in All of Scripture

Empowered Application

Ways to Use this Bible

Contributors

Editors

Articles

Preface to the English Standard Version

The Bible

Translation Legacy

Translation Philosophy

Translation Principles and Style

The Translation of Specialized Terms

Textual Basis and Resources

Textual Footnotes

Publishing Team

To God’s Honor and Praise

Explanation of Features Included in This Edition

Special Features of the ESV Gospel Transformation Study Bible

Section Headings

Cross-Reference System

Textual Footnotes

Maps

Biblical Theology

Covenants

The Gospel in the Old Testament

The Gospel in the New Testament

The Relation of the Old Testament to the New Testament

Topical Index

Table of Weights and Measures

Concordance

Abbreviations

Daily Bible Reading Plan

Colophon

Maps

Editors

Bryan Chapell

General Editor

Dane Ortlund

Managing Editor

Gospel

Transformation

Study Bible

Crossway

Wheaton, Illinois

esvbible.org

Copyright Information

The ESV Gospel Transformation Study Bible, ESV® Bible

Copyright © 2013, 2018 by Crossway.

All rights reserved.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®)

Copyright © 2001 by Crossway,

a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

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ESV Text Edition: 2016

Version: esvgtsb.v3.no-nav.2019.03.a.epub

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Supplemental material: Introductions, study notes, indexes, and all other materials included in the ESV Gospel Transformation Study Bible (unless otherwise indicated) copyright © 2013 by Crossway. Articles and the introduction and study notes for Zephaniah copyright © 2018 by Crossway. The ESV Preface, Explanation of Features, headings in the Bible text, Cross-Reference System (as adapted), and Concordance copyright © 2001 by Crossway. The ESV Cross-Reference System is adapted from the original English Revised Version cross-reference system.

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Introduction

to the ESV Gospel Transformation Study Bible

The goal of the Gospel Transformation Study Bible is twofold: (1) to enable readers to understand that the whole Bible is a unified message of the gospel of God’s grace culminating in Christ Jesus, and (2) to help believers apply this good news to their everyday lives in a heart-transforming way. Our hope is that, as Christians throughout the world learn to see the message of salvation by grace unfolding throughout Scripture, they will respond to God with greater love, faithfulness, and power.

This is not a new way of studying the Bible. Rather, this approach honors our Lord’s own instruction to see the gospel in all of Scripture, so that his love empowers the transformation of our lives from the inside out.

The Gospel in All of Scripture

Christ’s grace does not wait until the last chapters of Matthew to make its first appearance, but rather is the dawning light increasing throughout Scripture toward the day the Savior came. Jesus himself made this clear when he spoke to the religious leaders of his day, saying, You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me (John 5:39; see also 1:45). After his resurrection, he spoke similarly to the disciples on the road to Emmaus. Luke records Jesus’ conversation this way: And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself (Luke 24:27; see also v. 44).

Jesus says repeatedly that all the Scriptures bear witness of him. But of course, a key question remaining for us is, how do all the Scriptures do this? Jesus cannot be contending that all portions of Scripture make direct mention of him. Most verses and most accounts in the Bible make no explicit reference to Jesus.

We will understand what Jesus meant about all of Scripture bearing witness to him as we remember the big picture of the Bible. An old cliché says, Biblical history is ‘his-story.’ But how is this story of Jesus unfolding across the past and future millennia the Bible describes? A standard way of thinking about the whole picture of God’s dealing with humanity begins with a good creation, spoiled by Adam’s fall, redeemed by Christ’s provision, and perfected in the consummation of Christ’s rule over all things. This creation-fall-redemption-consummation perspective helps us map all the events of Scripture. All have a place in this great unfolding plan of his-story.

In addition to seeing the overall plan of his-story, it is important to remember that the redemption component of biblical history begins unfolding long before the crucifixion narrative in the Gospels. The Bible reveals the dawning light of redemption near the very beginning. Immediately after Adam’s and Eve’s sin, God says to the one who tempted them, I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel (Gen. 3:15). Bible scholars refer to this verse as the first gospel. It is God’s first promise to redeem his world and people—broken by Adam’s sin—by the divine provision of One who would come through a human source to defeat Satan while also suffering an awful attack from him.

This early verse in Genesis sets the stage for all that follows in the Bible. The rest of human history will be played out on this stage. Thus, every piece of Scripture that follows has a redemptive context. Our goal as Bible readers who are interpreting as Christ intends is not to try to make Jesus magically appear in every text, but to show where every text properly stands on this redemptive stage. Jesus is the chief and culminating figure on this stage. The stage is set for him; all that transpires on the stage relates to him; and we do not fully understand anything on the stage until we have identified its relation to him.

It should be emphasized that placing every text in its redemptive context does not mean that every text mentions Jesus. Rather, every text relates some aspect of God’s redeeming grace that finds its fullest expression in Christ. Ultimately, we understand who he is and what he does by how he fleshes out the message of redemption that unfolds throughout the Bible.

This unfolding gospel perspective may be communicated in a variety of ways in the commentary portions of this Gospel Transformation Study Bible. Many texts specifically describe, prophesy, or typify (set a pattern for) the ministry of Jesus. Straightforward identification of obvious gospel truths is sufficient for understanding these texts. There are many more texts, however, that prepare for or reflect upon Christ’s ministry by disclosing aspects of the grace of God that find their completed expression in Jesus. These gospel windows revealing God’s gracious nature and provision may be identified and/or described through a variety of means—for example, locating a text in its redemptive-historical context, identifying a literary motif typifying God’s redemptive work that carries through the Old and New Testaments, describing doctrinal developments that are foundational to gospel understanding, or simply showing how God’s divine care for his people evidences the grace necessary for our redemption.

Our goal will be to identify gospel themes through methods readers can identify and repeat in their own study of Scripture. We want to distinguish such interpretation from speculative approaches that have sometimes cast doubt upon the gospel focus or veracity of Scripture. In the past, some interpreters have understood Christ’s statements about all the Scriptures speaking of him to justify fanciful references to Jesus in Old Testament passages with little biblical support. Such allegorical interpretations may, for example, claim that because Noah’s ark was made of wood, and the cross was made of wood, therefore the ark represents the cross. Of course, someone else could say that the wood of Noah’s ark represents the wood of the ark of the covenant, or the wood panels of the temple of Israel, or the wood of the boat from which Christ stilled the storm. The trouble with such allegorical interpretations is that they are more a reflection of human imagination than biblical revelation.

If the New Testament does not indicate that a specific object or account is about Jesus, it is best not to force an interpretation that logic cannot prove. At the same time, we should be very willing to learn principles of redemptive interpretation that the New Testament writers employed and exemplified. From these principles we learn that the more common approach to understanding the redemptive nature of all biblical texts is to identify how God’s Word predicts, prepares for, reflects, or results from the person and/or work of Christ. These four categories of gospel explanation are not meant to be exhaustive or kept rigidly separate, but they do help us explain how all of Scripture bears witness to who Christ is and/or what he must do.

Some passages—such as the prophecies and the messianic Psalms—clearly predict who Christ is and what he will do. Isaiah wrote of the Messiah, that his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end (Isa. 9:6–7). This is a clear prediction of Jesus’ person and work, and there are many more such predictions in the prophetic portions of Scripture.

Other passages prepare God’s people to understand the grace that God must provide to redeem his people. When God uses his servant David to show mercy to King Saul’s lame grandson (a royal descendant who would be David’s blood-rival for Israel’s throne), we understand something about God’s ways of forgiving enemies and showing mercy toward the helpless.

Not only do many Old Testament passages prepare God’s people to understand the grace of his provision, they also prepare the people to understand their need. When Paul writes in Galatians 3:24 that the law was our schoolmaster or guardian helping lead us to Christ, we understand that the high and holy standards of the law ultimately prepare us to seek God’s provision of mercy rather than to depend on the quality of our performance to make us acceptable to him. The sacrifice system further prepares us to understand that without the shedding of blood there is no atonement for our failures to keep the law (Heb. 9:22). And because Abraham’s faith was counted to him as righteousness, we are prepared to understand that our standing before God depends upon our faith in the provision of another (Rom. 4:23–24).

Grace does not spring up like a surprise jack-in-the-box in the New Testament. God’s people have been prepared for millennia to understand and receive the grace of Christ on their behalf.

Because grace is the key to understanding the purposes of God throughout the whole Bible, culminating in Christ, aspects of the gospel are reflected throughout Scripture. When a text neither plainly predicts nor prepares for Christ’s person or work, the redemptive truths reflected in the text can always be discerned by asking two questions that are fair to ask of any text:

What does this text reflect about the nature of God who provides redemption?

and/or

What does this text reflect about the nature of humanity that requires redemption?

These simple questions are the lenses to the reading glasses through which we can look at any text to see what the Bible is reflecting of God’s nature and/or human nature. Inevitably these lenses enable us see that God is holy and we are not, or that God is sovereign and we are vulnerable, or that God is merciful and we require his mercy. Such reading glasses always make us aware of our need of God’s grace to compensate for our sin and inability. Christ may not be specifically mentioned in the text, but the reflection of God’s nature and ours makes the necessity of his grace apparent.

Using these reading glasses throughout the Old and New Testament will enable us to see the gracious nature of God who provides redemption as he gives strength to the weak, rest to the weary, deliverance to the disobedient, faithfulness to the unfaithful, food to the hungry, and salvation to sinners. We also learn something about the human nature that requires redemption when heroes fail, patriarchs lie, kings fall, prophets cower, disciples doubt, and covenant people become idolaters. These lenses prevent us from setting up characters in the Bible only as moral heroes to emulate, rather than as flawed men and women who themselves needed the grace of God.

Every text, seen in its redemptive context, is reflecting an aspect of humanity’s fallen condition that requires the grace of God. Focus upon this fallen condition will inevitably cause readers to consider the divine solution characteristic of the grace that culminates in the provision of the Savior.

Finally, we understand how God’s redemptive message appears in Scripture by those texts that are a result of Christ’s work in our behalf. We are justified and sanctified as a result of Christ’s atoning work and spiritual indwelling. Our prayers are heard as a result of his priestly intercession for us. Our wills are transformed as result of our union with him. We worship as a result of God’s gracious provision for every aspect of our salvation.

Ultimately, the reason to read Scripture with an eye to understanding how our actions and status are a result of grace is to keep straight the order of Scripture’s imperatives and indicatives. The imperatives (what we are to do) are always a consequence of the indicatives (who we are by God’s gracious provision); what we do is never a cause of who we are with respect to our eternal status in God’s kingdom and family. We obey as a result of being God’s beloved, not to cause God to love us. His grace toward us precedes, enables, and motivates our efforts toward holiness.

A key example of imperatives flowing from indicatives occurs when God gives the Ten Commandments to his people. He does not make their obedience a condition of his love. He first declares, I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery (Deut. 5:6), and then he gives the commandments. He rescued his people before they obeyed. Their obedience was expected as a consequence of receiving God’s deliverance, not as a condition for obtaining it. By understanding this consistent redemptive pattern in Scripture, we not only have a tool for understanding the Bible’s structure, we have a way of seeing the grace of the gospel even in passages dominated by God’s commands.

The indicative/imperative pattern of Scripture leads us next to consider why it is so important to see the grace message pervading Scripture and culminating in Christ. So far we have only considered how we can excavate grace from all of Scripture, but we have not discussed why this is so important. The reason is that grace not only underlies God’s imperatives, it is also the ultimate power that enables us to live these standards, as we are transformed from the inside out.

Empowered Application

A second major goal of the Gospel Transformation Study Bible is therefore to help readers apply gospel truths to their everyday lives. Faithful application typically answers four questions: (1) What to do? (2) Where to do it? (3) Why to do it? and (4) How to do it? Previous application-focused study Bibles have emphasized the first two of these questions. The Gospel Transformation Study Bible, while not ignoring the first two questions, seeks to be a primary resource for the latter two. Contributors’ notes indicate how the unfolding gospel truths in any given passage of Scripture motivate and enable believers to honor their Savior from the heart—in short, how grace transforms them.

Our goal is to make plain the imperatives of God’s Word, while undermining the human reflex to base God’s affection on human performance. Contributors have therefore indicated how the indicatives of the gospel (i.e., the status and privileges believers have by virtue of God’s grace alone) provide motivation and power for God’s people to honor him from the heart.

The Motivation of Grace

The Bible recognizes no definition of grace that encourages moral license. Instead, feasting on grace fuels love for God that enables us to fulfill the commandment that is foundational to all others: you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength (Mark 12:30). When we love him rightly, we delight to walk with him in every dimension of our lives. Only the grace of God ultimately displayed in the provision of Christ for sinners can stimulate such loving obedience.

Warnings and rewards are also clearly given in Scripture to motivate believers through identification of the consequences of disobedience and the blessings of obedience. But in themselves, these motivations do not create an obedience that is a product of loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. In fact, if we only or primarily obey God to avoid consequences and/or to gain rewards, then selfish love motivates us more than love for God. For the believer, biblical warnings must be understood as expressions of care from a loving Father, and blessings must be received as benevolent responses to inadequate performance. Without this perspective the warnings and blessings accomplish the opposite of their biblical purpose—creating fear and pride rather than love and thanksgiving.

Relishing the gracious provision God has made for us despite our sin and inability stimulates true humility, gratitude, sacrifice, obedience, and praise. We live to honor God in response to the love he has shown us, more than living for the sake of earthly priorities. Heaven’s priorities become our own because expressing love for the One who first loved us becomes our greatest delight and deepest satisfaction. We pursue holiness in loving response to the heavenly Father who has been so gracious to us, not to bribe a divine ogre in the sky to be favorable toward us.

Since God’s love for us is the soil in which love for God grows, identifying his grace in all the Scriptures is not simply an interpretive scheme. It is supremely practical. For regular exaltation of the gospel is what ignites love for God in the hearts of believers. We identify the grace pervading Scripture in order to fan into flame our zeal for the Savior. Our goal is not merely good interpretation but stimulation of a profound love for God that bears holy fruit, as pleasing the One we love above all brings our most profound and compelling joy.

The Power of Grace

Grace pervades Scripture not only to motivate godliness, but also to empower it. In order to discern how grace empowers, we need to consider the sources of power for the Christian life.

Knowledge is power. One source of spiritual power is knowledge. We need to know what to do and believe in order to apply God’s Word to our lives. If we do not know what to believe, then we cannot honor the truths about God; and, if we do not know what to do, then we cannot truly please God. Among other things, this means that consistently uncovering the grace of God in Scripture does not render superfluous the law of God. The law reflects the character and care of God (Ps. 19:7–10). By the direction of his commands, God gives us a safe path for our lives and, in doing so, he reveals that he is good.

The law is ungracious when it is presented as a means of meriting God’s favor or acceptance, but Jesus taught us that the law itself is good—and that not one iota of it would pass away until heaven and earth did (Matt. 5:17–18). As counterintuitive as it may seem, we are not being gracious when we minimize the moral standards of God, because by doing so we rob others of the knowledge of the safe path that God’s Word provides and of the knowledge of the good God who laid that path.

Yet, as important as it is to know what to believe and what to do, such knowledge is still insufficient for living the Christian life. If we have no will or ability to act on the knowledge we have, we cannot please God. That’s why uncovering the message of grace in all of Scripture is so important. The love for God that the gospel of grace stimulates in us provides power for Christian living that knowledge alone cannot.

Love is power. To help us grasp the full power of love for God, we must consider a critical question: What is the primary reason that sin gains power over believers? Sin’s power has already been defeated; we are no longer its slaves (Rom. 6:14–17). By virtue of their renewed minds and the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, sin no more has dominion over those united to Christ (Rom. 12:1–2; Gal. 2:20; 1 John 4:4). So why do we yield to sin? The answer is, because we love it. Consider this: If sin did not attract us, it would have no power over us. We turn from God because we are drawn to sin’s temporary pleasures and false promises (Heb. 11:25; James 1:14–15).

The understanding that sin takes control of our lives through our love of it leads to another critical question: What will drive our love for sin from our hearts? First, understanding that the pleasures of sin are temporary and that its consequences are ruinous will help turn us from sin. The warnings in Scripture confirm the importance of this understanding. But what will cut off love for sin at its source, so that it does not even have the opportunity to gain control of our heart? The answer is: a surpassing, transforming love.

Our love for sin, which grants it present power in our lives, is overcome when displaced by a greater love. Thomas Chalmers’s famous sermon two hundred years ago on The Expulsive Power of a New Affection still rings true. When love for Christ exceeds all other loves, we want to please him above all other pleasures. This is why Jesus said, If you love me, you will keep my commandments (John 14:15).

Understanding the power of a surpassing love leads to a final critical question: If a surpassing love for God makes his priorities our own, then what fills our hearts with such love for him? The answer is, in the words of John Newton’s famous hymn, amazing grace . . . that saved a wretch like me. He loved me before I knew him. He died for me while I was yet his enemy. He keeps me when I fall. He holds me when I fail. He remains faithful though I am faithless. He forgives me when I am wrong, and loves me still. Such grace is intended to fill our hearts with a surpassing love for God that empowers genuine Christian living. The power of grace to stimulate an all-conquering love for God is the ultimate reason we must identify the heart of the gospel in all of Scripture. Interpretation marked by consistent adulation of God’s mercy continually fills the Christian heart with more cause to love him. This love becomes the primary force for Christian obedience as hearts in which the Spirit dwells respond with love for their Savior. This is why the apostle Paul could say, the love of Christ controls us (2 Cor. 5:14), and that the grace of God is training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives (Titus 2:11–12). Grace leads to godliness.

In the Gospel Transformation Study Bible, we will consistently excavate the gospel truths that pervade Scripture so that the hearts of believers might be filled with love for God that drives out love for the world. Without love for the world, its temptations have no power. We are not tempted to do what we have no desire to do. Instead, a preeminent love for God makes doing his will the believer’s greatest joy, and this joy is our strength (Neh. 8:10).

By showing how grace motivates and empowers the Christian life, the heart-application that the Gospel Transformation Study Bible commentators provide is not a legalistic add-on to Bible exposition. These reflections on how we can apply the Bible to our lives in a grace-centered way are rather the spiritual unfolding of the implications of the gospel in the life of the believer. Because grace finds its ultimate expression in Christ’s love for us, we love him. As a consequence, we delight to love what and whom he loves. Our delight in his delight is not only the power behind personal holiness but the stimulus to love the unlovely, provide for the needy, and care for all that Christ loves.

Bryan Chapell

General Editor

Ways to Use This Bible

The ESV Gospel Transformation Study Bible has been created for general use across a broad variety of contexts. This resource is easily accessible to those who are just beginning to wade into the Bible for the first time, and yet it will be equally useful to seasoned teachers and preachers of God’s Word—and everyone in between. This is because, throughout its highly engaging study notes, the Gospel Transformation Study Bible consistently communicates the single message of the entire Bible, and the greatest need of the human heart: namely, the grace of God in Jesus Christ for sinners and sufferers.

Below are a few specific contexts in which this study Bible will prove to be particularly useful.

In Personal Study

The primary way in which this study Bible can be used is in personal, reflective reading and study of the Scripture. Because the message of the gospel is so foreign to the way our natural hearts and minds function, we need to be brought back repeatedly to the extraordinary grace of the gospel as we read and study the Bible on our own. The Gospel Transformation Study Bible coaches us into reading the Bible as it was designed to be read, correcting our dark thoughts of God and training us to see the entire Scripture as a unified message of God’s saving mercy. The consequence is that we will be fueled for a life with Christ through gospel gratitude and hope, rather than through the human motivations of greed or dread.

In Group Bible Study

The Gospel Transformation Study Bible is also ideally suited for group study—whether men’s or women’s Bible studies, new- or mature-believer discussions, or mixed groups. All such groups are composed of sinners searching for grace, and this edition speeds the search and deepens its impact! Men and women, young and old, neighborhood and office study groups using the Gospel Transformation Study Bible will find rich encouragement and penetrating discussion as the biblical text is studied with the support of study notes highlighting the grace of God passage by passage.

In Family Worship

Fathers and mothers can easily feel intimidated about faithfully teaching the Bible to their families. How can parents who have not received formal training raise families to understand the unfolding message of grace throughout the Bible? The Gospel Transformation Study Bible equips dads and moms, uncles and aunts, neighbors and grandparents with an edition that provides surefooted guidance in getting to the very heart of the gospel message in each passage. One can read the study notes before family devotions in order to prepare for discussions with one’s children and/or spouse, or simply read the notes aloud after reading the Bible text. In either case, families will be coached into reading the Bible in a life-giving way, learning to follow Christ in grateful response to his grace, rather than simply obeying God in order to keep one’s distance from his threats.

In Discipleship

Another particularly useful context in which to use this edition of the Bible is in personal discipleship—a pastor mentoring a younger believer, or an older woman in the faith meeting with a younger one, or a neighbor discipling a new believer, for example. This edition of the Bible will enable a growing disciple to see the heart of God’s redeeming love throughout the Bible, setting him or her on a healthy trajectory of reading and studying Scripture throughout the rest of life.

In Preparation for Teaching or Preaching

Even experienced teachers and preachers of the Bible face challenges in connecting every passage to the Bible’s overarching storyline of grace that culminates in Christ. The Gospel Transformation Study Bible provides sound guidance for interpreting every passage in the context of this unfolding gospel message. This guidance will empower not only sound handling of biblical texts, following the example of Jesus (Luke 24:27, 44; John 5:39, 46); it will also provide the only kind of teaching and preaching that truly nourishes and sustains faith. Rather than reinforcing old thoughts of self-promotion or self-protection as the motivations for obedience, listeners will be motivated by a renewed love for Christ inspired by his grace in all of Scripture.

Conclusion

These user guidelines are far from an exhaustive list of the ways in which the Gospel Transformation Study Bible can be used. Seeing the grace of God unfolding in all of the Bible will stimulate zeal for sharing Christ’s love in many more ways. We encourage all believers, whatever their age or previous knowledge of the Bible, to explore the beauties of the gospel throughout Scripture with the help of the notes and other material in this special Bible edition.

Paul defined the goal of his entire ministry as to testify to the gospel of the grace of God (Acts 20:24). We trust the Gospel Transformation Study Bible will enable readers to see this glorious message of grace as the heartbeat of the entire Bible.

Contributors

Editors

Bryan Chapell

General Editor

Senior Pastor, Grace Presbyterian Church, Peoria, Illinois; President Emeritus, Covenant Theological Seminary

Dane Ortlund

Managing Editor

Executive Vice President, Bible Publishing, Crossway

Contributors

Under the oversight of the editors, the following people contributed content for the ESV Gospel Transformation Study Bible study notes.

Genesis

Willem VanGemeren

Professor Emeritus of Old Testament and Semitic Languages, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

Exodus

Sean Michael Lucas

Senior Pastor, Independent Presbyterian Church, Memphis, Tennessee

Leviticus

Jay Sklar

Vice President of Academics, Dean of Faculty, Professor of Old Testament, Covenant Theological Seminary

Numbers

L. Michael Morales

Professor of Biblical Studies, Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary

Deuteronomy

Mark D. Futato

Robert L. Maclellan Professor of Old Testament, Reformed Theological Seminary

Joshua

Michael Horton

J. Gresham Machen Professor of Systematic Theology and Apologetics, Westminster Seminary California

Judges

W. Brian Aucker

Associate Professor of Old Testament, Covenant Theological Seminary

Ruth

Mary Beth McGreevy

Speaker and Author

1–2 Samuel

V. Philips Long

Professor of Old Testament, Regent College

1–2 Kings, 1–2 Chronicles

Miles V. Van Pelt

Alan Belcher Professor of Old Testament and Biblical Languages, Academic Dean, Jackson Campus, Reformed Theological Seminary

Ezra, Nehemiah

Kathleen Nielson

Speaker and Author; Senior Adviser and Book Editor, The Gospel Coalition

Esther

Elyse Fitzpatrick

Speaker and Author

Job

Paul F. M. Zahl

Dean/President Emeritus, Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry

Psalms 1–100

George Robertson

Senior Pastor, Second Presbyterian Church, Memphis, Tennessee

Psalms 101–150

Bruce A. Ware

Professor of Christian Theology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Proverbs

Ray Ortlund

Pastor, Immanuel Church, Nashville, Tennessee

Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon

Doug O’Donnell

Senior Pastor, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Elgin, Illinois

Isaiah

Kelly M. Kapic

Professor of Theological Studies, Covenant College

Jeremiah, Lamentations

Graeme Goldsworthy

Former Lecturer in Old Testament and Biblical Theology, Moore Theological College

Ezekiel

Greg Gilbert

Senior Pastor, Third Avenue Baptist Church, Louisville, Kentucky

Daniel

Bryan Chapell

Senior Pastor, Grace Presbyterian Church, Peoria, Illinois; President Emeritus, Covenant Theological Seminary

Hosea

James M. Hamilton Jr.

Professor of Biblical Theology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Joel

Timothy Z. Witmer

Professor Emeritus of Practical Theology, Westminster Theological Seminary

Amos

David Helm

Lead Pastor, Holy Trinity Church, Chicago, Illinois; Chairman, The Charles Simeon Trust

Obadiah

Michael J. Glodo

Associate Professor of Practical Theology, Dean of the Chapel, Orlando Campus, Reformed Theological Seminary

Jonah

Colin Smith

Senior Pastor, The Orchard Evangelical Free Church, Arlington Heights, Illinois

Micah

Nancy Guthrie

Bible Teacher and Author

Nahum

Michael J. Glodo

Associate Professor of Practical Theology, Dean of the Chapel, Orlando Campus, Reformed Theological Seminary

Habakkuk

Julius J. Kim

Dean of Students and Professor of Practical Theology, Westminster Seminary California

Zephaniah

Dane Ortlund

Executive Vice President, Bible Publishing, Crossway

Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi

Iain Duguid

Professor of Old Testament, Westminster Theological Seminary

Matthew

Frank Thielman

Presbyterian Professor of Divinity, Beeson Divinity School

Mark

Hans F. Bayer

Professor of New Testament, Covenant Theological Seminary

Luke

Jonathan Pennington

Associate Professor of New Testament Interpretation, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

John

Scotty Smith

Founding Pastor, Christ Community Church, Franklin, Tennessee

Acts

Justin S. Holcomb

Affiliate Professor of Theology, Reformed Theological Seminary and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

Romans

Robert W. Yarbrough

Professor of New Testament, Covenant Theological Seminary

1 Corinthians

C. D. (Jimmy) Agan III

Senior Pastor, Intown Community Church, Atlanta, Georgia

2 Corinthians

Stephen T. Um

Senior Pastor, Citylife Presbyterian Church, Boston, Massachusetts

Galatians

Ian Smith

Principal, Christ College, Sydney, Australia

Ephesians

Kevin DeYoung

Senior Pastor, Christ Covenant Church, Matthews, North Carolina

Philippians

Jon Dennis

Senior Pastor, Holy Trinity Church, Chicago, Illinois

Colossians

Julius J. Kim

Dean of Students and Professor of Practical Theology, Westminster Seminary California

1–2 Thessalonians

Burk Parsons

Senior Pastor, Saint Andrew’s Chapel, Sanford, Florida; Editor, Tabletalk

1–2 Timothy

R. Kent Hughes

Professor of Practical Theology, Westminster Theological Seminary; Pastor Emeritus, College Church, Wheaton, Illinois

Titus

J. D. Greear

Lead Pastor, The Summit Church, Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina

Philemon

Julius J. Kim

Dean of Students and Professor of Practical Theology, Westminster Seminary California

Hebrews

Robert A. Peterson

Systematic Theologian and Author

James

Daniel M. Doriani

Vice President of Strategic Academic Initiatives, Professor of Theology, Covenant Theological Seminary

1–2 Peter

Jared C. Wilson

Director of Content Strategy, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Kansas City, Missouri

1–3 John

Mike Bullmore

Senior Pastor, CrossWay Community Church, Bristol, Wisconsin

Jude

Jared C. Wilson

Director of Content Strategy, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Kansas City, Missouri

Revelation

James M. Hamilton Jr.

Professor of Biblical Theology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Articles

Biblical Theology

Richard Lints

Vice President for Academic Affairs, Andrew Mutch Distinguished Professor of Theology, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

Covenants

Sean Michael Lucas

Senior Pastor, Independent Presbyterian Church, Memphis, Tennessee

The Gospel in the Old Testament

Miles V. Van Pelt

Alan Belcher Professor of Old Testament and Biblical Languages, Academic Dean, Jackson Campus, Reformed Theological Seminary

The Gospel in the New Testament

Greg D. Gilbert

Senior Pastor, Third Avenue Baptist Church, Louisville, Kentucky

The Relation of the Old Testament to the New Testament

Vern S. Poythress

Professor of New Testament Interpretation, Westminster Theological Seminary

Preface

to the English Standard Version

The Bible

This Book [is] the most valuable thing that this world affords. Here is Wisdom; this is the royal Law; these are the lively Oracles of God. With these words the Moderator of the Church of Scotland hands a Bible to the new monarch in Britain’s coronation service. These words echo the King James Bible translators, who wrote in 1611, God’s sacred Word . . . is that inestimable treasure that excelleth all the riches of the earth. This assessment of the Bible is the motivating force behind the publication of the English Standard Version.

Translation Legacy

The English Standard Version (ESV) stands in the classic mainstream of English Bible translations over the past half-millennium. The fountainhead of that stream was William Tyndale’s New Testament of 1526; marking its course were the King James Version of 1611 (KJV), the English Revised Version of 1885 (RV), the American Standard Version of 1901 (ASV), and the Revised Standard Version of 1952 and 1971 (RSV). In that stream, faithfulness to the text and vigorous pursuit of precision were combined with simplicity, beauty, and dignity of expression. Our goal has been to carry forward this legacy for this generation and generations to come.

To this end each word and phrase in the ESV has been carefully weighed against the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, to ensure the fullest accuracy and clarity and to avoid under-translating or overlooking any nuance of the original text. The words and phrases themselves grow out of the Tyndale–King James legacy, and most recently out of the RSV, with the 1971 RSV text providing the starting point for our work. Archaic language has been brought into line with current usage and significant corrections have been made in the translation of key texts. But throughout, our goal has been to retain the depth of meaning and enduring quality of language that have made their indelible mark on the English-speaking world and have defined the life and doctrine of its church over the last five centuries.

Translation Philosophy

The ESV is an essentially literal translation that seeks as far as possible to reproduce the ­precise wording of the original text and the personal style of each Bible writer. As such, its emphasis is on word-for-word correspondence, at the same time taking full account of differences in grammar, syntax, and idiom between current literary English and the original languages. Thus it seeks to be transparent to the original text, letting the reader see as directly as possible the structure and exact force of the original.

In contrast to the ESV, some Bible versions have followed a thought-for-thought rather than word-for-word translation philosophy, emphasizing dynamic equivalence rather than the essentially literal meaning of the original. A thought-for-thought translation is of necessity more inclined to reflect the interpretive views of the translator and the influences of contemporary culture.

Every translation is at many points a trade-off between literal precision and readability, between formal equivalence in expression and functional equivalence in communication, and the ESV is no exception. Within this framework we have sought to be as literal as possible while maintaining clarity of expression and literary excellence. Therefore, to the extent that plain English permits and the meaning in each case allows, we have sought to use the same English word for important recurring words in the original; and, as far as grammar and syntax allow, we have rendered Old Testament passages cited in the New in ways that show their correspondence. Thus in each of these areas, as well as throughout the Bible as a whole, we have sought to capture all the echoes and overtones of meaning that are so abundantly present in the original texts.

As an essentially literal translation, taking into account grammar and syntax, the ESV thus seeks to carry over every possible nuance of meaning in the original words of Scripture into our own language. As such, the ESV is ideally suited for in-depth study of the Bible. Indeed, with its commitment to literary excellence, the ESV is equally well suited for public reading and preaching, for private reading and reflection, for both academic and devotional study, and for Scripture memorization.

Translation Principles and Style

The ESV also carries forward classic translation principles in its literary style. Accordingly it retains theological terminology—words such as grace, faith, justification, sanctification, redemption, regeneration, reconciliation, propitiation—because of their central importance for Christian doctrine and also because the underlying Greek words were already becoming key words and technical terms among Christians in New Testament times.

The ESV lets the stylistic variety of the biblical writers fully express itself—from the exalted prose that opens Genesis, to the flowing narratives of the historical books, to the rich metaphors and dramatic imagery of the poetic books, to the ringing rhetoric in the prophetic books, to the smooth elegance of Luke, to the profound simplicities of John, and the closely reasoned logic of Paul.

In punctuating, paragraphing, dividing long sentences, and rendering connectives, the ESV follows the path that seems to make the ongoing flow of thought clearest in English. The biblical languages regularly connect sentences by frequent repetition of words such as and, but, and for, in a way that goes beyond the conventions of current literary English. Effective translation, however, requires that these links in the original be reproduced so that the flow of the argument will be transparent to the reader. We have therefore normally translated these connectives, though occasionally we have varied the rendering by using alternatives (such as also, however, now, so, then, or thus) when they better express the linkage in specific instances.

In the area of gender language, the goal of the ESV is to render literally what is in the original. For example, anyone replaces any man where there is no word corresponding to man in the original languages, and people rather than men is regularly used where the original languages refer to both men and women. But the words man and men are retained where a male meaning component is part of the original Greek or Hebrew. Likewise, the word man has been retained where the original text intends to convey a clear contrast between God on the one hand and man on the other hand, with man being used in the collective sense of the whole human race (see Luke 2:52). Similarly, the English word brothers (translating the Greek word adelphoi) is retained as an important familial form of address between fellow-Jews and fellow-­Christians in the first century. A recurring note is included to indicate that the term brothers (adelphoi) was often used in Greek to refer to both men and women, and to indicate the specific instances in the text where this is the case. In addition, the English word sons (translating the Greek word huioi) is retained in specific instances because the underlying Greek term usually includes a male meaning component and it was used as a legal term in the adoption and inheritance laws of first-century Rome. As used by the apostle Paul, this term refers to the status of all Christians, both men and women, who, having been adopted into God’s family, now enjoy all the privileges, obligations, and inheritance rights of God’s children.

The inclusive use of the generic he has also regularly been retained, because this is consistent with similar usage in the original languages and because an essentially literal translation would be impossible without it.

In each case the objective has been transparency to the original text, allowing the reader to understand the original on its own terms rather than in the terms of our present-day Western culture.

The Translation of Specialized Terms

In the translation of biblical terms referring to God, the ESV takes great care to convey the specific nuances of meaning of the original Hebrew and Greek words. First, concerning terms that refer to God in the Old Testament: God, the Maker of heaven and earth, introduced himself to the people of Israel with a special personal name, the consonants for which are YHWH (see Exodus 3:14–15). Scholars call this the Tetragrammaton, a Greek term referring to the four Hebrew letters YHWH. The exact pronunciation of YHWH is uncertain, because the Jewish people considered the personal name of God to be so holy that it should never be spoken aloud. Instead of reading the word YHWH, therefore, they would normally read the Hebrew word ’adonay (Lord), and the ancient translations into Greek, Syriac, and Aramaic also followed this practice. When the vowels of the word ’adonay are placed with the consonants of YHWH, this results in the familiar word Jehovah that was used in some earlier English Bible translations. As is common among English translations today, the ESV usually renders the personal name of God (YHWH) by the word Lord (printed in small capitals). An exception to this is when the Hebrew word ’adonay appears together with YHWH, in which case the two words are rendered together as the Lord [in lowercase] God [in small capitals]. In contrast to the personal name for God (YHWH), the more general name for God in Old Testament Hebrew is ’elohim and its related forms of ’el or ’eloah, all of which are normally translated God (in lowercase letters). The use of these different ways to translate the Hebrew words for God is especially beneficial to English readers, enabling them to see and understand the different ways that the personal name and the general name for God are both used to refer to the One True God of the Old Testament.

Second, in the New Testament, the Greek word Christos has been translated consistently as Christ. Although the term originally meant simply anointed, among Jews in New Testament times it had specifically come to designate the Messiah, the great Savior that God had promised to raise up. In other New Testament contexts, however, especially among Gentiles, Christos (Christ) was on its way to becoming a proper name. It is important, therefore, to keep the context in mind in understanding the various ways that Christos (Christ) is used in the New Testament. At the same time, in accord with its essentially literal translation philosophy, the ESV has retained consistency and concordance in the translation of Christos (Christ) throughout the New Testament.

Third, a particular difficulty is presented when words in biblical Hebrew and Greek refer to ancient practices and institutions that do not correspond directly to those in the modern world. Such is the case in the translation of ‘ebed (Hebrew) and doulos (Greek), terms which are often rendered slave. These terms, however, actually cover a range of relationships that requires a range of renderings—slave, bondservant, or servant—depending on the context. Further, the word slave currently carries associations with the often brutal and dehumanizing institution of slavery particularly in nineteenth-century America. For this reason, the ESV translation of the words ‘ebed and doulos has been undertaken with particular attention to their meaning in each specific context. Thus in Old Testament times, one might enter slavery either voluntarily (e.g., to escape poverty or to pay off a debt) or involuntarily (e.g., by birth, by being captured in battle, or by judicial sentence). Protection for all in servitude in ancient Israel was provided by the Mosaic Law, including specific provisions for release from slavery. In New Testament times, a doulos is often best described as a bondservant—that is, someone in the Roman Empire officially bound under contract to serve his master for seven years (except for those in Caesar’s household in Rome who were contracted for fourteen years). When the contract expired, the person was freed, given his wage that had been saved by the master, and officially declared a freedman. The ESV usage thus seeks to express the most fitting nuance of meaning in each context. Where absolute ownership by a master is envisaged (as in Romans 6), slave is used; where a more limited form of servitude is in view, bondservant is used (as in 1 Corinthians 7:21–24); where the context indicates a wide range of freedom (as in John 4:51), servant is preferred. Footnotes are generally provided to identify the Hebrew or Greek and the range of meaning that these terms may carry in each case. The issues involved in translating the Greek word doulos apply also to the Greek word sundoulos, translated in the text as fellow servant.

Fourth, it is sometimes suggested that Bible translations should capitalize pronouns referring to deity. It has seemed best not to capitalize deity pronouns in the ESV, however, for the following reasons: first, there is nothing in the original Hebrew and Greek manuscripts that corresponds to such capitalization; second, the practice of capitalizing deity pronouns in English Bible translations is a recent innovation, which began only in the mid-twentieth century; and, third, such capitalization is absent from the KJV Bible and the whole stream of Bible translations that the ESV carries forward.

A fifth specialized term, the word behold, usually has been retained as the most common translation for the Hebrew word hinneh and the Greek word idou. Both of these words mean something like Pay careful attention to what follows! This is important! Other than the word behold, there is no single word in English that fits well in most contexts. Although Look! and See! and Listen! would be workable in some contexts, in many others these words lack sufficient weight and dignity. Given the principles of essentially literal translation, it is important not to leave hinneh and idou completely untranslated and so to lose the intended emphasis in the original languages. The older and more formal word behold has usually been retained, therefore, as the best available option for conveying the original weight of meaning.

Textual Basis and Resources

The ESV is based on the Masoretic text of the Hebrew Bible as found in Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (5th ed., 1997), and on the Greek text in the 2014 editions of the Greek New Testament (5th corrected ed.), published by the United Bible Societies (UBS), and Novum Testamentum Graece (28th ed., 2012), edited by Nestle and Aland. The currently renewed respect among Old Testament scholars for the Masoretic text is reflected in the ESV’s attempt, wherever possible, to translate difficult Hebrew passages as they stand in the Masoretic text rather than resorting to emendations or to finding an alternative reading in the ancient versions. In exceptional, difficult cases, the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Septuagint, the Samaritan Pentateuch, the Syriac Peshitta, the Latin Vulgate, and other sources were consulted to shed possible light on the text, or, if necessary, to support a divergence from the Masoretic text. Similarly, in a few difficult cases in the New Testament, the ESV has followed a Greek text different from the text given preference in the UBS/Nestle-Aland 28th edition. Throughout, the translation team has benefited greatly from the massive textual resources that have become readily available recently, from new insights into biblical laws and culture, and from current advances in Hebrew and Greek lexicography and grammatical understanding.

Textual Footnotes

The footnotes that are included in most editions of the ESV are therefore an integral part of the ESV translation, informing the reader of textual variations and difficulties and showing how these have been resolved by the ESV translation team. In addition to this, the footnotes indicate significant alternative readings and occasionally provide an explanation for technical terms or for a difficult reading in the text.

Publishing Team

The ESV publishing team has included more than a hundred people. The fourteen—member Translation Oversight Committee benefited from the work of more than fifty biblical experts serving as Translation Review Scholars and from the comments of the more than fifty members of the Advisory Council, all of which was carried out under the auspices of the Crossway Board of Directors. This hundred-plus-member team shares a common commitment to the truth of God’s Word and to historic Christian orthodoxy and is international in scope, including leaders in many denominations.

To God’s Honor and Praise

We know that no Bible translation is perfect; but we also know that God uses imperfect and inadequate things to his honor and praise. So to our triune God and to his people we offer what we have done, with our prayers that it may prove useful, with gratitude for much help given, and with ongoing wonder that our God should ever have entrusted to us so momentous a task.

Soli Deo Gloria!—To God alone be the glory!

The Translation Oversight Committee

Explanation of

Features

Included in This Edition

The ESV Gospel Transformation Study Bible includes a number of valuable features to encourage the reading and study of the Bible. A brief description is provided below explaining the purpose and use of these features.

Special Features of the 
ESV Gospel Transformation Study Bible

In accordance with the goals stated in the "Introduction to the ESV Gospel Transformation Study Bible, this edition of the ESV Bible features study notes for the entire Bible that show readers, passage by passage, how each particular book carries forward God’s redemptive purposes in history, culminating in Christ. These notes enable readers to see how the gospel of grace is the overarching message of the Bible, and how it transforms the human heart. Introductions to each book of the Bible are also provided, which include a section called The Gospel in [Book]." This section orients readers to the big picture of how that book develops the story line of God’s redemptive plan. Further, five articles are included to assist the reader in further pursuing the study of God’s grace in Christ as it unfolds across Scripture.

In addition, there is a full index to help readers see the unity of Scripture and how various themes course through the Bible from beginning to end. By looking up various biblical themes—such as temple, idolatry, feasting, or marriage—readers can appreciate the way the Bible picks up and develops various motifs in a coherent, unified, and progressive way.

Section Headings

Section headings have been included throughout the text of this Bible. While the headings are not part of the Bible text itself, they have been provided to help identify and locate important themes and topics throughout the Bible.

Cross-Reference System

The ESV Gospel Transformation Study Bible includes one of the most extensive and useful cross-reference systems available. The ESV cross—reference system is based on a comprehensive system developed more than a hundred years ago by a team of Bible scholars from Oxford and Cambridge Universities. As far as possible this system also included the cross—references used in the original King James Version of 1611. The resulting cross-reference system was first used in the English Revised Version (RV) and has been highly regarded around the world for its effectiveness in showing the internal interrelationship of the text throughout the Bible.

The cross-reference system as it appears in the ESV Gospel Transformation Study Bible has been adapted from the RV system for use with the ESV. In some cases, therefore, the specific wording of the reference passage may differ, although the underlying meaning and relationship to the referenced text is normally the same.

Because the ESV is an essentially literal, word-for-word translation, the ESV is especially suited for cross-reference study of key words and concepts throughout the Bible.

Using the ESV Cross-Reference System

If there is a cross-reference for a portion of Bible text, this is indicated by a letter superscript. These always precede the text to which they apply. Number superscripts, which always follow the words to which they apply, indicate textual footnotes. For example, in the phrase "afrom faith for faith¹ the superscripted letter a preceding the phrase refers to a cross—reference while the superscripted number 1" at the end refers to a footnote.

Types of Cross-References

The ESV cross-reference system includes several types of cross—references, some of which are illustrated here from Romans 3:3–4. These include:

References to Specific Words or Phrases. References to words and phrases within the same chapter appear as,