Mistakes in the English Standard Version?

Can you match the bible verse with the pictures above?

I hope you all are doing well, everyone. 2001 was when this translation was published, it is a word for word translation. As we are nearing the end of the Bible Version Expose' (all that's left is to published the Message review,) I've decided to go ahead and color these verses like most others.  KJV will be in blue and ESV in Red. How many verses are we going to cover? Somewhere around fifty or so. I do hope ya'll enjoy.

Gen 10:8  And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. 
Gen 10:8 "...first on earth to be a mighty..." (ESV)
This passage contradicts Gen 6:4

Gen 17:19  And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him. 
Gen 17:19 "God said, "No, but Sarah...'"(ESV)
This version seems to have God contradicting himself concerning Ishmael (see Gen 17:20). 

Gen 20:16  And unto Sarah he said, Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver: behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes, unto all that are with thee, and with all other: thus she was reproved. 
Gen 20:16 changed reproved to "vindicated"(ESV)
These have opposite meanings.

Gen 49:10  The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. 
Gen 49:10 changed Shiloh to "tribute"(ESV)
Some Christians believe Shiloh is a reference to Christ.

Num 23:21  He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the LORD his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them. 
Num 23:21 changed iniquity and perverseness to "misfortune" and "trouble"(ESV)
This is switching something that is wicked with the results of wickedness.

Jdg 4:18  And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said unto him, Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not. And when he had turned in unto her into the tent, she covered him with a mantle. 
Jdg 4:18 changes mantle to "...rug."(ESV)

Jdg 5:30  Have they not sped? have they not divided the prey; to every man a damsel or two; to Sisera a prey of divers colours, a prey of divers colours of needlework, of divers colours of needlework on both sides, meet for the necks of them that take the spoil? 

Jdg 5:30 "...A womb or two for every man;..." (ESV)
A woman is more than just a womb.

2Sa 23:5  Although my house be not so with God; yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure: for this is all my salvation, and all my desire, although he make it not to grow. 

2 Sam 23:5 "For does not my house stand so with God?..."(ESV)
Opposite Meaning!


1Ki 14:11  Him that dieth of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat: for the LORD hath spoken it. 
1 Kin 14:11 "...birds of the heavens shall eat..."(ESV)
Are we to expect birds to swoop down from outer-space or God's thrown? There are three heavens which are the sky, outer-space, and the place where God resides.

2Ch 9:7  Happy are thy men, and happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and hear thy wisdom. 
2 Chr 9:7 "Happy are your wives!..."(ESV)

Ezr 10:15  Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahaziah the son of Tikvah were employed about this matter: and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite helped them. 

Ezr 10:15 "...Tikvah opposed this..."(ESV)

Neh 4:23  So neither I, nor my brethren, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard which followed me, none of us put off our clothes, saving that every one put them off for washing. 
Nehe 4:23 "...kept his weapon..."(ESV)
This verse doesn't even mention a weapon, it tells us they took off their cloths for washing.

Job 4:17  Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his maker? 
Job 4:17 "...Can a man be pure before his maker?"(ESV)
Im going to say yes (2Sa 22:27, Mat 5:8, Tit 1:15).

Pro 11:30  The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise. 
Prov 11:30 "...captures souls..."(ESV)
As Christians we point souls to the One who sets them free
(see Joh 8:32, 36)

Pro 18:24  A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. 
Pro 18:24 "A man of many companions may come to ruin,..."
Different meaning entirely.


Ecc 11:10  Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity. 
Ecclesiastes 11:10 "...put away pain from your body..."(ESV)

Son 7:9  And the roof of thy mouth like the best wine for my beloved, that goeth down sweetly, causing the lips of those that are asleep to speak. 
Sos 7:9 "...gliding over lips and teeth."(ESV)

Isa 66:5  Hear the word of the LORD, ye that tremble at his word; Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name's sake, said, Let the LORD be glorified: but he shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed. 
Isa 66:5 "...that we may see your joy';"(ESV)
This not only changes the meaning of the verse but also doesn't make any sense. Why would you cast someone you hate out so that you could see them be joyful?

Jer 3:23  Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains: truly in the LORD our God is the salvation of Israel. 
Jer 3:23 "...the orgies on the mountains..."(ESV)
This verse could so be taken the wrong way. 


Lam 3:26 removes "both hope and" (see Romans 8:24)

Eze 2:6  And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house. 
Eze 2:6 "...sit on scorpions..."(ESV)
Ouch!!!

Dan 9:26  And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. 
Dan 9:26 "...cut off and shall have nothing..."(ESV)
The Messiah is the one who created all things, Jesus owns it all.
This passage actually shows that the Messiah died for the sake of others.

Nah 1:8  But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies. 
Nahum 1:8 "...will pursue his enemies into darkness."(ESV)

Nah 1:12  Thus saith the LORD; Though they be quiet, and likewise many, yet thus shall they be cut down, when he shall pass through. Though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no more. 
Nah 1:12 quiet changed to "full strength"(ESV)

Hab 3:6  He stood, and measured the earth: he beheld, and drove asunder the nations; and the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual hills did bow: his ways are everlasting. 
Hab 3:6 "...His were the everlasting ways."(ESV)
The way they phrase this verse makes it sound like a contradiction. God doesn't change Mal 3:6

Hab 3:13  Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, even for salvation with thine anointed; thou woundedst the head out of the house of the wicked, by discovering the foundation unto the neck. Selah. 
Hab 3:13 "...for the salvation of your anointed..."(ESV)

Zep 2:14  And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations: both the cormorant and the bittern shall lodge in the upper lintels of it; their voice shall sing in the windows; desolation shall be in the thresholds: for he shall uncover the cedar work. 
Zeph 2:14 "...owl...hedgehog..."(ESV)

Mar 2:17  When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. 
Mar 2:17 "to repentance" is missing

Luk 11:2  And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. 
Luk 11:2 leaves out "which art in heaven"

Luk 23:42  And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.
Luk 23:42 leaves out "Lord"
Very important omission, the dying thief who got saved acknowledged Jesus as Lord.

Rom 15:17  I have therefore whereof I may glory through Jesus Christ in those things which pertain to God.
Rom 15:17 "...proud of my work..."(ESV)
Pride is always a Sin!

1Co 6:4  If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church. 
1 Cor 6:4 "...why do you lay them before those who have no standing in the church?"(ESV)

Eph 5:18  And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; 
Eph 5:18 "...for that is debauchery..." (ESV)

Eph 6:4  And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. 
Eph 6:4 "...discipline and instruction..."
No Nurture.

Php 3:15  Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. 
Phil 3:15 perfect changed to "mature"(ESV)
It's a common saying nowadays that nobody's perfect, that's not what the bible teaches at all (check my A-Z section under P).

Col 1:29  Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.
Col 1:29 "...with all his energy..."(ESV)
I find it hard to believe that it took all of God's energy.

Col 2:11  In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: 
Col 2:11 omitted  "the sins of"
Is this an attack on repentance?

1Th 4:8  He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit. 
1 Thess 4:8 changed despiseth to "disregards"(ESV)

2Ti 1:11  Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. 
2 Tim 1:11 removes of the Gentiles

Tit 2:4 removes to be sober

Jas 5:16  Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. 
Jam 5:16 removed "effectual fervent"

1Pe 4:1  Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; 
1 Pet 4:1 removed "for us"

It omits the reason why he suffered.

1Pe 4:14  If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. 
1 Pet 4:14 removes the last 15 words

2Pe 3:2  That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour: 
2 Pet 3:2 "...your apostles,"(ESV)
Excuse me!!! Whose apostles? KJV tells us that they are the apostles of the Lord and Savior aka Jesus.

2Jn 1:7  For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. 
2 Joh 1:7 "...do not confess the coming of..."(ESV)
A change in the meaning to future tense!


Jud 1:9  Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. 
Jud 1:9 railing accusation changed to "blasphemous judgement"(ESV)
(Isn't Blasphemy speaking against God?).


Rev 2:15  So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. 
Rev 2:15 omits "which thing I hate"   

Rev 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. 

Rev 11:15 "'...kingdom...'"(ESV)

 Rev 16:17  And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. 
Rev 16:17 omits "of heaven"

Rev 22:14  Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. 
Rev 22:14 "Blessed are...wash their robes..."(ESV)

In Conclusion we see that the ESV has quite a list of problems with it. 

• For one they remove quite a few words from certain verses in the NT (such as repentance, sober, for us, which thing I hate, lord, etc) see above.
• Genesis 10:8 flatly contradicts Genesis 6:4
• Proverbs 11:30 isn't how we do evangelism, we win souls, not capture them. We don't force salvation on people. 
• Habbakuk 3:6 makes no logical sense! If something is everlasting why reference it past tense?

I could go on...but you get the idea. Do I reccomend this translation? Obviously not. I hope you all enjoyed this article on the English Standard Version. Till next time, adios.

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