Reina-Valera Gómez 2010
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The Reina-Valera Gómez 2010 (commonly abbreviated as RVG) is a conservative Spanish revision of the classic Reina-Valera Bible, completed under the leadership of Humberto Gómez, a Mexican-American Baptist pastor and missionary. First released in 2004 and refined through subsequent editions culminating in the 2010 revision, this translation emerged from a desire among fundamentalist Spanish-speaking Baptists to have a Bible faithful to the same textual tradition underlying the English King James Version.
Origin and Motivation
The RVG project was born out of concern that existing Reina-Valera revisions, particularly the widely used 1960 edition, had drifted toward Critical Text readings in certain passages. Humberto Gómez, working with a team of independent Baptist scholars and pastors, set out to produce a Spanish Bible that would consistently reflect the Textus Receptus for the New Testament and the Masoretic Text for the Old Testament, the same textual foundation Casiodoro de Reina used in his original 1569 translation and Cipriano de Valera in his 1602 revision.
Translation Philosophy
The RVG follows a formal equivalence approach, prioritizing word-for-word accuracy over dynamic paraphrase. The revisers compared the Reina-Valera 1909 and 1602 editions against the underlying Hebrew and Greek texts, restoring passages they believed had been weakened or omitted in modern critical revisions. The translation preserves the dignified Castilian style cherished by Spanish-speaking believers while clarifying archaic vocabulary that had become opaque to contemporary readers.
Distribution and Reception
The Reina-Valera Gómez is distributed by Iglesia Bautista Libertad and various independent Baptist mission boards. It has been printed and circulated freely throughout Latin America, Spain, and Hispanic communities in the United States. The translation has gained substantial traction in fundamentalist Hispanic Baptist circles, particularly among churches affiliated with the King James Only movement and those emphasizing textual conservatism. Mission boards have distributed hundreds of thousands of copies across more than twenty Spanish-speaking countries.
The RVG is offered in the public domain for free distribution, allowing missionaries, churches, and Bible societies to print and share it without licensing restrictions. This open availability has accelerated its adoption in evangelistic work and church planting across the Spanish-speaking world.
Distinctive Features
Among its distinctive characteristics, the RVG retains traditional readings in passages such as 1 John 5:7 (the Comma Johanneum), Acts 8:37, and the longer ending of Mark, which appear with full text rather than bracketed or footnoted. The translation also preserves traditional vocabulary for theologically significant terms, maintaining continuity with classic Reformed and Baptist Spanish theological literature.
Legacy and Ongoing Use
While not without controversy among scholars who prefer modern critical editions, the Reina-Valera Gómez has established itself as a significant option for Spanish-speaking believers who value the historic textual tradition. It stands alongside other Reina-Valera revisions as a witness to the enduring legacy of the sixteenth-century Spanish Reformation Bible, adapted for twenty-first-century readers who wish to study Scripture in a translation reflecting the texts that shaped centuries of Protestant faith and practice.