There are probably hundreds of Bible versions currently in print in English. Your webmaster is surely no expert, but is willing to share a few rambling thoughts on were someone who is new to the book may want to start.
King James Version - If you majored in Shake sphere in college, this may be the version for you! A lot of "Thee's" and "Thou's". There are variations (New King James Version) that modernize the language; however, the basic text is still several hundred years old, so you may be better served with a newer version. Webmaster has been completely through this version once.
New International Version - A modern translation that has a good reputation of being easy to read, but still true to current formal English (without resorting to slang) and true to the texts in the original languages of the Bible. Webmaster has been completely through this version twice.
Amplified Bible - if you are puzzled by all the religious buzz words that are hard to escape, then this version may well solve most of those puzzles. When these terms appear, they are immediately defined in the text. For example, instead of just translating "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ", the Amplified Bible will define grade: "The grace [God's unmerited favor] of our Lord Jesus Christ." Webmaster has been completely through this version twice.
The Living Bible - this is really a paraphrase of the Bible rather than a true translation. The paraphrase is in somewhat contemporary English. If you are new to the Bible and are apprehensive about tacking one of the more mainstream translations, than a paraphrase such as this may be a sound approach.
No matter what your choice is, stick with it. The year will go by all too fast, and you will have an opportunity to revisit all the passages in the following year with a new version!
NOTE
Should you click on the photo of any of these bibles, your browser will generate a new browser page that will give you an opportunity to purchase that bible from Amazon.com. Amazon has a more exhaustive resource: their Bible Finder. Note that in general the edition suggested above the lowest cost edition - you can wrap the Word of God in all sorts of bonded leather for significant more expense - the Word remains the same!
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