Which Bible to study?

Dear all

Greetings.  I have always wanted to read The Holy Bible and get to know the Word of God.  However I could never do it since there has been so many versions and I could never choose one.  

Can any of you please tell me which version is most appropriate.

Regards

Phoenix

[Vance2335]

I know this is old but hope you check on it. Do you attend church? if so use the bible the churc uses, that will make it easier since you will hear those words a lot. My personal favorite is The Message.

I will also say that the Traditional King James version at times can be tough to read, so to start I would suggest just about anything but the King James Version. But after a while I would recommend reading that also.

[April2]

I like the NIV because it's simpler to read but I also like the NLT and other translations. The King James is prettier to read but can be difficult to understand. I heard the ESV is good, too.  I actually have a few different versions that I like to look up to see the different wording of the scriptures. I also have a bible concordence. I'd like to get an original Hebrew bible, if I can. I'm very interested in that.