well for me the best version is NIV new international version or the applified version
hi
agree with Vance 2335 regards using the one you use at church,
also do agree with April2, that the King James is a bit tricky to read with all the "Thou", the "-est" etc but it is the "word by word" translation of the "old testament" or "Jewish Bible", (Judaism only has the old testament)
not sure if I am allowed to put linkies
you could try (if you are still around, post is quite old)
http://biblehub.com/psalms/23-4.htm
this "biblehub" is a vertisile site but the link will lead you to one verse of the Bible (Psalm 23:4) and you will see this Psalm displayed in many different translations on the left hand side etc
this might give you a better idea
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.
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.