Which translation of the Bible?

[ParisHarris]

I love the KJV but am looking for a translation which is slightly easier for the modern reader without giving up entirely on beauty. ESV?

ESV or NLT or NIV. Go on Bible gateway and read the same chapter in all three and see which you like best?

Good idea, thank you.

I like NIV best. Download the app YouVersion and you can open the book you want to read and at the top of the page you can flip between versions to find which suits you best.

I've just grappled with this! I'm reading Corinthians 1 13 at a wedding. I went with the "surrender my body to the flames" version

For clarity and ease of understanding, always NIV-UK for me. For cultural stuff (e.g. looking up an allusion I've come across in a 19th century novel or something) I'll generally use KJV, or maybe Douay-Rheims or something if I know a Vulgate translation would be more appropriate. I'm not so fond of looser paraphrases like the NLT but they have their place if you don't like the idea of having to puzzle out idioms and things. I'm coming at this from the perspective of a non-Christian so YMMV.

Nearly Infallible Version

I agree that Bible gateway is an excellent resource. I used it a while ago to query something that came home from school.

most of my Christian friends seem to prefer the NIV, but I do think it lacks nuance and is at times simplistic. I was brought up Catholic and am not sure which version we used but I think I received a KJV for my confirmation.

A vote for the ESV here.

NIV user for years, then fell in love with the nuance of language in the ESV