Any bookshop with a decent religious section will present a bewildering array of Bibles to confuse the uninitiated. The most familiar is still the Authorized Version produced by King James scholars in 1611, read and revered by many for its outstanding literary qualities. But the Bible is far more than great literature, and there are some who, coming fresh to the Bible, will find the language of King James an insurmountable barrier to understanding or applying its message in the 1990s. The New King James Version retains the basic sentence structure and rhythms of the Authorized Version, whilst updating the language. Other totally new translations, such as the New International Version, provide an alternative.
Some translations are freer and more colloquial than others.
Every translation needs to be used with care, and any serious Bible study will involve the use of more than one version. But for everyday reading, find a version that you understand and that you enjoy reading. As your knowledge of the Bible increases, you will become aware of the weaknesses and strengths of each version and better equipped to choose between them. When you are choosing a Bible for yourself, think about other ways it can help you in your reading. Ideally, choose a Bible with cross-references that will help you find quotations and parallel passages.