Which version of the Bible is the best?

Which vehicle is the best for everyone?

The problem with these questions is that they don’t deal with the realities of individual situations.

The one that is best for you is going to determine on your approach to studying the Bible. Are you a scholar who wants to parse every word in order and understand their original languages? Then, you probably want to steer more toward the ESV or the KJV. Are you reading the Bible with the hope of understanding it and applying it to your life? Then you might want to go more in the direction ot the NLT or the NIrV. In either case, the NIV is going to have a little bit of both. It’s a good translation, but it is certainly a “middle-of-the-road” translation.