What Bible should you own? One that you read and heed.

Daniel B. Wallace asks and answers "What Bible should I own?" at Parchment and Pen. Actually, he attempts to briefly answer the previous and following questions, and provide guidelines for English-speaking readers of the Bible:

1. What’s the most literal translation out there?
2. What’s a good study Bible?
3. Which Bible is the most accurate?
4. What’s a good Bible for a new Christian to get?

Although he admits there's no simple answer to such questions, he states every English-speaking Christian should own Bibles within the following categories:

1. King James Bible. "It has been hailed as one of the greatest literary monuments to the English language, and the greatest literary monument every produced by a committee. Regardless of what you think of the KJV’s accuracy, it is a must for all English-speaking Christians. I would add that I think it’s a must for all English-speaking people, regardless of their faith commitments.

2. A good study Bible. "It should be accurate and readable, and have plenty of helpful notes. There are several excellent study Bibles available, but the one I like the best is the NET Bible (available at http://www.bible.org/). ... But there are other good study Bibles, too. The ESV is an excellent, literary translation with understated elegance, in keeping with the KJV and RSV. And its study Bible, with articles and notes, is excellent. The NIV Study Bible has very good notes and a very readable translation, but it interprets a bit too much for my tastes. The NRSV is a very good translation, though its stance on gender inclusivism sometimes mars the beauty of the translation and is even, at times, misleading (cf. Matt 18.15; 1 Tim 3.2). The REB is a gender-inclusive translation but it has sidestepped the problems of the NRSV by giving literary power a higher priority.

3. A "Bible that is readable, lively, and captures the ‘feel’ of the original. The more accurate Bibles usually don’t do this (including the NET and ESV). The NIV comes close, but Eugene Peterson’s The Message, the Living Bible, and J. B. Phillips’ The New Testament in Modern English do well in this regard. These are Bibles that are meant to be read one chapter (or passage) at a time, not verse by verse."

His conclusion: "So, what Bible should you own? At least three, and one of them needs to be the King James Bible. But whatever you get, make sure to read it!"