The King James Version, also known as the Authorized Version of 1611, is the one that some of us grew up with and memorized from extensively. But the KJV we used actually dates from the 1750's and is the "Oxford Edition". It was generally accurate for its day but has four weaknesses: it was a "one church" translation (Anglican/Episcopal); it was translated from late manuscripts; some portions are difficult to comprehend even for well read people; and, finally, every verse is printed as a separate paragraph, further hindering comprehension. Since it was THE English Bible for three and a half centuries every generation should become, at least, familiar with it.
The American Standard Version of 1901 was updated in 1971 by the Lockman Foundation and published as The New American Standard Bible. Its literalness is both its strength and its weakness. It is trustworthy but its literalness makes for very poor English sentences. The other problem is, like the KJV, every verse is made a separate paragraph.
The Revised Standard Version (1952, updated 1988) was not trusted by Evangelicals because all but two of the translators were theologically liberal. Most of it was, with some lamentable exceptions, accurate.
The New International Version (1978, 1984 and 2011) was the largest and most thorough effort of English Bible translation ever done. The 105 translators followed the method used by missionary translators called "dynamic equivalence"; word for word except when "thought for thought" will actually be more accurate. Changes in 1984 and 2011 have weakened trust and acceptance of the NIV. Those changes should have been kept in the footnotes. I have used and recommended the original NIV of 1978 since the day it came and will continue to do so as long as I live. Since the original of 1978 has been out of print since 1984 anyone who wants one can easily find a copy on Ebay.
The English Standard Version was the product of those who wanted something in between the New American Standard Bible and the NIV. What it actually is, to understand it, is an Evangelical revision of the Revised Standard Version. My judgment is that it is no improvement over the NIV and, in a few places, carries forward some of the highly questionable translations of the RSV.
Paraphrases: The first and most eloquent of 20th century paraphrases of Scripture was the Phillips, New Testament in Modern English (1958). The Living Bible (1971) by Ken Taylor was one of the best selling books of the 20th century. It has been updated into the New Living Translation. There are numerous others. The one good thing that can be said about all of them is they attract people to the reading of Scripture for themselves.
Finally, there is no such thing as a perfect translation and those who dogmatically insist that there is "only one right translation" need to keep that opinion to themselves. I have stated above which one I recommend and why but even I sometimes quote the KJV or my own translation of a particular verse.
Conclusion: the NIV of 1978 has in its favor 1) the large number of translators; 2) their method and the cross checking of each other's work; 3) the multidenominational makeup of the 105 translators; 4) the review of the final work for good English style.
