One of my friends gave me a NET Bible, which is a fairly new translation of the Bible. I still prefer the NIV, but I really enjoy using the Bible study tools on Bible.org, which is an accompaniment to the NET Bible. The notes inside the physical Bible are minimal, but the online resource has more extensive notes. I've noticed that I prefer notes that focus on what the actual words mean with respect to the original Greek or Hebrew. I have a Life Application Bible that has quite a bit of notes, but lately, I've preferred notes/commentary of a more academic nature.
I also like notes on the Greek/Hebrew as they give transparency to the translation process. I don't think many Bible versions have sinister intent during the translation process, but it is nice to know as much about the original copies of scripture as possible.
In general, I think reading a couple different translations during study time is good, as I have noticed that I sometimes pick up on things that I did not before.
Apparently, there is a group of people who believe that the King James Version is the only acceptable translation, and is, in fact, divinely inspired. Some people call this the King James Only Movement. I've checked out various websites purporting this idea. Some criticisms use circular reasoning, in that they compare other versions against the KJV, and point out that they omit test included in the KJV. I respect their views, but I haven't found any convincing reasoning why one should put faith in the KJV as opposed to other translations. The more serious scholars can also look at earlier biblical text to evaluate a translation.
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Thanks for the Bible.org link - that is just what I needed this week when trying to look up some Greek words!
I prefer the NIV but it is useful to read other versions or paraphrases on some passages to help you zero in on the proper meaning.
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