Contemporary English Version

There are countless opinions/suggestions on how to read the Bible (and the same applies to the Qu'ran for example). If you are totally new to the Bible the important thing is probably to try and get enough from it at the start that you'll be interested enough to continue. I've read it through many times and some/much of it is pretty impenetrable, obscure, and even dull. So from this perspective, and note that this isn't a great sequence theologically, I'd go with the book of Acts, the gospel of John, the books of Proverbs and Psalms, and then the letters of John. As for which versions of the Bible, avoid older ones like the King James (KJV, NKJV) or Revised Standard (RSV, ASV, NRSV); the archaic language and structure will be off-putting. I'd perhaps go with the Contemporary English Version (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=acts+1&version=... (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=acts+1&version=CEV)) but the linked page will let you see the various translations of the same text using a drop-down.…