Given that the bible used by most protestant denominations contain the same books, you would think your choices would come down to what kind of cover. Unfortunately choosing the right bible for your needs is a bit more complicated than that. First you much consider the issue of translation. I also want to give you a run down on different types of bibles and their uses. However most types are available in a variety of translations so we will tackle that first.

There is the King James Version, The New Living Translation, The Message, and many others. They all break down into two basic types. There are literal word for word translations. In these each word is individually translated from the original languages. This type of translation tends to be preferred by serious scholars, who are concerned with absolute accuracy. Some also love the beauty of the language in the older translations such as the King James Version. The are also what are called