Have you visited a Christian bookshop (or tried an online search) for the purpose of selecting a Bible?
For many, this can be a most challenging and confusing task because there are so many different versions of the Bible from which to choose.
IMPORTANT to note that "different versions" does NOT mean "different stories/messages".
I like to think of different Bible versions as similar to the different versions of chocolate ice-cream - some may be dark chocolate, others low sugar and low fat, whereas others may include certain ingredients for additional variety to appeal to different tastes.
The huge number of easily accessible ancient manuscripts (the source documents for the Old and New Testaments), is like the standard recipe for making chocolate ice-cream - there may be very slight variations but the recipe remains essentially the same.
A Bible Scholar and a Professor in Theology or the Arts would most likely choose a Bible version that is linguistically attractive and offers the most precise translation of the original Hebrew or Greek (even if this was at the expense of its general readability). Perhaps they would select a King James Version (KJV) or a New American Standard Bible (NASB) Version, in this case.
However, for those who struggle with reading and/or comprehending English, a preferred Bible version may be one that focuses on using simple English words and phrases, yet maintaining reasonable accuracy to the original text, wherever possible. Perhaps the New Living Translation (NLT) or the Easy-to-Read Version (ERV) would be selected in this case, where the use of simple English words may result in a greater level of comprehension, but at the expense of losing some deeper insights available in the original text.
For personal and group Bible Study purposes, maybe the bulk of other English versions would be useful, eg. New King James Version (NKJV), New International Version (NIV), English Standard Version (ESV), just to name a few.
Others may choose The Living Bible or The Message for a simple to read Bible that is not a true translation of the original text but a paraphrase version.
This means that the author has interpreted various verses and passages of the Bible as he considers appropriate.
Such interpretations may bring much-desired clarity (especially in difficult-to-understand passages), BUT the real danger is believing something that sounds great but is NOT from God or His inspired word
The "Take-Home" message here, is to enjoy the diversity of writing styles and interpretations BUT always be willing to adjust one’s dependence upon certain verses based on the kind of Bible version being read (eg. a Paraphrase version).
Basically, there are many English Bible versions today because people’s needs* are different and finding the most helpful Bible version to meet that need has incredible potential benefit.
* NOTE: my use of the word, “needs” is not about ideological or felt needs, rather the needs that are factual and real (eg. one’s inability to comprehend English words with deep meanings).
I love reading the Bible, and I greatly treasure and delight in having such easy access to so many different versions available for free online (including very well produced audio versions).