Kings James Version? Pfft. New Revised Standard Version or bust.
eh. New International Version or New Living Translation.
2011 NIV is fine. I’m not picky about it being the '84 NIV like some people might be.New King James Version might be “poetic”, but I imagine that wasn’t the intent of the original authors of the scrolls/books (outside of Psalms and Song of Solomon, obviously). KJV has also been said to be the least accurate translation, but is widely popular because a) there is no copyright; and b) it was the first ever english translation widely available to the public at large.
Let’s see, off the top of my head, I own the NASB, AMP, NRSV, KJV, NKJV, NJB, NAB, NIV '84, NLT, TLB, NWT, and IV. I’ve had opportunities to get the others, but the approaches of these ones interested me. Really, I’ve only read the KJV throughout. I’ve wanted to read the NIV, but I’ve never taken the time to get more than a few chapters through Genesis.