Choosing the right Bible or Bibles is very important because depending on what you choose will greatly impact the “extra” tools available to you for deeper studying. One must go forward in prayer. Right off the bat, you need to know that unless you understand Hebrew and Greek, you will not find a “perfect” translation. Assuming your Hutterite, that leads to the next question.
“What language are you more comfortable reading with?”German or English? If it’s German then stick to a German Bible. If English then you might want to consider getting an English one.
I’ll be honest I do not know too much about the different German Bibles available. If one of you does please share.
When it comes to English however, the options can become overwhelming. Here we need to ask another question. Why are you reading the Bible? Is it to study and get to know Gods will for you? Is it to follow along in church sermons? Is it to casually read as part of your daily devotions? Each of these questions has different options available. I know there’s many options out there. For the longest time the only one available was the KJV and to this day it’s the only version that isn’t copyrighted, meaning nobody owns it and it can be freely printed, shared, and publically used without permission from a publisher.
Simply put, if you’re serious about “digging in” and studying then you want a version that is as close to the original text as possible. One that was translated into English from the original Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic language. From my own research and humble opinion the two that best fit this are the KJV, NKJV. The NKJV is much easier to read and understand for most people because it takes out the “thou’s” and “thine’s” and other 16th century words that don’t get used anymore.
One reason I love and use the KJV is because it’s what I’m used to. It’s what I started with and most of the “extra” tools I use work best with a KJV Bible.
There are other really good versions as well like the NIV, ESV, and NASB but there’s portions of scripture missing from these. “Missing” really isn’t the right word to use here because it’s not done to intentionally sabotage the scriptures. It’s simply due to the ancient texts these translations were derived from and that’s a completely different rabbit trail I don’t care to go down in this short write up. I do know and study with many people who use ESV, NASB and NIV.
There are also some good paraphrases out there for casual reading such as The Message, The Clear Word, and others. Just be aware that these are NOT scripture, but paraphrases.
My final suggestion..start with what you have, don’t stress over what you don’t have, and work your way towards a translation that is close to the original text. One thing is sure, in fact, it’s promised, if you are sincere, the right tools will come into your hands…just ask the Ethiopian who was traveling down a dusty road in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah roughly 2000 years ago 😉