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I am of the opinion that there are three distinct periods in most christians walk; Novice, Studied, Nuanced.

During the Novice period, the Christian is becoming aquainted with the general concepts and structure of the Bible. This period is often best served by the translation that is easiest to understand by the new christian.

The studied period shows a desire to learn more about the Bible itself, the authors of the books, and the life and teachings of Jesus. Often this is accompanied by a desire to details and delve into the meanings and implications of passages. This often requires a more standard translation such as KJV, NKJV, or NIV. This enables the christian to communicate with the rest of Christandom and share/express views.

The more Nuanced Christian begins to want to understand the original Hebrew / Greek texts as there are subtle differences in translations that can have a subtal or neuanced meaning. To that Christian, I would advise a Bible that provides the text in a native language, and the original texts, along with Strongs translations.

If I am going to read multiple chapters at a time, I like the New Living Translation. Yeah, it is a loose translation but I find it good for reading, say, the book of Romans.

I use the New American Standard or New King James as more literal translations for short readings and study.

I like the ESV and Good News translations. I have the Bible Gateway app on my phone, so during a sermon, I may compare more versions - such as the Geneva Bible, or the New Matthew (essentially Tyndale’s translation with updated English)or the Young’s Literal Translation.

We are blessed to have many options, but really? A person could use the ESV, or NASB, or NKJV for the rest of their life and not have a problem.

I am a minister and am taking a Modern Greek course at a Greek Orthodox Church a few miles away from my house. I know the language has changed a lot through these 2000 years, but I think this is a good way to at least get some confidence and sense of the Biblical Koine Greek before I dive into that.

So far, I love Greek, as it is used today. I've only been taking the classes for about 2.5 months, so I'm no where near expert level. Ha ha....

Eventually, I'll move on the Advanced Greek, and then to a biblical Greek course at the hosting church.

As you stated, some of us have read and studied for years, and I simply want to take it upon myself to eventually study the original text alone and help myself some when I need to.