Use ESV, NLT, or NIV for a rapid read (90-120 days) through the Bible.
If you read 255 verses daily, you will read the entire
Bible in four months. This is a system of devotional reading for people who read the
Bible continuously. The idea is to become so familiar with the text that you associate relevant passages with everything you think and do. People have read sacred books this way for thousands of years, and they will continue to do so because it works. Denzel Washington's character used this system in
The Book of Eli. It is probably how Alexander of Macedon read the
Iliad, which he carried with him everywhere.
If you read the
Bible as literature or for study in the conventional academic sense, this is not an optimal way to proceed. For example, let us say you are reading
War and Peace, a book of profound thought, great complexity and a long haul. You might decide "I will read 255 sentences daily and finish in X months" and that could work but who in hell would do that? No one, unless there is a cult of Tolstoy. Daily reading is an excellent idea with any serious book, but whether you read to learn or simply for diversion, rigid timetables are a hindrance. Some passages require more thought than others, and some must be read more than once for understanding but that is not as significant when your goal is partial or complete memorization.
General readers return to the Authorized Version for its literary value. ESV, NLT, or NIV can help you get past its deficiencies as a translation. I own RV and NRSV because Oxford uses them and I like their study Bibles.
