On the same lines, the JPS (Jewish Publication Society) translation is very readable, though I was a little disappointed in its accuracy compared to the NRSV. And if you want something that captures the sound, rhythm and feeling of the Hebrew text, absolutely nothing can compare to Everett Fox’s masterful translation of the Pentateuch.
And just when is Fox going to get The Prophets and The Writings out?
To my mind, this is one area where the Internet is very useful - if you want a particular passage, you can run it through multiple versions and see how the "flavour’ changes.
I use this site: 1 samuel 8 KJV - And it came to pass, when Samuel was - Bible Gateway
I’m not a biblical scholar or an expert in Hebrew, but I think the Robert Alter translations are incredibly fascinating.
Count me as another vote for the NRSV, preferrably with the Oxford annotations, if you don’t mind footnotes. This version probably has as comprehensive a survey of ancient texts as any, and I don’t think the language suffers all that much. I read from the NRSV Job in church a couple months ago, and a lifelong Bible reader came up to me afterwards expressing surprise at its poetry. It also carries the Catholic Imprimatur, so “it’s not just for Protestants anymore”.
The full text can be found here.
Interesting that this site does NOT feature the NRSV. There may be copyright issues, but I do understand that our conservative Christian brothers and sisters are not at all happy with that translation. Just something to note.
Interesting. I’ll definitely add your link in the post above to the list.
Any other links to online versions not covered would be most appreciated (that to everyone). 
If you want to actually read the bible, and not study it, I recommend The Books of the Bible. It’s printed in paragraph form without verse numbers, and they changed the order of the books and combined some of them together. The translation that it uses is the Today’s New International Version, and it seems pretty good. I think it’s controversial among the more conservative evangelicals for using gender-neutral language.
I’m in awe - of the amount of time someone spent doing that. 
While the Oxford Annotated is definitely more to my taste, I have a soft spot in my heart for the Good News Bible.
Although the language is often cringe-worthy, it does have the benefit of some hilarious cartoonish, line-drawing illustrations, which other versions lack. I found them most amusing while trying to stay awake during long, boring Bible study discussions with my dear fellow congregants, whose intellectual and reading level is just slightly below the Good News Bible, bless their hearts. Yeah, I’m a snob. But, lord almighty, was it hard to keep from screaming out of sheer boredom.
Is it accurate? I speak pretty good lol.
He did I & II Samuel - which is awesome… and unfindable in my price range.
If your library has it, I’d highly recommend it. David & Goliath sounds wonderful in his translation.
I came into the thread to recommend New Jerusalem and the Fox translations. And to warn against picking up “The Message.” It’s horrible. Just avoid it.
It’s a loose, idiomatic paraphrase, not a strict translation. And as loose, idiomatic paraphrases go, it’s not bad. It’s one of the versions available at Biblegateway.com.
It’s hard to go wrong with the NIV - very readable and it retains the message well. New Living Translation is even more readable and uses easier diction - it’s a “thought by thought” translation instead of word-for-word, but it’s still accurate and not a paraphrase. If you want a more scholarly read-through get the Oxford Annotated.
Thanks, all!
FTR, I’m approaching it from a literary work perspective, combined with a ‘everyone ought to read it’ mentality. I didn’t want to spend hours stumbling over the language though, nor do I want to lose track of it and stop reading halfway through.
So I decided to read the NET and the lolcat one simultaneously. That way, if I get stuck in the lol version, I can just go to the NET one and see what they are saying.
It is interesting so far. I am a bit weirded out by Genesis 5–was the long list of names and ages really necessary?
On the other hand, I really liked this part:
Interesting how God is being angry, but simultaneously protective.
So, we get this big long lineage of Adam’s son Seth, but there is no mention of Cain’s line? What happened to the other Lamech, the one who was proud to be avenged 77x?
The repetition of STFU in Genesis 6 is really provocative–even though God like Noah, there’s still a definite dominance/obedience thing going on there.
While the latter is true, the Bible Gateway people did try to be all-inclusive. I believe that the issue was one of the publishers not wanting their expensive copyrighted translation available online – another site which had the NRSV available abruptly pulled it and gave copyright issues as the reason.
My problem is not the loose idiomatic paraphrase part. It’s that his word choice is consistently awful.
Psalm 8:3-4
The Good News Bible (another paraphrase)
And The Message gives this…
It’s every bad poetry journal ever.