SavedandHopeful - just get a version that you can read - New Living or the Message are the farthest from the text, but easiest to read. They are called "dynamic equivalent" translations or "sense-for-sense" in that they try and convey the meaning of the phrases, not just individual words..
In the middle are ones like NIV, and Holman's which are more fluid but a bit closer to the Hebrew and Greek texts.
KJV, NASB and ESV are "formal equivalent" or "word-for-word" translations. Some of them keep the grammar of the original languages, which can be awkward to read if you are not used to it.
Whatever version you read, just make sure you read it daily. Start with the book of John. I would also say to read the Psalms. The Old Testament Narratives (Genesis - Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel and 1 & 2 Kings and Chronicles) are also interesting stories to read. Always remember not to interpret it from now backwards, but to realize it was a very different culture, and there are timeless principles, and some cultural principles which do not apply to now (the laws of the Levitical priests, for example.)
God bless you as you start reading the Bible - may you find not controversy, but Jesus Christ - Lord and Saviour of all!
