The typical atheist talking point is that Elisha killed them because they made fun of him for being bald. No translation will really convey what's going on here, it takes deeper study. Generally speaking the NIV is one of the worst, but it's still a Bible and is helpful most of the time.
Best versions are NASB 1995 or older, NJKJV, and KJV. In no particular order. This is because of the effort to translate the original texts faithfully. Usually comparing these three isn't going to yield a lot of insight because they're pretty similar in most places, although they translate different source material so some differences exist. The NKJV I'm working with now does a good job of showing these differences in footnotes most of the time, so it's a good balance of the two.
For better understanding you want to be able to compare to something that takes a different approach to translation: MSG (The Message) YLT (Young's Literal Translation) and AMP (Amplified) are all helpful for this, each in different ways.
All of these are available on biblegateway.com. HCSB (Holcomb Christian Study Bible) is there too, which is really impressive re: the effort they took. GW (God's Word) is highly acclaimed by scholars but wasn't complete last I knew, they're still translating the OT.
I definitely think a Christian should emphasize the NT more, and exhaust all the meaning you can get out of that before trying to read the entire OT. Starting in the Gospel of John and reading straight through to the end of the Bible is a good approach for a beginner, without slowing down for greater understanding. If you're familiar with all this, using the alternate versions instead of a commentary could be a likely next step. MSG is especially good with Paul. Comparing it to NKJV or straight KJV helps.
Oddball gory stories from the OT pulled from IHateGod.com like OP has done here are NOT the way to go about it, lol.
The typical atheist talking point is that Elisha killed them because they made fun of him for being bald. No translation will really convey what's going on here, it takes deeper study. Generally speaking the NIV is one of the worst, but it's still a Bible and is helpful most of the time.
Best versions are NASB 1995 or older, NJKJV, and KJV. In no particular order. This is because of the effort to translate the original texts faithfully. Usually comparing these three isn't going to yield a lot of insight because they're pretty similar in most places, although they translate different source material so some differences exist. The NKJV I'm working with now does a good job of showing these differences in footnotes most of the time, so it's a good balance of the two.
For better understanding you want to be able to compare to something that takes a different approach to translation: MSG (The Message) YLT (Young's Literal Translation) and AMP (Amplified) are all helpful for this, each in different ways.
All of these are available on biblegateway.com. HCSB (Holcomb Christian Study Bible) is there too, which is really impressive re: the effort they took. GW (God's Word) is highly acclaimed by scholars but wasn't complete last I knew, they're still translating the OT.
I definitely think a Christian should emphasize the NT more, and exhaust all the meaning you can get out of that before trying to read the entire OT. Starting in the Gospel of John and reading straight through to the end of the Bible is a good approach for a beginner, without slowing down for greater understanding. If you're familiar with all this, using the alternate versions instead of a commentary could be a likely next step. MSG is especially good with Paul. Comparing it to NKJV or straight KJV helps.
Oddball gory stories from the OT pulled from IHateGod.com like OP has done here are NOT the way to go about it, lol.