English Translations of the Bible

In our Adult Sunday School class a question came up about new English translations of the bible. 
The Constitution and Canons of The Episcopal Church is published by every General Convention, the latest being 2009, and it authorizes specific translations of the Bible for liturgical use in our church. Title II, Of Worship, CANON 2 reads
CANON 2: Of Translations of the Bible
The Lessons prescribed in the Book of Common Prayer shall be read from the translation of the Holy Scriptures commonly known as the King James or Authorized Version (which is the historic Bible of this Church) together with the Marginal Readings authorized for use by the General Convention of 1901; or from one of the three translations known as Revised Versions, including the English Revision of 1881, the American Revision of 1901, and the Revised Standard Version of 1952; from the Jerusalem Bible of 1966; from the New English Bible with the Apocrypha of 1970; or from The 1976 Good News Bible (Today's English Version); or from The New American Bible (1970); or from The Revised Standard Version, an Ecumenical Edition, commonly known as the "R.S.V. Common Bible" (1973); or from The New International Version (1978); or from The New Jerusalem Bible (1987); or from the Revised English Bible (1989); or from the New Revised Standard Version (1990); or from translations, authorized by the diocesan bishop, of those approved versions published in any other language; or from other versions of the Bible, including those in languages other than English, which shall be authorized by diocesan bishops for specific use in congregations or ministries within their dioceses.
So we have do have rules. The Lessons may be read from any translation listed above. Most parishes these days seem to be reading from the New Revised Standard Version, which is also the translation recommended in EfM. I like the NRSV. I like the King James Version and always insisted upon the KJV for certain occasions and texts including the Christmas gospel from Luke 2, the Beatitudes from Matthew 5, and several psalms. The KJV also seems most memorable in language and in my view best for memory verses. For the children who were my Youth Lectors at St. Thomas by the Sea, Laguna Beach I provided the Contemporary English Version even though it isn’t specifically authorized. Lately I am enjoying a startling and intriguing modern translation called The Message quoting from it in my blog postings from time to time. 
This internet link is to an interesting piece about Bible translations. It’s not completely up to date in that it omits at least a couple of translations including the earthy Scholars Version and the just released Common English Bible. But it has a discussion of each translation and links to many sources. Most of the links work, some don’t. I planned to share this in Adult Sunday School on March 27 but decided that those who had been in my mid-week Bible studies and EfM classes were also likely to be interested.
and if the link doesn’t work the title to search for is “Recent English Bible Translations Compared by Wayne Leman.” Here are some extracts:
(Contemporary English Version): The CEV is highly readable, for both adults and children. It strives to preserve the meaning of the original in natural English expressions and is even more successful at this than was its predecessor, the GNT. 100 translation experts led by Dr. Barclay Newman contributed to the CEV. It tackles most translation difficulties, including Greek genitives and similar problems, which are often left undertranslated in versions which focus more on the original forms. In 1996 the CEV won the coveted Crystal Award from the Plain English Campaign in the United Kingdom.
NRSV(New Revised Standard Version): highly regarded in scholarly circles. Reads about as well as the NIV.
TM (The Message): attractive, gripping English style, overall. A real pleasure to read. The Message challenges and convicts me as no other recent English Bible translation does. Occasional overuse of idioms not familiar to the majority of fluent English speakers. The Message is reviewed by John R. Kollenberger III.
Leman has conclusions and recommendations. Especially interesting are his links to other web sites same subject.
Bible translations are like food: what is good depends on your tastes and needs and uses. There is no one best Bible translation. I like to have many translations handy.
TW+