The best advice I can offer regarding translations of the Qur’an is to find one that has a commentary with footnotes included.

The Arabic language is unequaled in its depth and breadth so we should not expect any other language to be able to convey the meaning of the Qur’an in a word for word fashion.

Some words in Arabic require sentences, paragraphs, even books to fully convey their meanings.

A good idea would be to speak to other Muslims who have experience with the Qur’an in English to see what they would recommend. This will save you some time as well.

Part of the problem is that common English that is spoken “on the street”, so to speak, is not as expressive as formal English. This is a problem of people being not as well-read as they used to be. We rely on the media to teach us what we need to know and do not take the time to study matters in depth.

Another problem is that we are becoming more and more isolated from each other. To truly benefit from the Qur’an we need to engage in discussions based on its teachings with knowledgeable Muslims.

We need to sit in the circles of recognized scholars, and to study the life of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, so that we can understand what it means when his wife Aisha, may God be pleased with her, called him, “a Qur’an walking on the earth”.

I hope this has been of assistance. Please keep in touch.