I'm glad we're all in agreement then! Civil discussion only sounds perfect to me.
I can not speak about the Koran as I have never taken the time to look at it. However, there are many "versions" of the Bible. Since I am a Christian, this obviously presents some....problems right? I mean, Christians are accused of being hypocrites all the time so having so many variations of our holy writ, some of which are vastly different from others, doesn't exactly help. The bottom line when it comes to choosing a version to study is to ask yourself why. Why are you studying this? What knowledge are you hoping to gain and in what form/fashion? Because unfortunately some "bibles" won't give the same message as others. Some (especially very new versions) are tailored rather than translated, to meet the needs of a group that may want to change what might have originally been written. You strike me as an intelligent individual, therefore I will assume that this is not what you seek, but rather clarity and accuracy. To get the clearest picture possible of what was written as "The Bible" originally, the only way is to read it in the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. Failing that, I recommend the earliest English translations for accuracy. I am guessing that your primary language is German, so there might be some older German translations in existence that could be useful to you, but I honestly do not know. But seeing as your English is quite good, an English translation should not present a problem for you. After you gather up a few older translations, I recommend comparing them. The easiest way may be a bible program for your computer, since many of these possess in-built compare features. Very handy! And above all else, research the versions you plan to read. Make sure that you know their quirks and the "style" in which they were translated.
I do not feel comfortable just choosing one for you, however I will give a short list of some older (and a couple newer) ones that I have used for myself, and that I believe to not be not cripplingly perverted by man-edits.
Tyndale
Wycliffe
Smith's Literal translation
Young's Literal translation
King James version
American Standard version
English Standard version
Contrary to popular belief, there are older English translations than the KJV, which you will find by looking up some in that list. If I remember correctly, the KJV was even partially based on the work of a previous English translation. But thats enough trivia. I apologize for being long-winded, but I do hope that somewhere in all this you will find some useful information. I hope you find what you are looking for!