Basic English Version : Read the Bible in 1 Year

Joshua 9 / Basic English

1. Now on hearing the news of these things, all the kings on the west side of Jordan, in the hill-country and the lowlands and by the Great Sea in front of Lebanon, the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites,
2. Came together with one purpose, to make war against Joshua and Israel.
3. And the men of Gibeon, hearing what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai,
4. Acting with deceit, got food together as if for a long journey; and took old food-bags for their asses, and old and cracked wine-skins kept together with cord;
5. And put old stitched-up shoes on their feet, and old clothing on their backs; and all the food they had with them was dry and broken up.
6. And they came to Joshua to the tent-circle at Gilgal, and said to him and to the men of Israel, We have come from a far country: so now make an agreement with us.
7. And the men of Israel said to the Hivites, It may be that you are living among us; how then may we make an agreement with you?
8. And they said to Joshua, We are your servants. Then Joshua said to them, Who are you and where do you come from?
9. And they said to him, Your servants have come from a very far country, because of the name of the Lord your God: for the story of his great name, and of all he did in Egypt has come to our ears,
10. And what he did to the two kings of the Amorites east of Jordan, to Sihon, king of Heshbon, and to Og, king of Bashan, at Ashtaroth.
11. So the responsible men and all the people of our country said to us, Take food with you for the journey and go to them, and say to them, We are your servants: so now make an agreement with us.
12. This bread which we have with us for our food, we took warm and new from our houses when starting on our journey to you; but now see, it has become dry and broken up.
13. And these wine-skins were new when we put the wine in them, and now they are cracked as you see; and our clothing and our shoes have become old because of our very long journey here.
14. And the men took some of their food, without requesting directions from the Lord.
15. So Joshua made peace with them, and made an agreement with them that they were not to be put to death: and the chiefs of the people took an oath to them.
16. Now three days after, when they had made this agreement with them, they had word that these men were their neighbours, living near them.
17. And the children of Israel went forward on their journey, and on the third day came to their towns. Now their towns were Gibeon and Chephirah and Beeroth and Kiriath-jearim.
18. And the children of Israel did not put them to death, because the chiefs of the people had taken an oath to them by the Lord, the God of Israel. And all the people made an outcry against the chiefs.
19. But all the chiefs said to the people, We have taken an oath to them by the Lord, the God of Israel, and so we may not put our hands on them.
20. This is what we will do to them: we will not put them to death, for fear that wrath may come on us because of our oath to them.
21. Keep them living, and let them be servants, cutting wood and getting water for all the people. And all the people did as the chiefs had said to them.
22. Then Joshua sent for them, and said to them, Why have you been false to us, saying, We are very far from you, when you are living among us?
23. Now because of this you are cursed, and you will for ever be our servants, cutting wood and getting water for the house of my God.
24. And, answering Joshua, they said, Because it came to the ears of your servants that the Lord your God had given orders to his servant Moses to give you all this land, and to send destruction on all the people living in it, because of you; so, fearing greatly for our lives because of you, we have done this.
25. And now we are in your hands: do to us whatever seems good and right to you.
26. So he kept them safe from the children of Israel, and did not let them be put to death.
27. And that day Joshua made them servants, cutting wood and getting water for the people and for the altar of the Lord, in the place marked out by him, to this day.

Joshua 10 / Basic English

1. Now when it came to the ears of Adoni-zedek, king of Jerusalem, that Joshua had taken Ai, and had given it up to the curse (for as he had done to Jericho and its king, so he had done to Ai and its king); and that the people of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were living among them;
2. He was in great fear, because Gibeon was a great town, like one of the king's towns, greater than Ai, and all the men in it were men of war.
3. So Adoni-zedek, king of Jerusalem, sent to Hoham, king of Hebron, and to Piram, king of Jarmuth, and to Japhia, king of Lachish, and to Debir, king of Eglon, saying,
4. Come up to me and give me help, and let us make an attack on Gibeon: for they have made peace with Joshua and the children of Israel.
5. So the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon, were banded together, and went up with all their armies and took up their position before Gibeon and made war against it.
6. And the men of Gibeon sent to Joshua to the tent-circle at Gilgal, saying, Be not slow to send help to your servants; come up quickly to our support and keep us safe: for all the kings of the Amorites from the hill-country have come together against us.
7. So Joshua went up from Gilgal with all his army and all his men of war.
8. And the Lord said to Joshua, Have no fear of them, for I have given them into your hands; they will all give way before you.
9. So Joshua, having come up from Gilgal all night, made a sudden attack on them.
10. And the Lord made them full of fear before Israel, and they put great numbers of them to death at Gibeon, and went after them by the way going up to Beth-horon, driving them back to Azekah and Makkedah
11. And in their flight before Israel, on the way down from Beth-horon, the Lord sent down great stones from heaven on them all the way to Azekah, causing their death: those whose death was caused by the stones were more than those whom the children of Israel put to death with the sword.
12. It was on the day when the Lord gave up the Amorites into the hands of the children of Israel that Joshua said to the Lord, before the eyes of Israel, Sun, be at rest over Gibeon; and you, O moon, in the valley of Aijalon.
13. And the sun was at rest and the moon kept its place till the nation had given punishment to their attackers. (Is it not recorded in the book of Jashar?) So the sun kept its place in the middle of the heavens, and was waiting, and did not go down, for the space of a day.
14. And there was no day like that, before it or after it, when the Lord gave ear to the voice of a man; for the Lord was fighting for Israel.
15. And Joshua, with all Israel, went back to the tent-circle at Gilgal.
16. But these five kings went in flight secretly to a hole in the rock at Makkedah.
17. And word was given to Joshua that the five kings had been taken in a hole in the rock at Makkedah.
18. And Joshua said, Let great stones be rolled against the mouth of the hole, and let men keep watch by it:
19. But do you, without waiting, go after their army, attacking them from the back; do not let them get into their towns, for the Lord your God has given them into your hands.
20. Now when Joshua and the children of Israel had come to the end of their war of complete destruction, and had put to death all but a small band who had got safely into the walled towns,
21. All the people went back to Joshua to the tent-circle at Makkedah in peace: and no one said a word against the children of Israel.
22. Then Joshua said, Take away the stones from the mouth of the hole in the rock, and make those five kings come out to me.
23. And they did so, and made those five kings come out of the hole to him, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon.
24. And when they had made those kings come out to Joshua, Joshua sent for all the men of Israel, and said to the chiefs of the men of war who had gone with him, Come near and put your feet on the necks of these kings. So they came near and put their feet on their necks.
25. And Joshua said to them, Have no fear and do not be troubled; be strong and take heart: for so will the Lord do to all against whom you make war.
26. Then Joshua had them put to death, hanging them on five trees, where they were till evening.
27. And when the sun went down, they were taken down from the trees, by Joshua's orders, and put into the hole where they had gone to be safe; and great stones were placed at the mouth of the hole, where they are to this day.
28. That day Joshua took Makkedah, and put it and its king to the sword; every soul in it he gave up to the curse without mercy: and he did to the king of Makkedah as he had done to the king of Jericho.
29. Then Joshua and all Israel with him went on from Makkedah and came to Libnah, and made an attack on it;
30. And again the Lord gave it and its king into the hands of Israel; and he put it and every person in it to the sword, till their destruction was complete; and he did to its king as he had done to the king of Jericho.
31. Then Joshua and all Israel with him went on from Libnah to Lachish, and took up their position against it and made an attack on it,
32. And the Lord gave Lachish into the hands of Israel, and on the second day he took it, putting it and every person in it to the sword without mercy, as he had done to Libnah.
33. Then Horam, king of Gezer, came up to the help of Lachish; and Joshua overcame him and his people, putting all of them to death.
34. And Joshua and all Israel with him went on from Lachish to Eglon: and they took up their position against it and made an attack on it;
35. And that day they took it, putting it and every person in it to the sword, as he had done to Lachish.
36. And Joshua and all Israel with him went up from Eglon to Hebron, and made an attack on it;
37. And took it, overcoming it and putting it and its king and its towns and every person in it to the sword: as he had done to Eglon, he put them all to death, and gave it up to the curse with every person in it.
38. And Joshua and all Israel with him went on to make an attack on Debir;
39. And he took it, with its king and all its towns: and he put them to the sword, giving every person in it to the curse; all were put to death: as he had done to Hebron, so he did to Debir and its king.
40. So Joshua overcame all the land, the hill-country and the South and the lowland and the mountain slopes, and all their kings; all were put to death: and every living thing he gave up to the curse, as the Lord, the God of Israel, had given him orders.
41. Joshua overcame them from Kadesh-barnea to Gaza, and all the land of Goshen as far as Gibeon.
42. And all these kings and their land Joshua took at the same time, because the Lord, the God of Israel, was fighting for Israel.
43. Then Joshua and all Israel with him went back to their tents at Gilgal.

Luke 8 / Basic English

1. And it came about, after a short time, that he went through town and country giving the good news of the kingdom of God, and with him were the twelve,
2. And certain women who had been made free from evil spirits and diseases, Mary named Magdalene, from whom seven evil spirits had gone out,
3. And Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's chief house-servant, and Susanna and a number of others, who gave him of their wealth for his needs.
4. And when a great number of people came together, and men from every town went out to him, he gave them teaching in the form of a story:
5. A man went out to put in seed, and while he was doing it, some was dropped by the wayside and it was crushed under foot, and was taken by the birds of heaven.
6. And some went on the rock, and when it came up it became dry and dead because it had no water.
7. And some went among thorns, and the thorns came up with it and it had no room for growth.
8. And some falling on good earth, came up and gave fruit a hundred times as much. And with these words he said in a loud voice, He who has ears, let him give ear.
9. And his disciples put questions to him about the point of the story.
10. And he said, To you is given knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God; but to the others, they are given in stories, so that seeing, they may not see, and though they give hearing, the sense will not be clear to them.
11. Now this is the point of the story: The seed is the word of God.
12. Those by the side of the road are those who have given hearing; then the Evil One comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not have faith and get salvation.
13. And those on the rock are those who with joy give hearing to the word; but having no root, they have faith for a time, and when the test comes they give up.
14. And those which went among thorns are those who have given hearing, and go on their way, but they are overcome by cares and wealth and the pleasures of life, and they give no fruit.
15. And those in the good earth are those who, having given ear to the word, keep it with a good and true heart, and in quiet strength give fruit.
16. No man, when the light is lighted, puts a cover over it, or puts it under a bed, but he puts it on its table, so that those who come in may see the light.
17. For nothing is put out of view which will not be made clear, and nothing is secret of which the knowledge will not come to light.
18. So take care how you give hearing, for to him who has will be given, and from him who has not will be taken even what he seems to have.
19. And his mother and his brothers came to him, and they were not able to get near him because of the great number of people.
20. And someone said to him, Your mother and your brothers are outside desiring to see you.
21. But he said to them in answer, My mother and my brothers are those who have knowledge of the word of God and do it.
22. Now it came about on one of those days that he got into a boat with his disciples; and he said to them, Let us go over to the other side of the water: and they put out the boat.
23. But while they were sailing he went to sleep: and a storm of wind came down on the sea, and the boat became full of water and they were in danger.
24. Then they came to him and, awaking him out of his sleep, said, Master, Master, destruction is near. And he, when he was awake, gave orders to the wind and the rolling waves, and the storm came to an end, and all was calm.
25. And he said to them, Where is your faith? And fear and wonder overcame them, and they said to one another, Who then is this, who gives orders even to the winds and the water and they do what he says?
26. And they came to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee.
27. And when he had come to the land, there came to him a certain man from the town who had evil spirits; and for a long time he had had no clothing on, and was not living in a house but in the place of the dead.
28. And when he saw Jesus, he gave a loud cry and went down on the earth before him and in a loud voice said, What have I to do with you, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Do not be cruel to me.
29. For he gave an order to the evil spirit to come out of the man. For frequently it would take a grip of him: and he was kept under control, and prisoned with chains; but parting the chains in two, he would be sent by the driving of the evil spirit into waste places.
30. And Jesus said to him, What is your name? And he said, Legion; for a number of spirits had gone into him.
31. And they made a request to him that he would not give them an order to go away into the deep.
32. Now there was a great herd of pigs in that place, getting food on the mountain: and the evil spirits made a request to him that he would let them go into the pigs, and he let them.
33. And the evil spirits came out of the man and went into the pigs: and the herd went rushing down a sharp slope into the water and came to destruction.
34. And when the men who took care of them saw what had come about, they went quickly and gave news of it in the town and the country.
35. And they went out to see what had taken place, and they came to Jesus and saw the man out of whom the evil spirits had gone, seated, clothed and with full use of his senses, at the feet of Jesus; and fear came on them.
36. And those who had seen it gave them an account of how the man who had the evil spirits was made well.
37. And all the people of the country of the Gerasenes made a request to him to go away from them; for they were in great fear: and he got into a boat and went back.
38. But the man from whom the evil spirits had gone out had a great desire to be with him, but he sent him away, saying,
39. Go back to your house and let them have news of all the great things which God has done for you. And he went away, giving word through all the town of the great things which Jesus had done for him.
40. And when Jesus went back, the people were glad to see him, for they were all waiting for him.
41. Then there came a man named Jairus, who was a ruler in the Synagogue: and he went down at the feet of Jesus, desiring him to come to his house;
42. For he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was near to death. But while he was on his way, the people were pushing to be near him.
43. And a woman, who had had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had given all her money to medical men, and not one of them was able to make her well,
44. Came after him and put her hand on the edge of his robe, and straight away the flowing of her blood was stopped.
45. And Jesus said, Who was touching me? And when they all said, It is not I, Peter and those who were with him said, Master, the people are pushing round you on every side.
46. But Jesus said, Someone was touching me, for I had the feeling that power had gone out from me.
47. And when the woman saw that she was not able to keep it secret, she came, shaking with fear, and falling down before him she made clear before all the people the reason for her touching him, and how she was made well straight away.
48. And he said to her, Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.
49. While he was still talking, someone came from the house of the ruler of the Synagogue, saying, Your daughter is dead; do not go on troubling the Master.
50. But Jesus at these words said to him, Have no fear, only have faith, and she will be made well.
51. And when he came to the house he did not let any man go in with him, but only Peter and John and James, and the father of the girl and her mother.
52. And all the people were weeping and crying for her; but he said, Do not be sad, for she is not dead, but sleeping.
53. And they were laughing at him, being certain that she was dead.
54. But he, taking her hand, said to her, My child, get up.
55. And her spirit came back to her and she got up straight away: and he gave orders that food was to be given to her.
56. And her father and mother were full of wonder, but he gave orders to them to say nothing about it to anyone.