Basic English Version : Read the Bible in 1 Year

1 Kings (3 Kings) 1 / Basic English

1. Now King David was old and far on in years; and though they put covers over him, his body was cold.
2. So his servants said to him, Let search be made for a young virgin for my lord the king, to take care of him and be waiting on him; and you may take her in your arms, and so my lord the king will be warm.
3. So after searching through all the land of Israel for a fair young girl, they saw Abishag the Shunammite, and took her to the king.
4. Now she was very beautiful; and she took care of the king, waiting on him at all times; but the king had no connection with her.
5. Then Adonijah, the son of Haggith, lifting himself up in pride, said, I will become king; and he made ready his carriages of war and his horsemen, with fifty runners to go before him.
6. Now all his life his father had never gone against him or said to him, Why have you done so? and he was a very good-looking man, and younger than Absalom.
7. And he had talk with Joab, the son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the priest; and they were on his side and gave him their support.
8. But Zadok the priest, and Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet and Shimei and Rei, and David's men of war did not take the side of Adonijah.
9. Then Adonijah put to death sheep and oxen and fat beasts by the stone of Zoheleth, by En-rogel; and he sent for all his brothers, the king's sons, and all the men of Judah, the king's servants, to come to him:
10. But he did not send for Nathan the prophet and Benaiah and the other men of war and Solomon his brother.
11. Then Nathan said to Bath-sheba, the mother of Solomon, Has it not come to your ears that Adonijah, the son of Haggith, has made himself king without the knowledge of David our lord?
12. So now, let me make a suggestion, so that you may keep your life safe and the life of your son Solomon.
13. Come now, go to King David and say to him, Did you not, O my lord, take an oath to me, your servant, saying, Truly Solomon your son will be king after me, seated on the seat of my kingdom? why then is Adonijah acting as king?
14. And while you are still talking there with the king, see, I will come in after you and say that your story is true.
15. Then Bath-sheba went into the king's room; now the king was very old, and Abishag the Shunammite was waiting on him.
16. And Bath-sheba went down on her face on the earth before the king giving him honour. And he said, What is your desire?
17. And she said to him, My lord, you took an oath by the Lord your God and gave your word to your servant, saying, Truly, Solomon your son will be king after me, seated on the seat of my kingdom.
18. And now, see, Adonijah has made himself king without my lord's knowledge;
19. And has put to death oxen and fat beasts and sheep in great numbers, and has sent for all the sons of the king, and Abiathar the priest, and Joab, the captain of the army; but he has not sent for Solomon your servant.
20. And now, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, waiting for you to say who is to take the place of my lord the king after him.
21. For as things are, it will come about, when my lord the king is sleeping with his fathers, that I and Solomon my son will be made outlaws.
22. And while she was still talking with the king, Nathan the prophet came in.
23. And they said to the king, Here is Nathan the prophet. And when he came in before the king, he went down on his face on the earth.
24. And Nathan said, O my lord king, have you said, Adonijah is to be king after me, seated on the seat of my kingdom?
25. Because today he has gone down and has put to death oxen and fat beasts and sheep in great numbers, and has sent for all the king's sons to come to him, with the captains of the army and Abiathar the priest; and they are feasting before him and crying, Long life to King Adonijah!
26. But me, your servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, and your servant Solomon, he has not sent for.
27. Has this thing been done by my lord the king, without giving word to your servants who was to be placed on my lord the king's seat after him?
28. Then King David in answer said, Send for Bath-sheba to come to me. And she came in and took her place before the king.
29. And the king took an oath, and said, By the living Lord, who has been my saviour from all my troubles,
30. As I took an oath to you by the Lord, the God of Israel, saying, Certainly Solomon your son will become king after me, seated on my seat in my place; so will I do this day.
31. Then Bath-sheba went down on her face on the earth before the king giving him honour, and said, May my lord King David go on living for ever.
32. And King David said, Send for Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada. And they came before the king.
33. And the king said to them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and put Solomon my son on my beast, yes, mine, and take him down to Gihon;
34. And there let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet put the holy oil on him to make him king over Israel; and sounding the horn say, Long life to King Solomon!
35. Then come up after him and he will come in and take his place on the seat of my kingdom; for he is to be king in my place, and I have given orders that he is to be ruler over Israel and over Judah.
36. And Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, answering the king, said, So be it: and may the Lord, the God of my lord the king, say so.
37. As the Lord has been with my lord the king, even so may he be with Solomon and make the seat of his authority greater than that of my lord King David.
38. So Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites, went down and put Solomon on King David's beast and took him to Gihon.
39. And Zadok the priest took the vessel of oil out of the Tent, and put the holy oil on Solomon. And when the horn was sounded, all the people said, Long life to King Solomon!
40. And all the people came up after him, piping with pipes, and they were glad with great joy, so that the earth was shaking with the sound.
41. And it came to the ears of Adonijah and all the guests who were with him, when their meal was ended. And Joab, hearing the sound of the horn, said, What is the reason of this noise as if the town was worked up?
42. And while the words were on his lips, Jonathan, the son of Abiathar the priest, came; and Adonijah said, Come in; for you are a man of good faith and the news which you have for us will be good.
43. And Jonathan, answering, said to Adonijah, Not so, but our lord King David has made Solomon king:
44. And he sent with him Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and they put him on the king's beast:
45. And Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet put the holy oil on him and made him king in Gihon; and they came back from there with joy, and the town was all worked up. This is the noise which has come to your ears.
46. And now Solomon is seated on the seat of the kingdom.
47. And the king's servants came to our lord King David, blessing him and saying, May God make the name of Solomon better than your name, and the seat of his authority greater than your seat; and the king was bent low in worship on his bed.
48. Then the king said, May the God of Israel be praised, who has given one of my seed to be king in my place this day and has let my eyes see it.
49. And all the guests of Adonijah got up in fear and went away, every man to his place.
50. And Adonijah himself was full of fear because of Solomon; and he got up and went to the altar, and put his hands on its horns.
51. And they gave Solomon word of it, saying, See, Adonijah goes in such fear of King Solomon, that he has put his hands on the horns of the altar, saying, Let King Solomon first give me his oath that he will not put his servant to death with the sword.
52. And Solomon said, If he is seen to be a man of good faith, not a hair of him will be touched; but if any wrongdoing is seen in him, he is to be put to death.
53. So King Solomon sent, and they took him down from the altar. And he came and gave honour to King Solomon; and Solomon said to him, Go to your house.

John 5 / Basic English

1. After these things there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
2. Now in Jerusalem near the sheep-market there is a public bath which in Hebrew is named Beth-zatha. It has five doorways.
3. In these doorways there were a great number of people with different diseases: some unable to see, some without the power of walking, some with wasted bodies.
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5. One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years.
6. When Jesus saw him there on the floor it was clear to him that he had been now a long time in that condition, and so he said to the man, Is it your desire to get well?
7. The ill man said in answer, Sir, I have nobody to put me into the bath when the water is moving; and while I am on the way down some other person gets in before me.
8. Jesus said to him, Get up, take your bed and go.
9. And the man became well straight away, and took up his bed and went. Now that day was the Sabbath.
10. So the Jews said to the man who had been made well, It is the Sabbath; and it is against the law for you to take up your bed.
11. He said to them, But he who made me well, said to me, Take up your bed and go.
12. Then they put to him the question: Who is the man who said to you, Take it up and go?
13. Now he who had been made well had no knowledge who it was, Jesus having gone away because of the number of people who were in that place.
14. After a time Jesus came across him in the Temple and said to him, See, you are well and strong; do no more sin for fear a worse thing comes to you.
15. The man went away and said to the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.
16. And for this reason the Jews were turned against Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath.
17. But his answer was: My Father is still working even now, and so I am working.
18. For this cause the Jews had an even greater desire to put Jesus to death, because not only did he not keep the Sabbath but he said God was his Father, so making himself equal with God.
19. So Jesus made answer and said, Truly I say to you, The Son is not able to do anything himself; he is able to do only what he sees the Father doing; whatever the Father does the Son does it in the same way.
20. For the Father has love for the Son and lets him see everything which he does: and he will let him see greater works than these so that you may be full of wonder.
21. In the same way, as the Father gives life to the dead, even so the Son gives life to those to whom he is pleased to give it.
22. The Father is not the judge of men, but he has given all decisions into the hands of the Son;
23. So that all men may give honour to the Son even as they give honour to the Father. He who gives no honour to the Son gives no honour to the Father who sent him.
24. Truly I say to you, The man whose ears are open to my word and who has faith in him who sent me, has eternal life; he will not be judged, but has come from death into life.
25. Truly I say to you, The time is coming, it has even now come, when the voice of the Son of God will come to the ears of the dead, and those hearing it will have life.
26. For even as the Father has life in himself, so he has given to the Son to have life in himself.
27. And he has given him authority to be judge because he is the Son of man.
28. Do not be surprised at this: for the time is coming when his voice will come to all who are in the place of the dead,
29. And they will come out; those who have done good, into the new life; and those who have done evil, to be judged.
30. Of myself I am unable to do anything: as the voice comes to me so I give a decision: and my decision is right because I have no desire to do what is pleasing to myself, but only what is pleasing to him who sent me.
31. If I gave witness about myself, my witness would not be true.
32. There is another who gives witness about me and I am certain that the witness he gives about me is true.
33. You sent to John and he gave true witness.
34. But I have no need of a man's witness: I only say these things so that you may have salvation.
35. He was a burning and shining light, and for a time you were ready to be happy in his light.
36. But the witness which I have is greater than that of John: the work which the Father has given me to do, the very work which I am now doing, is a witness that the Father has sent me.
37. And the Father himself who sent me has given witness about me. Not one of you has ever given ear to his voice; his form you have not seen.
38. And you have not kept his word in your hearts, because you have not faith in him whom he has sent.
39. You make search in the holy Writings, in the belief that through them you get eternal life; and it is those Writings which give witness about me.
40. And still you have no desire to come to me so that you may have life.
41. I do not take honour from men;
42. But I have knowledge of you that you have no love for God in your hearts.
43. I have come in my Father's name, and your hearts are not open to me. If another comes with no other authority but himself, you will give him your approval.
44. How is it possible for you to have faith while you take honour one from another and have no desire for the honour which comes from the only God?
45. Put out of your minds the thought that I will say things against you to the Father: the one who says things against you is Moses, on whom you put your hopes.
46. If you had belief in Moses you would have belief in me; for his writings are about me.
47. If you have no belief in his writings, how will you have belief in my words?