Basic English Version : Read the Bible in 1 Year

1 Kings (3 Kings) 5 / Basic English

1. Now Hiram, king of Tyre, hearing that Solomon had been made king in place of his father, sent his servants to him; for Hiram had ever been a friend to David.
2. And Solomon sent back word to Hiram, saying,
3. You have knowledge that David my father was not able to make a house for the name of the Lord his God, because of the wars which were round him on every side, till the Lord put all those who were against him under his feet.
4. But now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side; no one is making trouble, and no evil is taking place.
5. And so it is my purpose to make a house for the name of the Lord my God, as he said to David my father, Your son, whom I will make king in your place, will be the builder of a house for my name.
6. So now, will you have cedar-trees from Lebanon cut down for me, and my servants will be with your servants; and I will give you payment for your servants at whatever rate you say; for it is common knowledge that we have no such wood-cutters among us as the men of Zidon.
7. And these words of Solomon made Hiram glad, and he said, Now may the Lord be praised who has given to David a wise son to be king over this great people.
8. Then Hiram sent to Solomon, saying; The words you sent have been given to me: I will do all your desire in the question of cedar-wood and cypress-wood.
9. My men will take them down from Lebanon to the sea, where I will have them corded together to go by sea to whatever place you say, and I will have them cut up there so that you may take them away; as for payment, it will be enough if you give me food for my people.
10. So Hiram gave Solomon all the cedar-wood and cypress-wood he had need of;
11. And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand measures of grain, as food for his people, and twenty measures of clear oil; this he did every year.
12. Now the Lord had given Solomon wisdom, as he had said to him; and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and they made an agreement together.
13. Then King Solomon got together men for the forced work through all Israel, thirty thousand men in number;
14. And sent them to Lebanon in bands of ten thousand every month: for a month they were working in Lebanon and for two months in their country, and Adoniram was in control of them.
15. Then he had seventy thousand for the work of transport, and eighty thousand stone-cutters in the mountains;
16. In addition to the chiefs of the responsible men put by Solomon to oversee the work, three thousand and three hundred in authority over the workmen.
17. By the king's orders great stones, stones of high price, were cut out, so that the base of the house might be made of squared stone.
18. Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders did the work of cutting them, and put edges on them, and got the wood and the stone ready for the building of the house.

1 Kings (3 Kings) 6 / Basic English

1. In the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year that Solomon was king of Israel, in the month Ziv, which is the second month, the building of the Lord's house was started.
2. The house which Solomon made for the Lord was sixty cubits long, twenty cubits wide and thirty cubits high.
3. The covered way before the Temple of the house was twenty cubits long, as wide as the house, and ten cubits wide in front of the house.
4. And for the house he made windows, with network across.
5. And against the walls all round, and against the walls of the Temple and of the inmost room, he put up wings, with side rooms all round:
6. The lowest line of them being five cubits wide, the middle six cubits wide and the third seven cubits; for there was a space all round the outside walls of the house so that the boards supporting the rooms did not have to be fixed in the walls of the house.
7. (And the stones used in the building of the house were squared at the place where they were cut out; there was no sound of hammer or axe or any iron instrument while they were building the house.)
8. The door to the lowest side rooms was in the right side of the house; and they went up by twisting steps into the middle rooms, and from the middle into the third.
9. So he put up the house and made it complete, roofing it with boards of cedar-wood.
10. And he put up the line of side rooms against the walls of the house, fifteen cubits high, resting against the house on boards of cedar-wood.
11. (And the word of the Lord came to Solomon, saying,
12. About this house which you are building: if you will keep my laws and give effect to my decisions and be guided by my rules, I will give effect to my word which I gave to David your father.
13. And I will be ever among the children of Israel, and will not go away from my people.
14. So Solomon made the building of the house complete.)
15. The walls of the house were covered inside with cedar-wood boards; from the floor to the roof of the house they were covered inside with wood; and the floor was covered with boards of cypress-wood.
16. And at the back of the house a further space of twenty cubits was shut in with boards of cedar-wood, for the inmost room.
17. And the house, that is, the Temple, in front of the holy place was forty cubits long.
18. (All the inside of the house was cedar-wood, ornamented with designs of buds and flowers; no stonework was to be seen inside.)
19. And he made ready an inmost room in the middle of the house, in which to put the ark of the agreement of the Lord.
20. And the inmost room was twenty cubits square and twenty cubits high, plated over with clear gold, and he made an altar of cedar-wood, plating it with gold.
21. Solomon had all the inside of the house covered with gold, and he put chains of gold across in front of the inmost room, which itself was covered with gold.
22. Plates of gold were put all through the house till it was covered completely (and the altar in the inmost room was all covered with gold).
23. In the inmost room he made two winged beings of olive-wood, ten cubits high;
24. With outstretched wings five cubits wide; the distance from the edge of one wing to the edge of the other was ten cubits.
25. The two winged ones were ten cubits high, of the same size and form.
26. The two of them were ten cubits high.
27. These were placed inside the inner house, their outstretched wings touching the walls of the house, one touching one wall and one the other, while their other wings were touching in the middle.
28. These winged ones were plated over with gold.
29. And all the walls of the house inside and out were ornamented with forms of winged ones and palm-trees and open flowers.
30. And the floor of the house was covered with gold, inside and out.
31. For the way into the inmost room he made doors of olive-wood, the arch and the door supports forming a five-sided opening.
32. On the olive-wood doors were cut designs of winged ones and palm-trees and open flowers, all of them, with the doors, plated with gold.
33. Then he made pillars of olive-wood for the way into the Temple; the pillars were square:
34. And two folding doors of cypress-wood, with two leaves.
35. These were ornamented with designs of winged ones and palm-trees and open flowers, plated over with gold.
36. And the inner space was walled with three lines of squared stones and a line of cedar-wood boards.
37. In the fourth year the base of the house was put in its place, in the month Ziv.
38. And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, the building of the house was complete in every detail, as it had been designed. So he was seven years building it.

John 8 / Basic English

1. But Jesus went to the Mountain of Olives.
2. And early in the morning he came again into the Temple and all the people came to him and he was seated teaching them.
3. Now the scribes and Pharisees came, with a woman who had been taken in the act of sinning against the married relation;
4. And putting her forward, they said to him, Master, this woman has been taken in the very act of sinning against the married relation.
5. Now in the law Moses gave directions that such women were to be stoned; what do you say about it?
6. They said this, testing him, so that they might have something against him. But Jesus, with his head bent down, made letters on the floor with his finger.
7. But when they went on with their questions, he got up and said to them, Let him among you who is without sin be the first to send a stone at her.
8. And again, with bent head, he made letters on the floor.
9. And when his words came to their ears, they went out one by one, starting with the oldest even to the last, because they were conscious of what was in their hearts: and Jesus was there by himself with the woman before him.
10. Then Jesus got up, and seeing nobody but the woman, he said to her, Where are the men who said things against you? did no one give a decision against you?
11. And she said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said, And I do not give a decision against you: go, and never do wrong again.]
12. Then again Jesus said to them, I am the light of the world; he who comes with me will not be walking in the dark but will have the light of life.
13. So the Pharisees said to him, The witness you give is about yourself: your witness is not true.
14. Jesus said in answer, Even if I give witness about myself, my witness is true, because I have knowledge of where I came from and where I am going; but you have no knowledge of where I come from or of where I am going.
15. You are judging from what you see; I am judging no man.
16. Even if I am judging, my decision is right, because I am not by myself--with me is the Father who sent me.
17. Even in your law it is said that the witness of two men is true.
18. I give witness about myself and the Father who sent me gives witness about me.
19. Then they said to him, Where is your Father? Jesus said in answer, You have no knowledge of me or of my Father: if you had knowledge of me you would have knowledge of my Father.
20. Jesus said these words in the place where the offerings were stored, while he was teaching in the Temple: but no man took him because his time was still to come.
21. Then he said to them again, I am going away and you will be looking for me, but death will overtake you in your sins. It is not possible for you to come where I am going.
22. So the Jews said, Will he take his life? Is that why he says, Where I go it is not possible for you to come?
23. And he said to them, You are of the earth; I am from heaven: you are of this world; I am not of this world.
24. For this reason I said to you that death will overtake you in your sins: for if you have not faith that I am he, death will come to you while you are in your sins.
25. Then they said to him, Who are you? Jesus said, What I said to you from the first.
26. I have much to say about you and against you: but he who sent me is true and what he has said to me I say to the world.
27. They did not see that his words were about the Father.
28. So Jesus said, When the Son of man has been lifted up by you, then it will be clear to you who I am, and that I do nothing of myself, but say as the Father gave me teaching.
29. He who sent me is with me; he has not gone from me, because at all times I do the things which are pleasing to him.
30. When he said this a number came to have faith in him.
31. Then Jesus said to the Jews who had faith in him, If you keep my word, then you are truly my disciples;
32. And you will have knowledge of what is true, and that will make you free.
33. They said to him in answer, We are Abraham's seed and have never been any man's servant: why do you say, You will become free?
34. And this was the answer Jesus gave them: Truly I say to you, Everyone who does evil is the servant of sin.
35. Now the servant does not go on living in the house for ever, but the son does.
36. If then the son makes you free, you will be truly free.
37. I am conscious that you are Abraham's seed; but you have a desire to put me to death because my word has no place in you.
38. I say the things which I have seen in my Father's house: and you do the things which come to you from your father's house.
39. In answer they said to him, Our father is Abraham. Jesus said to them, If you were Abraham's children you would do what Abraham did.
40. But now you have a desire to put me to death, a man who has said to you what is true, as I had it from God: Abraham did not do that.
41. You are doing the works of your father. They said to him, We are true sons of Abraham; we have one Father, who is God.
42. Jesus said to them, If God was your Father you would have love for me, because it was from God I came and am here. I did not come of myself, but he sent me.
43. Why are my words not clear to you? It is because your ears are shut to my teaching.
44. You are the children of your father the Evil One and it is your pleasure to do his desires. From the first he was a taker of life; and he did not go in the true way because there is no true thing in him. When he says what is false, it is natural to him, for he is false and the father of what is false.
45. But because I say what is true, you have no belief in me.
46. Which of you is able truly to say that I am a sinner? If I say what is true, why have you no belief in me?
47. He who is a child of God gives ear to the words of God: your ears are not open to them because you are not from God.
48. The Jews said to him in answer, Are we not right in saying that you are of Samaria and have an evil spirit?
49. And this was the answer of Jesus: I have not an evil spirit; but I give honour to my Father and you do not give honour to me.
50. I, however, am not in search of glory for myself: there is One who is searching for it and he is judge.
51. Truly I say to you, If a man keeps my word he will never see death.
52. The Jews said to him, Now we are certain that you have an evil spirit. Abraham is dead, and the prophets are dead; and you say, If a man keeps my word he will never see death.
53. Are you greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? and the prophets are dead: who do you say that you are?
54. Jesus said in answer, If I take glory for myself, my glory is nothing: it is my Father who gives me glory, of whom you say that he is your God.
55. You have no knowledge of him, but I have knowledge of him; and if I said I have no knowledge of him I would be talking falsely like you: but I have full knowledge of him, and I keep his word.
56. Your father Abraham was full of joy at the hope of seeing my day: he saw it and was glad.
57. Then the Jews said to him, You are not fifty years old; have you seen Abraham?
58. Jesus said to them, Truly I say to you, Before Abraham came into being, I am.
59. So they took up stones to send at him: but Jesus got secretly out of their way and went out of the Temple.