Basic English Version : Read the Bible in 1 Year

Ezra 1 / Basic English

1. Now in the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, in order that the word of the Lord given by the mouth of Jeremiah might come true, the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia, was moved by the Lord, so that he made a public statement through all his kingdom, and put it in writing, saying,
2. These are the words of Cyrus, king of Persia: The Lord God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he has made me responsible for building a house for him in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.
3. Whoever there is among you of his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and take in hand the building of the house of the Lord, the God of Israel; he is the God who is in Jerusalem.
4. And whoever there may be of the rest of Israel, living in any place, let the men of that place give him help with offerings of silver and gold and goods and beasts, in addition to the offering freely given for the house of God in Jerusalem.
5. Then the heads of families of Judah and Benjamin, with the priests and the Levites, got ready, even all those whose spirits were moved by God to go up and take in hand the building of the Lord's house in Jerusalem.
6. And all their neighbours gave them help with offerings of vessels of silver and gold and goods and beasts and things of great value, in addition to what was freely offered.
7. And Cyrus the king got out the vessels of the house of the Lord which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem and put in the house of his gods;
8. Even these Cyrus made Mithredath, the keeper of his wealth, get out, and he gave them, after numbering them, to Sheshbazzar, the ruler of Judah.
9. And this is the number of them: there were thirty gold plates, a thousand silver plates, twenty-nine knives,
10. Thirty gold basins, four hundred and ten silver basins, and a thousand other vessels.
11. There were five thousand, four hundred gold and silver vessels. All these were taken back by Sheshbazzar, when those who had been taken prisoner went up from Babylon to Jerusalem.

Ezra 2 / Basic English

1. Now these are the people of the divisions of the kingdom, among those who had been made prisoners by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and taken away to Babylon, who went back to Jerusalem and Judah, everyone to his town;
2. Who went with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, Baanah, The number of the men of the people of Israel:
3. The children of Parosh, two thousand, one hundred and seventy-two.
4. The children of Shephatiah, three hundred and seventy-two.
5. The children of Arah, seven hundred and seventy-five.
6. The children of Pahath-moab, of the children of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand, eight hundred and twelve.
7. The children of Elam, a thousand, two hundred and fifty-four.
8. The children of Zattu, nine hundred and forty-five.
9. The children of Zaccai, seven hundred and sixty.
10. The children of Bani, six hundred and forty-two.
11. The children of Bebai, six hundred and twenty-three.
12. The children of Azgad, a thousand, two hundred and twenty-two.
13. The children of Adonikam, six hundred and sixty-six.
14. The children of Bigvai, two thousand and fifty-six.
15. The children of Adin, four hundred and fifty-four.
16. The children of Ater, of Hezekiah, ninety-eight.
17. The children of Bezai, three hundred and twenty-three.
18. The children of Jorah, a hundred and twelve.
19. The children of Hashum, two hundred and twenty-three.
20. The children of Gibbar, ninety-five.
21. The children of Beth-lehem, a hundred and twenty-three.
22. The men of Netophah, fifty-six.
23. The men of Anathoth, a hundred and twenty-eight.
24. The children of Azmaveth, forty-two.
25. The children of Kiriath-arim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, seven hundred and forty-three.
26. The children of Ramah and Geba, six hundred and twenty-one.
27. The men of Michmas, a hundred and twenty-two.
28. The men of Beth-el and Ai, two hundred and twenty-three.
29. The children of Nebo, fifty-two.
30. The children of Magbish, a hundred and fifty-six.
31. The children of the other Elam, a thousand, two hundred and fifty-four.
32. The children of Harim, three hundred and twenty.
33. The children of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred and twenty-five.
34. The children of Jericho, three hundred and forty-five.
35. The children of Senaah, three thousand, six hundred and thirty.
36. The priests: the children of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred and seventy-three.
37. The children of Immer, a thousand and fifty-two.
38. The children of Pashhur, a thousand, two hundred and forty-seven.
39. The children of Harim, a thousand and seventeen.
40. The Levites: the children of Jeshua and Kadmiel, of the children of Hodaviah, seventy-four.
41. The music-makers: the children of Asaph, a hundred and twenty-eight
42. The children of the door-keepers: the children of Shallum, the children of Ater, the children of Talmon, the children of Akkub, the children of Hatita, the children of Shobai, a hundred and thirty-nine.
43. The Nethinim: the children of Ziha, the children of Hasupha, the children of Tabbaoth,
44. The children of Keros, the children of Siaha, the children of Padon,
45. The children of Lebanah, the children of Hagabah, the children of Akkub,
46. The children of Hagab, the children of Shamlai, the children of Hanan,
47. The children of Giddel, the children of Gahar, the children of Reaiah,
48. The children of Rezin, the children of Nekoda, the children of Gazzam,
49. The children of Uzza, the children of Paseah, the children of Besai,
50. The children of Asnah, the children of Meunim, the children of Nephisim,
51. The children of Bakbuk, the children of Hakupha, the children of Harhur,
52. The children of Bazluth, the children of Mehida, the children of Harsha,
53. The children of Barkos, the children of Sisera, the children of Temah,
54. The children of Neziah, the children of Hatipha.
55. The children of Solomon's servants: the children of Sotai, the children of Hassophereth, the children of Peruda,
56. The children of Jaalah, the children of Darkon, the children of Giddel,
57. The children of Shephatiah, the children of Hattil, the children of Pochereth-hazzebaim, the children of Ami.
58. All the Nethinim, and the children of Solomon's servants, were three hundred and ninety-two.
59. And these were the people who went up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addan, and Immer. But having no knowledge of their fathers' families or offspring, it was not certain that they were Israelites;
60. The children of Delaiah, the children of Tobiah, the children of Nekoda, six hundred and fifty-two.
61. And of the children of the priests: the children of Habaiah, the children of Hakkoz, the children of Barzillai, who was married to one of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and took their name.
62. They made search for their record among the lists of families, but their names were nowhere to be seen; so they were looked on as unclean and no longer priests.
63. And the Tirshatha said that they were not to have the most holy things for their food, till a priest came to give decision by Urim and Thummim.
64. The number of all the people together was forty-two thousand, three hundred and sixty,
65. As well as their men-servants and their women-servants, of whom there were seven thousand, three hundred and thirty-seven: and they had two hundred men and women to make music.
66. They had seven hundred and thirty-six horses, two hundred and forty-five transport beasts,
67. Four hundred and thirty-five camels, six thousand, seven hundred and twenty asses.
68. And some of the heads of families, when they came to the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem, gave freely of their wealth for the building up of the house of God in its place:
69. Every one, as he was able, gave for the work sixty-one thousand darics of gold, five thousand pounds of silver and a hundred priests' robes.
70. So the priests and the Levites and the people and the music-makers and the door-keepers and the Nethinim, took up their places in their towns; even all Israel in their towns.

Acts 12 / Basic English

1. Now, about that time, Herod the king made cruel attacks on the Christians.
2. And he put James, the brother of John, to death with the sword.
3. And when he saw that this was pleasing to the Jews he went on to take Peter in addition. This was at the time of the feast of unleavened bread.
4. And having taken him, he put him in prison, with four bands of armed men to keep watch over him; his purpose being to take him out to the people after the Passover.
5. So Peter was kept in prison: but the church made strong prayer to God for him.
6. And when Herod was about to take him out, the same night Peter was sleeping in chains between two armed men, and the watchmen were keeping watch before the door of the prison.
7. And a great light was seen shining in the room, and an angel of the Lord came to Peter and, touching him on his side so that he came out of his sleep, said, Get up quickly. And his chains came off his hands.
8. Then the angel said, Put on your shoes and get ready to go. And he did so. And he said, Put your coat round you and come with me.
9. And he went out after him; and he was not certain if what was done by the angel was a fact, for it seemed to him that he was seeing a vision.
10. And when they had gone past the first and second watchmen they came to the iron door into the town, which came open by itself: and they went out and down one street; and then the angel went away.
11. And when Peter came to his senses he said, Now, truly, I am certain that the Lord has sent his angel and taken me out of the hands of Herod, against all the hopes of the Jews.
12. And when he became clear about this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John named Mark, where a number of them had come together for prayer.
13. And he gave a blow on the door, and a young girl came to it, named Rhoda.
14. And hearing the voice of Peter, in her joy she went running, without opening the door, to say that Peter was outside.
15. And they said to her, You are off your head. But still she said, with decision, that it was so. And they said, It is his angel.
16. But Peter went on giving blows on the door: and when it was open and they saw him, they were full of wonder.
17. But he made a sign to them with his hand to be quiet, and gave them an account of how the Lord had taken him out of prison. And he said, Give the news to James and the brothers. And then he went away.
18. Now when it was day, the armed men were greatly troubled about what had become of Peter.
19. And Herod, when he sent for him, and he was not there, after questioning the watchmen, gave orders that they were to be put to death. Then he went down from Judaea to Caesarea for a time.
20. Now he was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon: and they came to him, all together, and having made friends with Blastus, the controller of the king's house, they made a request for peace, because their country was dependent on the king's country for its food.
21. And on the day which had been fixed, Herod, dressed in his robes and seated in his place, made a public statement to them.
22. And the people, with loud cries, said, It is the voice of a god, not of a man.
23. And straight away the angel of the Lord sent a disease on him, because he did not give the glory to God: and his flesh was wasted away by worms, and so he came to his end.
24. But the word of the Lord went on increasing.
25. And Barnabas and Saul came back from Jerusalem, when their work was ended, taking with them John named Mark.