Basic English Version : Read the Bible in 1 Year

Nehemiah 6 / Basic English

1. Now when word was given to Sanballat and Tobiah and to Geshem the Arabian and to the rest of our haters, that I had done the building of the wall and that there were no more broken places in it (though even then I had not put up the doors in the doorways);
2. Sanballat and Geshem sent to me saying, Come, let us have a meeting in one of the little towns in the lowland of Ono. But their purpose was to do me evil.
3. And I sent men to them saying, I am doing a great work, so that it is not possible for me to come down: is the work to be stopped while I go away from it and come down to you?
4. And four times they sent to me in this way, and I sent them the same answer.
5. Then Sanballat sent his servant to me a fifth time with an open letter in his hand;
6. And in it these words were recorded: It is said among the nations, and Geshem says so, that you and the Jews are hoping to make yourselves free from the king's authority; and that this is why you are building the wall: and they say that it is your purpose to be their king;
7. And that you have prophets preaching about you in Jerusalem, and saying, There is a king in Judah: now an account of these things will be sent to the king. So come now, and let us have a discussion.
8. Then I sent to him, saying, No such things as you say are being done, they are only a fiction you have made up yourself.
9. For they were hoping to put fear in us, saying, Their hands will become feeble and give up the work so that it may not get done. But now, O God, make my hands strong.
10. And I went to the house of Shemaiah, the son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was shut up; and he said, Let us have a meeting in the house of God, inside the Temple, and let the doors be shut: for they will come to put you to death; truly, in the night they will come to put you to death.
11. And I said, Am I the sort of man to go in flight? what man, in my position, would go into the Temple to keep himself safe? I will not go in.
12. Then it became clear to me that God had not sent him: he had given this word of a prophet against me himself: and Tobiah and Sanballat had given him money to do so.
13. For this reason they had given him money, in order that I might be overcome by fear and do what he said and do wrong, and so they would have reason to say evil about me and put shame on me.
14. Keep in mind, O my God, Tobiah and Sanballat and what they did, and Noadiah, the woman prophet, and the rest of the prophets whose purpose was to put fear into me.
15. So the wall was complete on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days.
16. And when our haters had news of this, all the nations round about us were full of fear and were greatly shamed, for they saw that this work had been done by our God.
17. And further, in those days the chiefs of Judah sent a number of letters to Tobiah, and his letters came to them.
18. For in Judah there were a number of people who had made an agreement by oath with him, because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah, the son of Arah; and his son Jehohanan had taken as his wife the daughter of Meshullam, the son of Berechiah.
19. And they said much before me of the good he had done, and gave him accounts of my words. And Tobiah sent letters with the purpose of causing me fear.

Nehemiah 7 / Basic English

1. Now when the building of the wall was complete and I had put up the doors, and the door-keepers and the music-makers and the Levites had been given their places,
2. I made my brother Hanani, and Hananiah, the ruler of the tower, responsible for the government of Jerusalem: for he was a man of good faith, fearing God more than most.
3. And I said to them, Do not let the doors of Jerusalem be open till the sun is high; and while the watchmen are in their places, let the doors be shut and locked: and let the people of Jerusalem be put on watch, every one in his watch, opposite his house.
4. Now the town was wide and great: but the people in it were only a small number, and the houses had not been put up.
5. And my God put it into my heart to get together the rulers and the chiefs and the people so that they might be listed by families. And I came across a record of the names of those who came up at the first, and in it I saw these words:
6. These are the people of the divisions of the kingdom, among those who had been made prisoners by Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and taken away by him, who went back to Jerusalem and Judah, every one to his town;
7. Who came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, Baanah. The number of the men of the people of Israel:
8. The children of Parosh, two thousand, one hundred and seventy-two.
9. The children of Shephatiah, three hundred and seventy-two.
10. The children of Arah, six hundred and fifty-two.
11. The children of Pahath-moab, of the children of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand, eight hundred and eighteen.
12. The children of Elam, a thousand, two hundred and fifty-four.
13. The children of Zattu, eight hundred and forty-five.
14. The children of Zaccai, seven hundred and sixty.
15. The children of Binnui, six hundred and forty-eight.
16. The children of Bebai, six hundred and twenty-eight.
17. The children of Azgad, two thousand, three hundred and twenty-two.
18. The children of Adonikam, six hundred and sixty-seven.
19. The children of Bigvai, two thousand and sixty-seven.
20. The children of Adin, six hundred and fifty-five.
21. The children of Ater, of Hezekiah, ninety-eight.
22. The children of Hashum, three hundred and twenty-eight.
23. The children of Bezai, three hundred and twenty-four.
24. The children of Hariph, a hundred and twelve.
25. The children of Gibeon, ninety-five.
26. The men of Beth-lehem and Netophah, a hundred and eighty-eight.
27. The men of Anathoth, a hundred and twenty-eight.
28. The men of Beth-azmaveth, forty-two.
29. The men of Kiriath-jearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, seven hundred and forty-three.
30. The men of Ramah and Geba, six hundred and twenty-one.
31. The men of Michmas, a hundred and twenty-two.
32. The men of Beth-el and Ai, a hundred and twenty-three.
33. The men of the other Nebo, fifty-two.
34. The children of the other Elam, a thousand, two hundred and fifty-four.
35. The children of Harim, three hundred and twenty.
36. The children of Jericho, three hundred and forty-five.
37. The children of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred and twenty-one.
38. The children of Senaah, three thousand, nine hundred and thirty.
39. The priests: the children of Jedaiah, of the family of Jeshua, nine hundred and seventy-three.
40. The children of Immer, a thousand and fifty-two.
41. The children of Pashhur, a thousand, two hundred and forty-seven.
42. The children of Harim, a thousand and seventeen.
43. The Levites: the children of Jeshua, of Kadmiel, of the children of Hodevah, seventy-four.
44. The music-makers: the children of Asaph, a hundred and forty-eight.
45. 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-eight.
46. The Nethinim: the children of Ziha, the children of Hasupha, the children of Tabbaoth,
47. The children of Keros, the children of Sia, the children of Padon,
48. The children of Lebana, the children of Hagaba, the children of Salmai,
49. The children of Hanan, the children of Giddel, the children of Gahar,
50. The children of Reaiah, the children of Rezin, the children of Nekoda,
51. The children of Gazzam, the children of Uzza, the children of Paseah,
52. The children of Besai, the children of Meunim, the children of Nephushesim,
53. The children of Bakbuk, the children of Hakupha, the children of Harhur,
54. The children of Bazlith, the children of Mehida, the children of Harsha,
55. The children of Barkos, the children of Sisera, the children of Temah,
56. The children of Neziah, the children of Hatipha.
57. The children of Solomon's servants: the children of Sotai, the children of Sophereth, the children of Perida,
58. The children of Jaala, the children of Darkon, the children of Giddel,
59. The children of Shephatiah, the children of Hattil, the children of Pochereth-hazzebaim, the children of Amon.
60. All the Nethinim and the children of Solomon's servants were three hundred and ninety-two.
61. All these were the people who went up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer; but because they had no knowledge of their fathers' families or offspring, it was not certain if they were Israelites:
62. The children of Delaiah, the children of Tobiah, the children of Nekoda, six hundred and forty-two.
63. And of the priests: the children of Hobaiah, the children of Hakkoz, the children of Barzillai, who was married to one of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and took their name.
64. 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.
65. 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 the Urim and Thummim.
66. The number of all the people together was forty-two thousand, three hundred and sixty;
67. 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 and forty-five men and women to make music.
68. They had seven hundred and thirty-six horses, two hundred and forty-five transport beasts;
69. Four hundred and thirty-five camels, six thousand, seven hundred and twenty asses.
70. And some of the heads of families gave money for the work. The Tirshatha gave into the store a thousand darics of gold, fifty basins, five hundred and thirty priests' robes.
71. And some of the heads of families gave into the store for the work twenty thousand darics of gold, and two thousand, two hundred pounds of silver.
72. And that which the rest of the people gave was twenty thousand darics of gold, and two thousand pounds of silver, and sixty-seven priests' robes.
73. So the priests and the Levites and the door-keepers and the music-makers and some of the people and the Nethinim, and all Israel, were living in their towns.

Acts 19 / Basic English

1. And it came about that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul, having gone through the higher country, came to Ephesus, where there were certain disciples:
2. And he said to them, Did you get the Holy Spirit when you had faith? And they said to him, No, we have had no knowledge of the Holy Spirit.
3. And he said, What sort of baptism did you have? And they said, The baptism of John.
4. And Paul said, John gave a baptism which goes with a change of heart, saying to the people that they were to have faith in him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.
5. And hearing this, they had baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus.
6. And when Paul had put his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them; and they had the power of talking in tongues, and acting like prophets.
7. And there were about twelve of these men.
8. And he went into the Synagogue, and for three months he was preaching there without fear, reasoning and teaching about the kingdom of God.
9. But because some of the people were hard-hearted and would not give hearing, saying evil words about the Way before the people, he went away from them, and kept the disciples separate, reasoning every day in the school of Tyrannus.
10. And this went on for two years, so that all those who were living in Asia had knowledge of the word of the Lord, Greeks as well as Jews.
11. And God did special works of power by the hands of Paul:
12. So that bits of linen and clothing from his body were taken to people who were ill, and their diseases went away from them and the evil spirits went out.
13. But some of the Jews who went from place to place driving out evil spirits, took it on themselves to make use of the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, I give you orders, by Jesus, whom Paul is preaching.
14. And there were seven sons of a man named Sceva, a Jew and a chief priest, who did this.
15. And the evil spirit, answering, said to them, I have knowledge of Jesus, and of Paul, but who are you?
16. And the man in whom the evil spirit was, jumping on them, was stronger than the two of them, and overcame them, so that they went running from that house, wounded and without their clothing.
17. And this came to the ears of all those, Jews and Greeks, who were living at Ephesus; and fear came on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was made great.
18. And a number of those who had faith came and made a public statement of their sins and all their acts.
19. And a great number of those who were experts in strange arts took their books and put them on the fire in front of everyone: and when the books were valued they came to fifty thousand bits of silver.
20. So the word of the Lord was increased very greatly and was full of power.
21. Now after these things were ended, Paul came to a decision that when he had gone through Macedonia and Achaia he would go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there, I have a desire to see Rome.
22. And having sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, into Macedonia, he himself went on living in Asia for a time.
23. And about that time a great outcry took place about the Way.
24. For there was a certain man named Demetrius, a silver-worker, who made silver boxes for the images of Diana, and gave no small profit to the workmen;
25. Whom he got together, with other workmen of the same trade, and said to them, Men, it is clear that from this business we get our wealth.
26. And you see, for it has come to your ears, that not only at Ephesus, but almost all through Asia, this Paul has been teaching numbers of people and turning them away, saying that those are not gods who are made by men's hands:
27. And there is danger, not only that our trade may be damaged in the opinion of men, but that the holy place of the great goddess Diana may be no longer honoured, and that she to whom all Asia and the world give worship, will be put down from her high position.
28. And hearing this, they were very angry, crying out and saying, Great is Diana of Ephesus.
29. And the town was full of noise and trouble, and they all came running into the theatre, having taken by force Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia who were journeying in company with Paul.
30. And when Paul was about to go in to the people, the disciples did not let him.
31. And some of the rulers of Asia, being his friends, sent to him, requesting him seriously not to put himself in danger by going into the theatre.
32. And some said one thing, and some another: for there was no order in the meeting; and most of them had no idea why they had come together.
33. Then they took Alexander out from among the people, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander, making a sign with his hand, was about to make a statement to the people in answer:
34. But when they saw that he was a Jew, all of them with one voice went on crying out for about two hours, Great is Diana of Ephesus.
35. And when the chief secretary had got the people quiet, he said, Men of Ephesus, is any man without knowledge that the town of Ephesus is the keeper of the holy place of the great Diana, who was sent down from Jupiter?
36. So then, because these things may not be doubted, it would be better for you to be quiet, and do nothing unwise.
37. For you have taken these men, who are not doing damage to the holy place or talking against our goddess.
38. If, then, Demetrius and the workmen who are with him have a protest to make against any man, the law is open to them, and there are judges; let them put up a cause at law against one another.
39. But if any other business is in question, let it be taken up in the regular meeting.
40. For, truly, we are in danger of being made responsible for this day's trouble, there being no cause for it: and we are not able to give any reason for this coming together.
41. And when he had said this, he sent the meeting away.