Basic English Version : Read the Bible in 1 Year

Esther 7 / Basic English

1. So the king and Haman came to take wine with Esther the queen.
2. And the king said to Esther again on the second day, while they were drinking, What is your prayer, Queen Esther? for it will be given to you; and what is your request? for it will be done, even to the half of my kingdom.
3. Then Esther the queen, answering, said, If I have your approval, O king, and if it is the king's pleasure, let my life be given to me in answer to my prayer, and my people at my request:
4. For we are given up, I and my people, to destruction and death and to be cut off. If we had been taken as men-servants and women-servants for a price, I would have said nothing, for our trouble is little in comparison with the king's loss.
5. Then King Ahasuerus said to Esther the queen, Who is he and where is he who has had this evil thought in his heart?
6. And Esther said, Our hater and attacker is this evil Haman. Then Haman was full of fear before the king and the queen.
7. And the king in his wrath got up from the feast and went into the garden: and Haman got to his feet to make a prayer for his life to Esther the queen: for he saw that the king's purpose was evil against him.
8. Then the king came back from the garden into the room where they had been drinking; and Haman was stretched out on the seat where Esther was. Then the king said, Is he taking the queen by force before my eyes in my house? And while the words were on the king's lips, they put a cloth over Haman's face.
9. Then Harbonah, one of the unsexed servants waiting before the king, said, See, the pillar fifty cubits high, which Haman made for Mordecai, who said a good word for the king, is still in its place in Haman's house. Then the king said, Put him to death by hanging him on it.
10. So Haman was put to death by hanging him on the pillar he had made for Mordecai. Then the king's wrath became less.

Esther 8 / Basic English

1. That day the king gave all the family of Haman, the hater of the Jews, to Esther the queen. And Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had made clear what he was to her.
2. And the king took off his ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther put Mordecai over the family of Haman.
3. Then Esther again came before the king, falling down at his feet, and made request to him with weeping, that he would put a stop to the evil purposes of Haman the Agagite and the designs which he had made against the Jews.
4. Then the king put out the rod of gold to Esther, and she got up before the king.
5. And she said, If it is the king's pleasure and if I have his approval and this thing seems right to the king and I am pleasing to him, then let letters be sent giving orders against those which Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, sent out for the destruction of the Jews in all divisions of the kingdom:
6. For how is it possible for me to see the evil which is to overtake my nation? how may I see the destruction of my people?
7. Then King Ahasuerus said to Esther the queen and to Mordecai the Jew, See now, I have given Esther the family of Haman, and he has come to his death by hanging, because he made an attack on the Jews.
8. So now send a letter about the Jews, writing whatever seems good to you, in the king's name, and stamping it with the king's ring: for a writing signed in the king's name and stamped with the king's ring may not be changed.
9. Then at that time, on the twenty-third day of the third month, which is the month Sivan, the king's scribes were sent for; and everything ordered by Mordecai was put in writing and sent to the Jews and the captains and the rulers and the chiefs of all the divisions of the kingdom from India to Ethiopia, a hundred and twenty-seven divisions, to every division in the writing commonly used there, and to every people in their language, and to the Jews in their writing and their language.
10. The letters were sent in the name of King Ahasuerus and stamped with his ring, and they were taken by men on horseback, going on the quick-running horses used for the king's business, the offspring of his best horses:
11. In these letters the king gave authority to the Jews in every town to come together and make a fight for their lives, and to send death and destruction on the power of any people in any part of the kingdom attacking them or their children or their women, and to take their goods from them by force,
12. On one day in every division of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, that is, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month Adar.
13. A copy of the writing, to be made public as an order in every division of the kingdom, was given out to all the peoples, so that the Jews might be ready when that day came to give punishment to their haters.
14. So the men went out on the quick-running horses used on the king's business, wasting no time and forced on by the king's order; and the order was given out in Shushan, the king's town.
15. And Mordecai went out from before the king, dressed in king-like robes of blue and white, and with a great crown of gold and clothing of purple and the best linen: and all the town of Shushan gave loud cries of joy.
16. And the Jews had light and joy and honour.
17. And in every part of the kingdom and in every town, wherever the king's letter and his order came, the Jews were glad with great joy, and had a feast and a good day. And a great number of the people of the land became Jews: for the fear of the Jews had come on them.

Esther 9 / Basic English

1. Now on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, when the time came for the king's order to be put into effect, on the very day when the haters of the Jews had been hoping to have rule over them; though the opposite had come about, and the Jews had rule over their haters;
2. On that day, the Jews came together in their towns through all the divisions of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, for the purpose of attacking all those who were attempting evil against them: and everyone had to give way before them, for the fear of them had come on all the peoples.
3. And all the chiefs and the captains and the rulers and those who did the king's business gave support to the Jews; because the fear of Mordecai had come on them.
4. For Mordecai was great in the king's house, and word of him went out through every part of the kingdom: for the man Mordecai became greater and greater.
5. So the Jews overcame all their attackers with the sword and with death and destruction, and did to their haters whatever they had a desire to do.
6. And in Shushan the Jews put to death five hundred men.
7. They put to death Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha,
8. Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha,
9. Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha,
10. The ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the hater of the Jews; but they put not a hand on any of their goods.
11. On that day the number of those who had been put to death in the town of Shushan was given to the king.
12. And the king said to Esther the queen, The Jews have put five hundred men to death in Shushan, as well as the ten sons of Haman: what then have they done in the rest of the kingdom! Now what is your prayer? for it will be given to you; what other request have you? and it will be done.
13. Then Esther said, If it is the king's pleasure, let authority be given to the Jews in Shushan to do tomorrow as has been done today, and let orders be given for the hanging of Haman's ten sons.
14. And the king said that this was to be done, and the order was given out in Shushan, and the hanging of Haman's ten sons was effected.
15. For the Jews who were in Shushan came together again on the fourteenth day of the month Adar and put to death three hundred men in Shushan; but they put not a hand on their goods.
16. And the other Jews in every division of the kingdom came together, fighting for their lives, and got salvation from their haters and put seventy-five thousand of them to death; but they did not put a hand on their goods.
17. This they did on the thirteenth day of the month Adar; and on the fourteenth day of the same month they took their rest, and made it a day of feasting and joy.
18. But the Jews in Shushan came together on the thirteenth and on the fourteenth day of the month; and on the fifteenth day they took their rest, and made it a day of feasting and joy.
19. So the Jews of the country places living in unwalled towns make the fourteenth day of the month Adar a day of feasting and joy and a good day, a day for sending offerings one to another.
20. And Mordecai sent letters to all the Jews in every division of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, near and far,
21. Ordering them to keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar and the fifteenth day of the same month, every year,
22. As days on which the Jews had rest from their haters, and the month which for them was turned from sorrow to joy, and from weeping to a good day: and that they were to keep them as days of feasting and joy, of sending offerings to one another and good things to the poor.
23. And the Jews gave their word to go on as they had been doing and as Mordecai had given them orders in writing;
24. Because Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the hater of all the Jews, had made designs for their destruction, attempting to get a decision by Pur (that is, chance) with a view to putting an end to them and cutting them off;
25. But when the business was put before the king, he gave orders by letters that the evil design which he had made against the Jews was to be turned against himself; and that he and his sons were to be put to death by hanging.
26. So these days were named Purim, after the name of Pur. And so, because of the words of this letter, and of what they had seen in connection with this business, and what had come to them,
27. The Jews made a rule and gave an undertaking, causing their seed and all those who were joined to them to do the same, so that it might be in force for ever, that they would keep those two days, as ordered in the letter, at the fixed time every year;
28. And that those days were to be kept in memory through every generation and every family, in every division of the kingdom and every town, that there might never be a time when these days of Purim would not be kept among the Jews, or when the memory of them would go from the minds of their seed.
29. Then Esther the queen, daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew, sent a second letter giving the force of their authority to the order about the Purim.
30. And he sent letters to all the Jews in the hundred and twenty-seven divisions of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, with true words of peace,
31. Giving the force of law to these days of Purim at their fixed times, as they had been ordered by Mordecai the Jew and Esther the queen, and in keeping with the rules they had made for themselves and their seed, in connection with their time of going without food and their cry for help.
32. The order given by Esther gave the force of law to the rules about the Purim; and it was recorded in the book.

Acts 26 / Basic English

1. And Agrippa said to Paul, You may put your cause before us. Then Paul, stretching out his hand, made his answer, saying:
2. In my opinion I am happy, King Agrippa, to be able to give my answer before you today to all these things which the Jews say against me:
3. The more so, because you are expert in all questions to do with the Jews and their ways: so I make my request to you to give me a hearing to the end.
4. All the Jews have knowledge of my way of life from my early years, as it was from the start among my nation, and at Jerusalem;
5. And they are able to say, if they would give witness, that I was living as a Pharisee, in that division of our religion which is most regular in the keeping of the law.
6. And now I am here to be judged because of the hope given by God's word to our fathers;
7. For the effecting of which our twelve tribes have been working and waiting night and day with all their hearts. And in connection with this hope I am attacked by the Jews, O king!
8. Why, in your opinion, is it outside belief for God to make the dead come to life again?
9. For I, truly, was of the opinion that it was right for me to do a number of things against the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
10. And this I did in Jerusalem: and numbers of the saints I put in prison, having had authority given to me from the chief priests, and when they were put to death, I gave my decision against them.
11. And I gave them punishment frequently, in all the Synagogues, forcing them to say things against God; and burning with passion against them, I went after them even into far-away towns.
12. Then, when I was journeying to Damascus with the authority and orders of the chief priests,
13. In the middle of the day, on the road I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining round me and those who were journeying with me.
14. And when we had all gone down on the earth, a voice came to me, saying in the Hebrew language, Saul, Saul, why are you attacking me so cruelly? It is hard for you to go against the impulse which is driving you.
15. And I said, Who are you, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom you are attacking.
16. But get up on your feet: for I have come to you for this purpose, to make you a servant and a witness of the things in which you have seen me, and of those in which you will see me;
17. And I will keep you safe from the people, and from the Gentiles, to whom I send you,
18. To make their eyes open, turning them from the dark to the light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may have forgiveness of sins and a heritage among those who are made holy by faith in me.
19. So, then, King Agrippa, I did not go against the vision from heaven;
20. But I went about, first to those in Damascus and Jerusalem, and through all the country of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, preaching a change of heart, so that they, being turned to God, might give, in their works, the fruits of a changed heart.
21. For this reason, the Jews took me in the Temple, and made an attempt to put me to death.
22. And so, by God's help, I am here today, witnessing to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come about;
23. That the Christ would go through pain, and being the first to come back from the dead, would give light to the people and to the Gentiles.
24. And when he made his answer in these words, Festus said in a loud voice, Paul, you are off your head; your great learning has made you unbalanced.
25. Then Paul said, I am not off my head, most noble Festus, but my words are true and wise.
26. For the king has knowledge of these things, to whom I am talking freely; being certain that all this is common knowledge to him; for it has not been done in secret.
27. King Agrippa, have you faith in the prophets? I am certain that you have.
28. And Agrippa said to Paul, A little more and you will be making me a Christian.
29. And Paul said, It is my prayer to God that, in little or great measure, not only you, but all those hearing me today might be even as I am, but for these chains.
30. And the king and the ruler and Bernice and those who were seated with them got up;
31. And when they had gone away they said to one another, This man has done nothing which might give cause for death or prison.
32. And Agrippa said to Festus, This man might have been made free, if he had not put his cause before Caesar.