Basic English Version : Read the Bible in 1 Year

Job 3 / Basic English

1. Then, opening his mouth, and cursing the day of his birth,
2. Job made answer and said,
3. Let destruction take the day of my birth, and the night on which it was said, A man child has come into the world.
4. That day--let it be dark; let not God take note of it from on high, and let not the light be shining on it;
5. Let the dark and the black night take it for themselves; let it be covered with a cloud; let the dark shades of day send fear on it.
6. That night--let the thick dark take it; let it not have joy among the days of the year; let it not come into the number of the months.
7. As for that night, let it have no fruit; let no voice of joy be sounded in it;
8. Let it be cursed by those who put a curse on the day; who are ready to make Leviathan awake.
9. Let its morning stars be dark; let it be looking for light, but may it not have any; let it not see the eyes of the dawn.
10. Because it did not keep the doors of my mother's body shut, so that trouble might be veiled from my eyes.
11. Why did death not take me when I came out of my mother's body, why did I not, when I came out, give up my last breath?
12. Why did the knees take me, or why the breasts that they might give me milk?
13. For then I might have gone to my rest in quiet, and in sleep have been in peace,
14. With kings and the wise ones of the earth, who put up great houses for themselves;
15. Or with rulers who had gold, and whose houses were full of silver;
16. Or as a child dead at birth I might never have come into existence; like young children who have not seen the light.
17. There the passions of the evil are over, and those whose strength has come to an end have rest.
18. There the prisoners are at peace together; the voice of the overseer comes not again to their ears.
19. The small and the great are there, and the servant is free from his master.
20. Why does he give light to him who is in trouble, and life to the bitter in soul;
21. To those whose desire is for death, but it comes not; who are searching for it more than for secret wealth;
22. Who are glad with great joy, and full of delight when they come to their last resting-place;
23. To a man whose way is veiled, and who is shut in by God?
24. In place of my food I have grief, and cries of sorrow come from me like water.
25. For I have a fear and it comes on me, and my heart is greatly troubled.
26. I have no peace, no quiet, and no rest; nothing but pain comes on me.

Job 4 / Basic English

1. And Eliphaz the Temanite made answer and said,
2. If one says a word, will it be a weariness to you? but who is able to keep from saying what is in his mind?
3. Truly, you have been a helper to others, and you have made feeble hands strong;
4. He who was near to falling has been lifted up by your words, and you have given strength to bent knees.
5. But now it has come on you and it is a weariness to you; you are touched by it and your mind is troubled.
6. Is not your fear of God your support, and your upright way of life your hope?
7. Have you ever seen destruction come to an upright man? or when were the god-fearing ever cut off?
8. What I have seen is that those by whom trouble has been ploughed, and evil planted, get the same for themselves.
9. By the breath of God destruction takes them, and by the wind of his wrath they are cut off.
10. Though the noise of the lion and the sounding of his voice, may be loud, the teeth of the young lions are broken.
11. The old lion comes to his end for need of food, and the young of the she-lion go wandering in all directions.
12. A word was given to me secretly, and the low sound of it came to my ears.
13. In troubled thoughts from visions of the night, when deep sleep comes on men,
14. Fear came on me and shaking, and my bones were full of trouble;
15. And a breath was moving over my face; the hair of my flesh became stiff:
16. Something was present before me, but I was not able to see it clearly; there was a form before my eyes: a quiet voice came to my ears, saying:
17. May a man be upright before God? or a man be clean before his Maker?
18. Truly, he puts no faith in his servants, and he sees error in his angels;
19. How much more those living in houses of earth, whose bases are in the dust! They are crushed more quickly than an insect;
20. Between morning and evening they are completely broken; they come to an end for ever, and no one takes note.
21. If their tent-cord is pulled up, do they not come to an end, and without wisdom?

Acts 28 / Basic English

1. And when we were safe, we made the discovery that the island was named Melita.
2. And the simple people living there were uncommonly kind to us, for they made a fire for us, and took us in, because it was raining and cold.
3. But when Paul had got some sticks together and put them on the fire, a snake came out, because of the heat, and gave him a bite on the hand.
4. And when the people saw it hanging on his hand, they said to one another, Without doubt this man has put someone to death, and though he has got safely away from the sea, God will not let him go on living.
5. But shaking off the beast into the fire, he got no damage.
6. But they had the idea that they would see him becoming ill, or suddenly falling down dead; but after waiting a long time, and seeing that no damage came to him, changing their opinion, they said he was a god.
7. Now near that place there was some land, the property of the chief man of the island, who was named Publius; who very kindly took us into his house as his guests for three days.
8. And the father of Publius was ill, with a disease of the stomach; to whom Paul went, and put his hands on him, with prayer, and made him well.
9. And when this took place, all the others in the island who had diseases came and were made well.
10. Then they gave us great honour, and, when we went away, they put into the ship whatever things we were in need of.
11. And after three months we went to sea in a ship of Alexandria sailing under the sign of the Dioscuri, which had been at the island for the winter.
12. And going into the harbour at Syracuse, we were waiting there for three days.
13. And from there, going about in a curve, we came to Rhegium: and after one day a south wind came up and on the day after we came to Puteoli:
14. Where we came across some of the brothers, who kept us with them for seven days; and so we came to Rome.
15. And the brothers, when they had news of us, came out from town as far as Appii Forum and the Three Taverns to have a meeting with us: and Paul, seeing them, gave praise to God and took heart.
16. And when we came into Rome, they let Paul have a house for himself and the armed man who kept watch over him.
17. Then after three days he sent for the chief men of the Jews: and when they had come together, he said to them, My brothers, though I had done nothing against the people or the ways of our fathers, I was given, a prisoner from Jerusalem, into the hands of the Romans.
18. Who, when they had put questions to me, were ready to let me go free, because there was no cause of death in me.
19. But when the Jews made protest against it, I had to put my cause into Caesar's hands; not because I have anything to say against my nation.
20. But for this reason I sent for you, to see and have talk with you: for because of the hope of Israel I am in these chains.
21. And they said to him, We have not had letters from Judaea about you, and no one of the brothers has come to us here to give an account or say any evil about you.
22. But we have a desire to give hearing to your opinion: for as to this form of religion, we have knowledge that in all places it is attacked.
23. And when a day had been fixed, they came to his house in great numbers; and he gave them teaching, giving witness to the kingdom of God, and having discussions with them about Jesus, from the law of Moses and from the prophets, from morning till evening.
24. And some were in agreement with what he said, but some had doubts.
25. And they went away, for there was a division among them after Paul had said this one thing: Well did the Holy Spirit say by the prophet Isaiah to your fathers,
26. Go to this people and say, Though you give ear, you will not get knowledge; and seeing, you will see, but the sense will not be clear to you:
27. For the heart of this people has become fat and their ears are slow in hearing and their eyes are shut; for fear that they might see with their eyes and give hearing with their ears and become wise in their hearts and be turned again to me, so that I might make them well.
28. Be certain, then, that the salvation of God is sent to the Gentiles, and they will give hearing.
29. []
30. And for the space of two years, Paul was living in the house of which he had the use, and had talk with all those who went in to see him,
31. Preaching the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ without fear, and no orders were given that he was not to do so.