Basic English Version : Read the Bible in 1 Year

Job 5 / Basic English

1. Give now a cry for help; is there anyone who will give you an answer? and to which of the holy ones will you make your prayer?
2. For wrath is the cause of death to the foolish, and he who has no wisdom comes to his end through passion.
3. I have seen the foolish taking root, but suddenly the curse came on his house.
4. Now his children have no safe place, and they are crushed before the judges, for no one takes up their cause.
5. Their produce is taken by him who has no food, and their grain goes to the poor, and he who is in need of water gets it from their spring.
6. For evil does not come out of the dust, or trouble out of the earth;
7. But trouble is man's fate from birth, as the flames go up from the fire.
8. But as for me, I would make my prayer to God, and I would put my cause before him:
9. Who does great things outside our knowledge, wonders without number:
10. Who gives rain on the earth, and sends water on the fields:
11. Lifting up those who are low, and putting the sad in a safe place;
12. Who makes the designs of the wise go wrong, so that they are unable to give effect to their purposes.
13. He takes the wise in their secret designs, and the purposes of the twisted are cut off suddenly.
14. In the daytime it becomes dark for them, and in the sunlight they go feeling about as if it was night.
15. But he keeps safe from their sword those who have no father, and the poor from the power of the strong.
16. So the poor man has hope, and the mouth of the evil-doer is stopped.
17. Truly, that man is happy who has training from the hand of God: so do not let your heart be shut to the teaching of the Ruler of all.
18. For after his punishment he gives comfort, and after wounding, his hands make you well.
19. He will keep you safe from six troubles, and in seven no evil will come near you.
20. When there is need of food he will keep you from death, and in war from the power of the sword.
21. He will keep you safe from the evil tongue; and you will have no fear of wasting when it comes.
22. You will make sport of destruction and need, and will have no fear of the beasts of the earth.
23. For you will be in agreement with the stones of the earth, and the beasts of the field will be at peace with you.
24. And you will be certain that your tent is at peace, and after looking over your property you will see that nothing is gone.
25. You will be certain that your seed will be great, and your offspring like the plants of the earth.
26. You will come to your last resting-place in full strength, as the grain is taken up to the crushing-floor in its time.
27. See, we have made search with care, and it is so; it has come to our ears; see that you take note of it for yourself.

Job 6 / Basic English

1. And Job made answer and said,
2. If only my passion might be measured, and put into the scales against my trouble!
3. For then its weight would be more than the sand of the seas: because of this my words have been uncontrolled.
4. For the arrows of the Ruler of all are present with me, and their poison goes deep into my spirit: his army of fears is put in order against me.
5. Does the ass of the fields give out his voice when he has grass? or does the ox make sounds over his food?
6. Will a man take food which has no taste without salt? or is there any taste in the soft substance of purslain?
7. My soul has no desire for such things, they are as disease in my food.
8. If only I might have an answer to my prayer, and God would give me my desire!
9. If only he would be pleased to put an end to me; and would let loose his hand, so that I might be cut off!
10. So I would still have comfort, and I would have joy in the pains of death, for I have not been false to the words of the Holy One.
11. Have I strength to go on waiting, or have I any end to be looking forward to?
12. Is my strength the strength of stones, or is my flesh brass?
13. I have no help in myself, and wisdom is completely gone from me.
14. He whose heart is shut against his friend has given up the fear of the Ruler of all.
15. My friends have been false like a stream, like streams in the valleys which come to an end:
16. Which are dark because of the ice, and the snow falling into them;
17. Under the burning sun they are cut off, and come to nothing because of the heat.
18. The camel-trains go out of their way; they go up into the waste and come to destruction.
19. The camel-trains of Tema were searching with care, the bands of Sheba were waiting for them:
20. They were put to shame because of their hope; they came and their hope was gone.
21. So have you now become to me; you see my sad condition and are in fear.
22. Did I say, Give me something? or, Make a payment for me out of your wealth?
23. Or, Get me out of the power of my hater? or, Give money so that I may be free from the power of the cruel ones?
24. Give me teaching and I will be quiet; and make me see my error.
25. How pleasing are upright words! but what force is there in your arguments?
26. My words may seem wrong to you, but the words of him who has no hope are for the wind.
27. Truly, you are such as would give up the child of a dead man to his creditors, and would make a profit out of your friend.
28. Now then, let your eyes be turned to me, for truly I will not say what is false to your face.
29. Let your minds be changed, and do not have an evil opinion of me; yes, be changed, for my righteousness is still in me.
30. Is there evil in my tongue? is not the cause of my trouble clear to me?

Romans 1 / Basic English

1. Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, an Apostle by the selection of God, given authority as a preacher of the good news,
2. Of which God had given word before by his prophets in the holy Writings,
3. About his Son who, in the flesh, came from the family of David,
4. But was marked out as Son of God in power by the Holy Spirit through the coming to life again of the dead; Jesus Christ our Lord,
5. Through whom grace has been given to us, sending us out to make disciples to the faith among all nations, for his name:
6. Among whom you in the same way have been marked out to be disciples of Jesus Christ:
7. To all those who are in Rome, loved by God, marked out as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
8. First of all, I give praise to my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because news of your faith has gone into all the world.
9. For God is my witness, whose servant I am in spirit in the good news of his Son, that you are at all times in my memory and in my prayers,
10. And that I am ever making prayers that God will give me a good journey to you.
11. For I have a strong desire to see you, and to give you some grace of the spirit, so that you may be made strong;
12. That is to say, that all of us may be comforted together by the faith which is in you and in me.
13. You may be certain, my brothers, that it has frequently been in my mind to come to you (but till now I was kept from it), so that I might have some fruit from you in the same way as I have had it from the other nations.
14. I have a debt to Greeks and to the nations outside; to the wise and to those who have no learning.
15. For which reason I have the desire, as far as I am able, to give the knowledge of the good news to you who are in Rome.
16. For I have no feeling of shame about the good news, because it is the power of God giving salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first, and then to the Greek.
17. For in it there is the revelation of the righteousness of God from faith to faith: as it is said in the holy Writings, The man who does righteousness will be living by his faith.
18. For there is a revelation of the wrath of God from heaven against all the wrongdoing and evil thoughts of men who keep down what is true by wrongdoing;
19. Because the knowledge of God may be seen in them, God having made it clear to them.
20. For from the first making of the world, those things of God which the eye is unable to see, that is, his eternal power and existence, are fully made clear, he having given the knowledge of them through the things which he has made, so that men have no reason for wrongdoing:
21. Because, having the knowledge of God, they did not give glory to God as God, and did not give praise, but their minds were full of foolish things, and their hearts, being without sense, were made dark.
22. Seeming to be wise, they were in fact foolish,
23. And by them the glory of the eternal God was changed and made into the image of man who is not eternal, and of birds and beasts and things which go on the earth.
24. For this reason God gave them up to the evil desires of their hearts, working shame in their bodies with one another:
25. Because by them the true word of God was changed into that which is false, and they gave worship and honour to the thing which is made, and not to him who made it, to whom be blessing for ever. So be it.
26. For this reason God gave them up to evil passions, and their women were changing the natural use into one which is unnatural:
27. And in the same way the men gave up the natural use of the woman and were burning in their desire for one another, men doing shame with men, and getting in their bodies the right reward of their evil-doing.
28. And because they had not the mind to keep God in their knowledge, God gave them up to an evil mind, to do those things which are not right;
29. Being full of all wrongdoing, evil, desire for the goods of others, hate, envy, putting to death, fighting, deceit, cruel ways, evil talk, and false statements about others;
30. Hated by God, full of pride, without respect, full of loud talk, given to evil inventions, not honouring father or mother,
31. Without knowledge, not true to their undertakings, unkind, having no mercy:
32. Who, though they have knowledge of the law of God, that the fate of those who do these things is death, not only go on doing these things themselves, but give approval to those who do them.