Basic English Version : Read the Bible in 1 Year

Job 27 / Basic English

1. And Job again took up the word and said,
2. By the life of God, who has taken away my right; and of the Ruler of all, who has made my soul bitter;
3. (For all my breath is still in me, and the spirit of God is my life;)
4. Truly, there is no deceit in my lips, and my tongue does not say what is false.
5. Let it be far from me! I will certainly not say that you are right! I will come to death before I give up my righteousness.
6. I will keep it safe, and will not let it go: my heart has nothing to say against any part of my life.
7. Let my hater be like the evil man, and let him who comes against me be as the sinner.
8. For what is the hope of the sinner when he is cut off, when God takes back his soul?
9. Will his cry come to the ears of God when he is in trouble?
10. Will he take delight in the Ruler of all, and make his prayer to God at all times?
11. I will give you teaching about the hand of God; I will not keep secret from you what is in the mind of the Ruler of all.
12. Truly, you have all seen it yourselves; why then have you become completely foolish?
13. This is the punishment of the evil-doer from God, and the heritage given to the cruel by the Ruler of all.
14. If his children are increased, it is for the sword; and his offspring have not enough bread.
15. When those of his house who are still living come to their end by disease, they are not put into the earth, and their widows are not weeping for them.
16. Though he may get silver together like dust, and make ready great stores of clothing;
17. He may get them ready, but the upright will put them on, and he who is free from sin will take the silver for a heritage.
18. His house has no more strength than a spider's thread, or a watchman's tent.
19. He goes to rest full of wealth, but does so for the last time: on opening his eyes, he sees it there no longer.
20. Fears overtake him like rushing waters; in the night the storm-wind takes him away.
21. The east wind takes him up and he is gone; he is forced violently out of his place.
22. God sends his arrows against him without mercy; he goes in flight before his hand.
23. Men make signs of joy because of him, driving him from his place with sounds of hissing.

Job 28 / Basic English

1. Truly there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is washed out.
2. Iron is taken out of the earth, and stone is changed into brass by the fire.
3. Man puts an end to the dark, searching out to the farthest limit the stones of the deep places of the dark.
4. He makes a deep mine far away from those living in the light of day; when they go about on the earth, they have no knowledge of those who are under them, who are hanging far from men, twisting from side to side on a cord.
5. As for the earth, bread comes out of it; but under its face it is turned up as if by fire.
6. Its stones are the place of sapphires, and it has dust of gold.
7. No bird has knowledge of it, and the hawk's eye has never seen it.
8. The great beasts have not gone over it, and the cruel lion has not taken that way.
9. Man puts out his hand on the hard rock, overturning mountains by the roots.
10. He makes deep ways, cut through the rock, and his eye sees everything of value.
11. He keeps back the streams from flowing, and makes the secret things come out into the light.
12. But where may wisdom be seen? and where is the resting-place of knowledge?
13. Man has not seen the way to it, and it is not in the land of the living.
14. The deep waters say, It is not in me: and the sea says, It is not with me.
15. Gold may not be given for it, or a weight of silver in payment for it.
16. It may not be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the onyx of great price, or the sapphire.
17. Gold and glass are not equal to it in price, and it may not be exchanged for jewels of the best gold.
18. There is no need to say anything about coral or crystal; and the value of wisdom is greater than that of pearls.
19. The topaz of Ethiopia is not equal to it, and it may not be valued with the best gold.
20. From where then does wisdom come, and where is the resting-place of knowledge?
21. For it is kept secret from the eyes of all living, unseen by the birds of the air.
22. Destruction and Death say, We have only had word of it with our ears.
23. God has knowledge of the way to it, and of its resting-place;
24. For his eyes go to the ends of the earth, and he sees everything under heaven.
25. When he made a weight for the wind, measuring out the waters;
26. When he made a law for the rain, and a way for the thunder-flames;
27. Then he saw it, and put it on record; he gave it its fixed form, searching it out completely.
28. And he said to man, Truly the fear of the Lord is wisdom, and to keep from evil is the way to knowledge.

Romans 11 / Basic English

1. So I say, Has God put his people on one side? Let there be no such thought. For I am of Israel, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.
2. God has not put away the people of his selection. Or have you no knowledge of what is said about Elijah in the holy Writings? how he says words to God against Israel,
3. Lord, they have put your prophets to death, and made waste your altars, and now I am the last, and they are searching for me to take away my life.
4. But what answer does God make to him? I have still seven thousand men whose knees have not been bent to Baal.
5. In the same way, there are at this present time some who are marked out by the selection of grace.
6. But if it is of grace, then it is no longer of works: or grace would not be grace.
7. What then? That which Israel was searching for he did not get, but those of the selection got it and the rest were made hard.
8. As it was said in the holy Writings, God gave them a spirit of sleep, eyes which might not see, and ears which have no hearing, to this day.
9. And David says, Let their table be made a net for taking them, and a stone in their way, and a punishment:
10. Let their eyes be made dark so that they may not see, and let their back be bent down at all times.
11. So I say, Were their steps made hard in order that they might have a fall? In no way: but by their fall salvation has come to the Gentiles, so that they might be moved to envy.
12. Now, if their fall is the wealth of the world, and their loss the wealth of the Gentiles, how much greater will be the glory when they are made full?
13. But I say to you, Gentiles, in so far as I am the Apostle of the Gentiles, I make much of my position:
14. If in any way those who are of my flesh may be moved to envy, so that some of them may get salvation by me.
15. For, if by their putting away, the rest of men have been made friends with God, what will their coming back again be, but life from the dead?
16. And if the first-fruit is holy, so is the mass: and if the root is holy, so are the branches.
17. But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, an olive-tree of the fields, were put in among them, and were given a part with them in the root by which the olive-tree is made fertile,
18. Do not be uplifted in pride over the branches: because it is not you who are the support of the root, but it is by the root that you are supported.
19. You will say, Branches were broken off so that I might be put in.
20. Truly, because they had no faith they were broken off, and you have your place by reason of your faith. Do not be lifted up in pride, but have fear;
21. For, if God did not have mercy on the natural branches, he will not have mercy on you.
22. See then that God is good but his rules are fixed: to those who were put away he was hard, but to you he has been good, on the condition that you keep in his mercy; if not, you will be cut off as they were.
23. And they, if they do not go on without faith, will be united to the tree again, because God is able to put them in again.
24. For if you were cut out of a field olive-tree, and against the natural use were united to a good olive-tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be united again with the olive-tree which was theirs?
25. For it is my desire, brothers, that this secret may be clear to you, so that you may not have pride in your knowledge, that Israel has been made hard in part, till all the Gentiles have come in;
26. And so all Israel will get salvation: as it is said in the holy Writings, There will come out of Zion the One who makes free; by him wrongdoing will be taken away from Jacob:
27. And this is my agreement with them, when I will take away their sins.
28. As far as the good news is in question, they are cut off from God on account of you, but as far as the selection is in question, they are loved on account of the fathers.
29. Because God's selection and his mercies may not be changed.
30. For as you, in time past, were not under the rule of God, but now have got mercy through their turning away,
31. So in the same way these have gone against the orders of God, so that by the mercy given to you they may now get mercy.
32. For God has let them all go against his orders, so that he might have mercy on them all.
33. O how deep is the wealth of the wisdom and knowledge of God! no one is able to make discovery of his decisions, and his ways may not be searched out.
34. Who has knowledge of the mind of the Lord? or who has taken part in his purposes?
35. Or who has first given to him, and it will be given back to him again?
36. For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things. To him be the glory for ever. So be it.