Basic English Version : Read the Bible in 1 Year

Job 41 / Basic English

1. Is it possible for Leviathan to be pulled out with a fish-hook, or for a hook to be put through the bone of his mouth?
2. Will you put a cord into his nose, or take him away with a cord round his tongue?
3. Will he make prayers to you, or say soft words to you?
4. Will he make an agreement with you, so that you may take him as a servant for ever?
5. Will you make sport with him, as with a bird? or put him in chains for your young women?
6. Will the fishermen make profit out of him? will they have him cut up for the traders?
7. Will you put sharp-pointed irons into his skin, or fish-spears into his head?
8. Only put your hand on him, and see what a fight you will have; you will not do it again!
9. Truly, the hope of his attacker is false; he is overcome even on seeing him!
10. He is so cruel that no one is ready to go against him. Who then is able to keep his place before me?
11. Who ever went against me, and got the better of me? There is no one under heaven!
12. I will not keep quiet about the parts of his body, or about his power, and the strength of his frame.
13. Who has ever taken off his outer skin? who may come inside his inner coat of iron?
14. Who has made open the doors of his face? Fear is round about his teeth.
15. His back is made of lines of plates, joined tight together, one against the other, like a stamp.
16. One is so near to the other that no air may come between them.
17. They take a grip of one another; they are joined together, so that they may not be parted.
18. His sneezings give out flames, and his eyes are like the eyes of the dawn.
19. Out of his mouth go burning lights, and flames of fire are jumping up.
20. Smoke comes out of his nose, like a pot boiling on the fire.
21. His breath puts fire to coals, and a flame goes out of his mouth.
22. Strength is in his neck, and fear goes dancing before him.
23. The plates of his flesh are joined together, fixed, and not to be moved.
24. His heart is as strong as a stone, hard as the lower crushing-stone.
25. When he gets ready for the fight, the strong are overcome with fear.
26. The sword may come near him but is not able to go through him; the spear, or the arrow, or the sharp-pointed iron.
27. Iron is to him as dry grass, and brass as soft wood.
28. The arrow is not able to put him to flight: stones are no more to him than dry stems.
29. A thick stick is no better than a leaf of grass, and he makes sport of the onrush of the spear.
30. Under him are sharp edges of broken pots: as if he was pulling a grain-crushing instrument over the wet earth.
31. The deep is boiling like a pot of spices, and the sea like a perfume-vessel.
32. After him his way is shining, so that the deep seems white.
33. On earth there is not another like him, who is made without fear.
34. Everything which is high goes in fear of him; he is king over all the sons of pride.

Job 42 / Basic English

1. And Job said in answer to the Lord,
2. I see that you are able to do every thing, and to give effect to all your designs.
3. Who is this who makes dark the purpose of God by words without knowledge? For I have been talking without knowledge about wonders not to be searched out.
4. Give ear to me, and I will say what is in my mind; I will put questions to you, and you will give me the answers.
5. Word of you had come to my ears, but now my eye has seen you.
6. For this cause I give witness that what I said is false, and in sorrow I take my seat in the dust.
7. And it came about, after he had said these words to Job, that the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, I am very angry with you and your two friends, because you have not said what is right about me, as my servant Job has.
8. And now, take seven oxen and seven sheep, and go to my servant Job, and give a burned offering for yourselves, and my servant Job will make prayer for you, that I may not send punishment on you; because you have not said what is right about me, as my servant Job has.
9. And Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite, went and did as the Lord had said. And the Lord gave ear to Job.
10. And the Lord made up to Job for all his losses, after he had made prayer for his friends: and all Job had before was increased by the Lord twice as much.
11. And all his brothers and sisters, and his friends of earlier days, came and took food with him in his house; and made clear their grief for him, and gave him comfort for all the evil which the Lord had sent on him; and they all gave him a bit of money and a gold ring.
12. And the Lord's blessing was greater on the end of Job's life than on its start: and so he came to have fourteen thousand sheep and goats, and six thousand camels, and two thousand oxen, and a thousand she-asses.
13. And he had seven sons and three daughters.
14. And he gave the first the name of Jemimah, the second Keziah, and the third Keren-happuch;
15. And there were no women so beautiful as the daughters of Job in all the earth: and their father gave them a heritage among their brothers.
16. And after this Job had a hundred and forty years of life, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, even four generations.
17. And Job came to his end, old and full of days.

1 Corinthians 3 / Basic English

1. And the teaching I gave you, my brothers, was such as I was able to give, not to those who have the Spirit, but to those who are still in the flesh, even to children in Christ.
2. I gave you milk and not meat, because you were, then, unable to take it, and even now you are not able;
3. Because you are still in the flesh: for when there is envy and division among you, are you not still walking after the way of the flesh, even as natural men?
4. For when one says, I am of Paul; and another says, I am of Apollos; are you not talking like natural men?
5. What then is Apollos? and what is Paul? They are but servants who gave you the good news as God gave it to them.
6. I did the planting, Apollos did the watering, but God gave the increase.
7. So then the planter is nothing, and the waterer is nothing; but God who gives the increase.
8. Now the planter and the waterer are working for the same end: but they will have their separate rewards in the measure of their work.
9. For we are workers with God: you are God's planting, God's building.
10. In the measure of the grace given to me, I, as a wise master-builder, have put the base in position, and another goes on building on it. But let every man take care what he puts on it.
11. For there is no other base for the building but that which has been put down, which is Jesus Christ.
12. But on the base a man may put gold, silver, stones of great price, wood, dry grass, cut stems;
13. Every man's work will be made clear in that day, because it will be tested by fire; and the fire itself will make clear the quality of every man's work.
14. If any man's work comes through the test, he will have a reward.
15. If the fire puts an end to any man's work, it will be his loss: but he will get salvation himself, though as by fire.
16. Do you not see that you are God's holy house, and that the Spirit of God has his place in you?
17. If anyone makes the house of God unclean, God will put an end to him; for the house of God is holy, and you are his house.
18. Let no man have a false idea. If any man seems to himself to be wise among you, let him become foolish, so that he may be wise.
19. For the wisdom of this world is foolish before God. As it is said in the holy Writings, He who takes the wise in their secret designs:
20. And again, The Lord has knowledge of the reasonings of the wise, that they are nothing.
21. So let no one take pride in men. For all things are yours;
22. Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours;
23. And you are Christ's; and Christ is God's.