Basic English Version : Read the Bible in 1 Year

Isaiah 2 / Basic English

1. The word which Isaiah, the son of Amoz, saw about Judah and Jerusalem.
2. And it will come about in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord will be placed on the top of the mountains, and be lifted up over the hills; and all nations will come to it.
3. And the peoples will say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob: and he will give us knowledge of his ways, and we will be guided by his word; for out of Zion the law will go out, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4. And he will be the judge between the nations, and the peoples will be ruled by his decisions: and their swords will be turned into plough-blades, and their spears into vine-knives: no longer will the nations be turning their swords against one another, and the knowledge of war will be gone for ever.
5. O family of Jacob, come, and let us go in the light of the Lord.
6. For you, O Lord, have given up your people, the family of Jacob, because they are full of the evil ways of the east, and make use of secret arts like the Philistines, and are friends with the children of strange countries.
7. And their land is full of silver and gold, and there is no end to their stores; their land is full of horses, and there is no end to their carriages.
8. Their land is full of images; they give worship to the work of their hands, even to that which their fingers have made.
9. And the poor man's head is bent, and the great man goes down on his face: for this cause there will be no forgiveness for their sin.
10. Go into a hole in the rock, covering yourselves with dust, in fear of the Lord, before the glory of his power.
11. The high looks of man will be put to shame, and the pride of men will be made low, and only the Lord will be lifted up in that day.
12. For the day of the Lord of armies is coming on all the pride of men, and on all who are high and lifted up;
13. And on all the high trees of Lebanon, and on all the strong trees of Bashan;
14. And on all the high mountains, and on all the hills which are lifted up;
15. And on every high tower, and on every strong wall;
16. And on all the ships of Tarshish, and on all the fair boats.
17. And the high looks of man will be put to shame, and the pride of men will be made low: and only the Lord will be lifted up in that day.
18. And the images will never be seen again.
19. And men will go into cracks of the rocks, and into holes of the earth, for fear of the Lord, and before the glory of his power, when he comes out of his place, shaking the earth with his strength.
20. In that day men will put their images of silver and of gold, which they made for worship, in the keeping of the beasts of the dark places;
21. To take cover in the cracks of the rocks, and in the holes of the hills, for fear of the Lord, and before the glory of his power, when he comes out of his place, shaking the earth with his strength.
22. Have no more to do with man, whose life is only a breath, for he is of no value.

Isaiah 3 / Basic English

1. For the Lord, the Lord of armies, is about to take away from Jerusalem and from Judah all their support; their store of bread and of water;
2. The strong man and the man of war; the judge and the prophet; the man who has knowledge of secret arts, and the man who is wise because of his years;
3. The captain of fifty, and the man of high position, and the wise guide, and the wonder-worker, and he who makes use of secret powers.
4. And I will make children their chiefs, and foolish ones will have rule over them.
5. And the people will be crushed, every one by his neighbour; the young will be full of pride against the old, and those of low position will be lifted up against the noble.
6. When one man puts his hand on another in his father's house, and says, You have clothing, be our ruler and be responsible for us in our sad condition:
7. Then he will say with an oath, I will not be a helper, for in my house there is no bread or clothing: I will not let you make me a ruler of the people.
8. For Jerusalem has become feeble, and destruction has come on Judah, because their words and their acts are against the Lord, moving the eyes of his glory to wrath.
9. Their respect for a man's position is a witness against them; and their sin is open to the view of all; like that of Sodom, it is not covered. A curse on their soul! for the measure of their sin is full.
10. Happy is the upright man! for he will have joy of the fruit of his ways.
11. Unhappy is the sinner! for the reward of his evil doings will come on him.
12. As for my people, their ruler is acting like a child, and those who have authority over them are women. O my people, your guides are the cause of your wandering, turning your footsteps out of the right way.
13. The Lord is ready to take up his cause against his people, and is about to come forward as their judge.
14. The Lord comes to be the judge of their responsible men and of their rulers: it is you who have made waste the vine-garden, and in your houses is the property of the poor which you have taken by force.
15. By what right are you crushing my people, and putting a bitter yoke on the necks of the poor? This is the word of the Lord, the Lord of armies.
16. Again, the Lord has said, Because the daughters of Zion are full of pride, and go with outstretched necks and wandering eyes, with their foot-chains sounding when they go:
17. The Lord will send disease on the heads of the daughters of Zion, and the Lord will let their secret parts be seen.
18. In that day the Lord will take away the glory of their foot-rings, and their sun-jewels, and their moon-ornaments,
19. The ear-rings, and the chains, and the delicate clothing,
20. The head-bands, and the arm-chains, and the worked bands, and the perfume-boxes, and the jewels with secret powers,
21. The rings, and the nose-jewels,
22. The feast-day dresses, and the robes, and the wide skirts, and the handbags,
23. The looking-glasses, and the fair linen, and the high head-dresses, and the veils.
24. And in the place of sweet spices will be an evil smell, and for a fair band a thick cord; for a well-dressed head there will be the cutting-off of the hair, and for a beautiful robe there will be the clothing of sorrow; the mark of the prisoner in place of the ornaments of the free.
25. Your men will be put to the sword, and your men of war will come to destruction in the fight.
26. And in the public places of her towns will be sorrow and weeping; and she will be seated on the earth, waste and uncovered.

1 Corinthians 12 / Basic English

1. But about the things of the spirit, my brothers, it is not right for you to be without teaching.
2. You are conscious that when you were Gentiles, in whatever way you were guided, you went after images without voice or power.
3. So it is my desire for you to be clear about this; that no one is able to say by the Spirit of God that Jesus is cursed; and no one is able to say that Jesus is Lord, but by the Holy Spirit.
4. Now there are different qualities given to men, but the same Spirit.
5. And there are different sorts of servants, but the same Lord.
6. And there are different operations, but the same God, who is working all things in all.
7. But to every man some form of the Spirit's working is given for the common good.
8. For to one are given words of wisdom through the Spirit; and to another words of knowledge through the same Spirit:
9. To another faith in the same Spirit; and to another the power of taking away disease, by the one Spirit;
10. And to another the power of working wonders; and to another the prophet's word; and to another the power of testing spirits; to another different sorts of tongues; and to another the power of making clear the sense of the tongues:
11. But all these are the operations of the one and the same Spirit, giving to every man separately as his pleasure is.
12. For as the body is one, and has a number of parts, and all the parts make one body, so is Christ.
13. For through the baptism of the one Spirit we were all formed into one body, Jews or Greeks, servants or free men, and were all made full of the same Spirit.
14. For the body is not one part, but a number of parts.
15. If the foot says, Because I am not the hand, I am not a part of the body; it is no less a part of the body.
16. And if the ear says, Because I am not the eye, I am not a part of the body; it is a part of the body all the same.
17. If all the body was an eye, where would be the hearing? if all was hearing, where would be the smelling?
18. But now God has put every one of the parts in the body as it was pleasing to him.
19. And if they were all one part, where would the body be?
20. But now they are all different parts, but one body.
21. And the eye may not say to the hand, I have no need of you: or again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.
22. No, those parts which seem to be feeble are the more necessary;
23. And to those parts of the body which seem to have less honour we give all the more honour; and to those parts of the body which are a cause of shame to us we give the greater respect;
24. But those parts of the body which are beautiful have no need of such care: and so the body has been joined together by God in such a way as to give more honour to those parts which had need of it;
25. So that there might be no division in the body; but all the parts might have the same care for one another.
26. And if there is pain in one part of the body, all the parts will be feeling it; or if one part is honoured, all the parts will be glad.
27. Now you are the body of Christ, and every one of you the separate parts of it.
28. And God has put some in the church, first, Apostles; second, prophets; third, teachers; then those with wonder-working powers, then those with the power of taking away disease, helpers, wise guides, users of strange tongues.
29. Are all Apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? have all the power of working wonders?
30. Are all able to take away disease? have all the power of tongues? are all able to give their sense?
31. But let your desires be turned to the more important things given by the Spirit. And now I am pointing out to you an even better way.