Basic English Version : Read the Bible in 1 Year

Isaiah 7 / Basic English

1. Now it came about in the days of Ahaz, the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin, the king of Aram, and Pekah, the son of Remaliah, the king of Israel, came up to Jerusalem to make war against it, but were not able to overcome it.
2. And word came to the family of David that Aram had put up its tents in Ephraim. And the king's heart, and the hearts of his people, were moved, like the trees of the wood shaking in the wind.
3. Then the Lord said to Isaiah, Go out now, you and Shear-jashub, your son, and you will come across Ahaz at the end of the stream flowing from the higher pool, in the highway of the washerman's field;
4. And say to him, Take care and be quiet; have no fear, and do not let your heart be feeble, because of these two ends of smoking fire-wood, because of the bitter wrath of Rezin and Aram, and of the son of Remaliah.
5. Because Aram has made evil designs against you, saying,
6. Let us go up against Judah, troubling her, and forcing our way into her, and let us put up a king in her, even the son of Tabeel:
7. This is the word of the Lord God: This design will not come about or be effected.
8. For the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin (and in sixty-five years from now Ephraim will be broken, and will no longer be a people):
9. And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son. If you will not have faith, your kingdom will be broken.
10. And Isaiah said again to Ahaz,
11. Make a request to the Lord your God for a sign, a sign in the deep places of the underworld, or in the high heavens.
12. But Ahaz said, I will not put the Lord to the test by making such a request.
13. And he said, Give ear now, O family of David: is it not enough that you are driving men to disgust? will you do the same to my God?
14. For this cause the Lord himself will give you a sign; a young woman is now with child, and she will give birth to a son, and she will give him the name Immanuel.
15. Butter and honey will be his food, when he is old enough to make a decision between evil and good.
16. For before the child is old enough to make a decision between evil and good, the land whose two kings you are now fearing will have become waste.
17. The Lord is about to send on you, and on your people, and on your father's house, such a time of trouble as there has not been from the days of the separating of Ephraim from Judah; even the coming of the king of Assyria.
18. And it will be in that day that the Lord will make a piping sound for the fly which is in the end of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee which is in the land of Assyria.
19. And they will come, covering all the waste valleys, and the holes of the rocks, and the thorns, and all the watering-places.
20. In that day will the Lord take away the hair of the head and of the feet, as well as the hair of the face, with a blade got for a price from the other side of the River; even with the king of Assyria.
21. And it will be in that day that a man will give food to a young cow and two sheep;
22. And they will give so much milk that he will be able to have butter for his food: for butter and honey will be the food of all who are still living in the land.
23. And it will be in that day that in every place where before there were a thousand vines valued at a thousand shekels of silver, there will be nothing but blackberries and thorns.
24. Men will come there with bows and arrows, because all the land will be full of blackberries and thorns.
25. And they will send out the oxen and the sheep on all the hills which before were worked with the spade, ... fear of blackberries and thorns.

Isaiah 8 / Basic English

1. And the Lord said to me, Take a great writing-board, and on it put down in common letters, Maher-shalal-hash-baz;
2. And take true witnesses to the writing, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah, the son of Jeberechiah.
3. And I went in to my wife, and she became with child, and gave birth to a son. Then the Lord said to me, Give him the name Maher-shalal-hash-baz,
4. For before the child is able to say, Father, or, Mother, the wealth of Damascus and the goods of Samaria will be taken away by the king of Assyria.
5. And the Lord said again to me,
6. Because this people will have nothing to do with the softly-flowing waters of Shiloah, and have fear of Rezin and Remaliah's son;
7. For this cause the Lord is sending on them the waters of the River, deep and strong, even the king of Assyria and all his glory: and it will come up through all its streams, overflowing all its edges:
8. And it will come on into Judah; rushing on and overflowing, till the waters are up to the neck; *** and his outstretched wings will be covering the land from side to side: for God is with us.
9. Have knowledge, O peoples, and be in fear; give ear, all you far-off parts of the earth:
10. Let your designs be formed, and they will come to nothing; give your orders, and they will not be effected: for God is with us.
11. For the Lord, controlling me with a strong hand, gave me orders not to go in the way of this people, saying,
12. Do not say, It is holy, about everything of which this people says, It is holy; and do not be in fear of what they go in fear of.
13. But let the Lord of armies be holy to you, and go in fear of him, giving honour to him.
14. And he will be for a holy place: but for a stone of falling and a rock of trouble to the two houses of Israel, and to the men of Jerusalem, for a net in which they may be taken.
15. And numbers of them, falling on the stone, will be broken, and will be taken in the net.
16. Let my teaching be kept secret: and my words be given to my disciples only.
17. And I will be waiting for the Lord, whose face is veiled from the house of Jacob, and I will be looking for him.
18. See, I and the children whom the Lord has given me, are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the Lord of armies, whose resting-place is in Mount Zion.
19. And when they say to you, Make request for us to those who have control of spirits, and to those wise in secret arts, who make hollow bird-like sounds; is it not right for a people to make request to their gods, to make request for the living to the dead?
20. Then say to them, Put your faith in the teaching and the witness. ... If they do not say such things. ... For him there is no dawn. ...
21. And he will go through the land in bitter trouble and in need of food; and when he is unable to get food, he will become angry, cursing his king and his God, and his eyes will be turned to heaven on high;
22. And he will be looking down on the earth, and there will be trouble and dark clouds, black night where there is no seeing.

1 Corinthians 14 / Basic English

1. Go after love; still desiring to have the things which the Spirit gives, but most of all that you may have the prophet's power.
2. For he who makes use of tongues is not talking to men but to God; because no one has the sense of what he is saying; but in the Spirit he is talking of secret things.
3. But the word of the prophet gives men knowledge and comfort and strength.
4. He who makes use of tongues may do good to himself; but he who gives the prophet's word does good to the church.
5. Now though it is my desire for you all to have the power of tongues, it would give me more pleasure to be hearing the prophet's word from you; for this is a greater thing than using tongues, if the sense is not given at the same time, for the good of the church.
6. But, now, my brothers, if I come to you using tongues, what profit will it be to you, if I do not give you a revelation, or knowledge, or the word of the prophet, or teaching?
7. Even things without life, having a voice, such as a music-pipe or other instrument, if they do not give out different sounds, who may be certain what is being played?
8. For if the war-horn gives out an uncertain note, who will get ready for the fight?
9. So if you, in using a strange tongue, say words which have no sense, how will anyone take in what you are saying? for you will be talking to the air.
10. There are, it may be, a number of different voices in the world, and no voice is without sense.
11. But if the sense of the voice is not clear to me, I am like a man from a strange country to him who is talking, and he will be the same to me.
12. So if you are desiring the things which the Spirit gives, let your minds be turned first to the things which are for the good of the church.
13. For this reason, let the man who has the power of using tongues make request that he may, at the same time, be able to give the sense.
14. For if I make use of tongues in my prayers, my spirit makes the prayer, but not my mind.
15. What then? let my prayer be from the spirit, and equally from the mind; let my song be from the spirit, and equally from mind.
16. For if you give a blessing with the spirit, how will the man who has no knowledge say, So be it, after your prayer, seeing that he has not taken in what you are saying?
17. For your giving of the blessing is certainly well done, but of no profit to the man without knowledge.
18. I give praise to God that I am able to make use of tongues more than you all:
19. But in the church it would be better for me to make use of five words of which the sense was clear, so that others might have profit, than ten thousand words in a strange tongue.
20. My brothers, do not be children in mind: in evil be as little children, but in mind be of full growth.
21. In the law it is said, By men of other tongues and by strange lips will my words come to this people; and not even so will they give ear to me, says the Lord.
22. For this reason tongues are for a sign, not to those who have faith, but to those who have not: but the prophet's word is for those who have faith, and not for the rest who have not.
23. If, then, the church has come together, and all are using tongues, and there come in men without knowledge or faith, will they not say that you are unbalanced?
24. But if all are teaching as prophets, and a man without faith or knowledge comes in, he is tested by all, he is judged by all;
25. The secrets of his heart are made clear; and he will go down on his face and give worship to God, saying that God is truly among you.
26. What is it then, my brothers? when you come together everyone has a holy song, or a revelation, or a tongue, or is giving the sense of it. Let everything be done for the common good.
27. If any man makes use of a tongue, let it not be more than two, or at the most three, and in turn; and let someone give the sense:
28. But if there is no one to give the sense, let him keep quiet in the church; and let his words be to himself and to God.
29. And let the prophets give their words, but not more than two or three, and let the others be judges of what they say.
30. But if a revelation is given to another who is seated near, let the first be quiet.
31. For you may all be prophets in turn so that all may get knowledge and comfort;
32. And the spirits of the prophets are controlled by the prophets;
33. For God is not a God whose ways are without order, but a God of peace; as in all the churches of the saints.
34. Let women keep quiet in the churches: for it is not right for them to be talking; but let them be under control, as it says in the law.
35. And if they have a desire for knowledge about anything, let them put questions to their husbands privately: for talking in the church puts shame on a woman.
36. What? was it from you that the word of God went out? or did it only come in to you?
37. If any man seems to himself to be a prophet or to have the Spirit, let him take note of the things which I am writing to you, as being the word of the Lord.
38. But if any man is without knowledge, let him be so.
39. So then, my brothers, let it be your chief desire to be prophets; but let no one be stopped from using tongues.
40. Let all things be done in the right and ordered way.