Basic English Version : Read the Bible in 1 Year

Jeremiah 11 / Basic English

1. The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,
2. Give ear to the words of this agreement, and say to the men of Judah and to the people of Jerusalem,
3. The Lord, the God of Israel, has said, Let that man be cursed who does not give ear to the words of this agreement,
4. To the order which I gave your fathers on the day when I took them out of the land of Egypt, out of the oven of iron, saying, Give ear to my voice, and do all the orders I have given you: so you will be my people, and I will be your God:
5. So that I may give effect to the oath which I made to your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey as at this day. And I said in answer, So be it, O Lord.
6. And the Lord said to me, Give out these words in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, Give ear to the words of this agreement and do them.
7. For I gave certain witness to your fathers on the day when I took them up out of the land of Egypt, and even to this day, getting up early and witnessing and saying, Give ear to my voice.
8. But they gave no attention and did not give ear, but they went on, every man in the pride of his evil heart: so I sent on them all the curses in this agreement, which I gave them orders to keep, but they did not.
9. And the Lord said to me, There is an evil design at work among the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem.
10. They are turned back to the sins of their fathers, who would not give ear to my words; they have gone after other gods and become their servants: the people of Israel and the people of Judah have not kept the agreement which I made with their fathers.
11. So the Lord has said, I will send evil on them, which they will not be able to get away from; and they will send up a cry for help to me, but I will not give ear to them.
12. Then the towns of Judah and the people of Jerusalem will go crying for help to the gods to whom they have been burning perfumes: but they will give them no salvation in the time of their trouble.
13. For the number of your gods is as the number of your towns, O Judah; and for every street in Jerusalem you have put up altars to the Baal for burning perfumes to the Baal.
14. And as for you, make no prayers for this people, send up no cry or prayer for them: for I will not give ear to their cry in the time of their trouble.
15. About Judah. What have you to do in my house? is it your thought that oaths and holy flesh will get you out of your trouble? will you make yourself safe in this way?
16. You had been named by the Lord, A branching olive-tree, fair with beautiful fruit: with the noise of a great rushing he has put it on fire and its branches are broken.
17. For the Lord of armies, by whom you were planted, has given his decision for evil against you, because of the evil which the people of Israel and the people of Judah have done, In moving me to wrath by offering perfumes to the Baal.
18. And the Lord gave me knowledge of it and I saw it: then you made clear to me their doings.
19. But I was like a gentle lamb taken to be put to death; I had no thought that they were designing evil against me, saying, Come and let us make trouble his food, cutting him off from the land of the living, so that there may be no more memory of his name.
20. But, O Lord of armies, judging in righteousness, testing the thoughts and the heart, let me see your punishment come on them: for I have put my cause before you.
21. So this is what the Lord of armies has said about the men of Anathoth who have made designs against your life, saying, You are not to be a prophet in the name of the Lord, or death will overtake you by our hands:
22. So the Lord of armies has said, See, I will send punishment on them: the young men will be put to the sword; their sons and their daughters will come to death through need of food:
23. Not one of them will keep his life, for I will send evil on the men of Anathoth in the year of their punishment.

Jeremiah 12 / Basic English

1. You are in the right, O Lord, when I put my cause before you: still let me take up with you the question of your decisions: why does the evil-doer do well? why are the workers of deceit living in comfort?
2. They have been planted by you, they have taken root; they go on and give fruit: you are near in their mouths but far from their thoughts.
3. But you, O Lord, have knowledge of me; you see me, searching and testing how my heart is with you: let them be pulled out like sheep to be put to death, make them ready for the day of death.
4. How long will the land have grief, and the plants of all the land be dry? because of the sins of the people living in it, destruction has overtaken the beasts and the birds; because they said, God does not see our ways.
5. If running with the fighting-men has made you tired, how will you be able to keep up with horses? and if in a land of peace you go in flight, what will become of you in the thick growth of Jordan?
6. For even your brothers, your father's family, even they have been untrue to you, crying loudly after you: have no faith in them, though they say fair words to you.
7. I have given up my house, I have let my heritage go; I have given the loved one of my soul into the hands of her haters.
8. My heritage has become like a lion in the woodland to me; her voice has been loud against me; so I have hate for her.
9. My heritage is like a brightly coloured bird to me; the cruel birds are attacking her on every side: go, get together all the beasts of the field, make them come for destruction.
10. The keepers of sheep have been the destruction of my vine-garden, crushing my heritage under their feet; they have made my fair heritage an unplanted waste;
11. They have made it waste; it is weeping to me, being wasted; all the land is made waste, because no man takes it to heart.
12. Those who make waste have come on all the open hilltops in the waste land; for the sword of the Lord sends destruction from one end of the land to the other end of the land: no flesh has peace.
13. Though good grain was planted, they have got in thorns: they have given themselves pain without profit: they will be shamed on account of their produce, because of the burning wrath of the Lord.
14. This is what the Lord has said against all my evil neighbours, who put their hands on the heritage which I gave my people Israel: See, I will have them uprooted from their land, uprooting the people of Judah from among them.
15. And it will come about that, after they have been uprooted, I will again have pity on them; and I will take them back, every man to his heritage and every man to his land.
16. And it will be that, if they give their minds to learning the ways of my people, using my name in their oaths, By the living Lord; as they have been teaching my people to take oaths by the Baal; then their place will be made certain among my people.
17. But if they will not give ear, then I will have that nation uprooted, and given to destruction, says the Lord.

Philippians 2 / Basic English

1. If then there is any comfort in Christ, any help given by love, any uniting of hearts in the Spirit, any loving mercies and pity,
2. Make my joy complete by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in harmony and of one mind;
3. Doing nothing through envy or through pride, but with low thoughts of self let everyone take others to be better than himself;
4. Not looking everyone to his private good, but keeping in mind the things of others.
5. Let this mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus,
6. To whom, though himself in the form of God, it did not seem that to take for oneself was to be like God;
7. But he made himself as nothing, taking the form of a servant, being made like men;
8. And being seen in form as a man, he took the lowest place, and let himself be put to death, even the death of the cross.
9. For this reason God has put him in the highest place and has given to him the name which is greater than every name;
10. So that at the name of Jesus every knee may be bent, of those in heaven and those on earth and those in the underworld,
11. And that every tongue may give witness that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
12. So then, my loved ones, as you have at all times done what I say, not only when I am present, but now much more when I am not with you, give yourselves to working out your salvation with fear in your hearts;
13. For it is God who is the cause of your desires and of your acts, for his good pleasure.
14. Do all things without protests and arguments;
15. So that you may be holy and gentle, children of God without sin in a twisted and foolish generation, among whom you are seen as lights in the world,
16. Offering the word of life; so that I may have glory in you in the day of Christ, because my running was not for nothing and my work was not without effect.
17. And even if I am offered like a drink offering, giving myself for the cause and work of your faith, I am glad and have joy with you all:
18. And in the same way do you be glad and have a part in my joy.
19. But I am hoping in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you before long, so that I may be comforted when I have news of you.
20. For I have no man of like mind who will truly have care for you.
21. For they all go after what is theirs, not after the things of Christ.
22. But his quality is clear to you; how, as a child is to its father, so he was a help to me in the work of the good news.
23. Him then I am hoping to send as quickly as possible, when I am able to see how things will go for me:
24. But I have faith in the Lord that I myself will come before long.
25. But it seemed to me necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, who has taken part with me in the work and in the fight, and your servant, sent by you for help in my need;
26. Because his heart was with you all, and he was greatly troubled because you had news that he was ill:
27. For in fact he was ill almost to death: but God had mercy on him; and not only on him but on me, so that I might not have grief on grief.
28. I have sent him, then, the more gladly, so that when you see him again, you may be happy and I may have the less sorrow.
29. So take him to your hearts in the Lord with all joy, and give honour to such as he is:
30. Because for the work of Christ he was near to death, putting his life in danger to make your care for me complete.