Basic English Version : Read the Bible in 1 Year

Jeremiah 15 / Basic English

1. Then the Lord said to me, Even if Moses and Samuel came before me, I would have no desire for this people: send them away from before me, and let them go.
2. And it will be, when they say to you, Where are we to go? then you are to say to them, The Lord has said, Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are to be in need of food, to need of food; and such as are to be taken away prisoners, to be taken away.
3. And I will put over them four divisions, says the Lord: the sword causing death, dogs pulling the dead bodies about, and the birds of heaven, and the beasts of the earth to take their bodies for food and put an end to them.
4. And I will make them a cause of fear to all the kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, and what he did in Jerusalem.
5. For who will have pity on you, O Jerusalem? and who will have sorrow for you? or who will go out of his way to see how you are?
6. You have given me up, says the Lord, you have gone back: so my hand is stretched out against you for your destruction; I am tired of changing my purpose.
7. And I have sent a cleaning wind on them in the public places of the land; I have taken their children from them; I have given my people to destruction; they have not been turned from their ways.
8. I have let their widows be increased in number more than the sand of the seas: I have sent against them, against the mother and the young men, one who makes waste in the heat of the day, causing pain and fears to come on her suddenly.
9. The mother of seven is without strength; her spirit is gone from her, her sun has gone down while it is still day: she has been shamed and overcome: and the rest of them I will give up to the sword before their haters, says the Lord.
10. Sorrow is mine, my mother, because you have given birth to me, a cause of fighting and argument in all the earth! I have not made men my creditors and I am not in debt to any, but every one of them is cursing me.
11. ...
12. Is it possible for iron to be broken; even iron from the north, and brass?
13. I will give your wealth and your stores to your attackers, without a price, because of all your sins, even in every part of your land.
14. They will go away with your haters into a land which is strange to you: for my wrath is on fire with a flame which will be burning on you.
15. O Lord, you have knowledge: keep me in mind and come to my help, and give their right reward to those who are attacking me; take me not away, for you are slow to be angry: see how I have undergone shame because of you from all those who make little of your word;
16. But to me your word is a joy, making my heart glad; for I am named by your name, O Lord God of armies.
17. I did not take my seat among the band of those who are glad, and I had no joy; I kept by myself because of your hand; for you have made me full of wrath.
18. Why is my pain unending and my wound without hope of being made well? Sorrow is mine, for you are to me as a stream offering false hope and as waters which are not certain.
19. For this cause the Lord has said, If you will come back, then I will again let you take your place before me; and if you give out what is of value and not that which has no value, you will be as my mouth: let them come back to you, but do not go back to them.
20. And I will make you a strong wall of brass to this people; they will be fighting against you, but they will not overcome you: for I am with you to keep you safe, says the Lord.
21. I will keep you safe from the hands of the evil-doers, and I will give you salvation from the hands of the cruel ones.

Jeremiah 16 / Basic English

1. Then again the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
2. You are not to take a wife for yourself or have sons or daughters in this place.
3. For this is what the Lord has said about the sons and daughters who come to birth in this place, and about their mothers who have given them birth, and about their fathers who have given life to them in this land:
4. Death from evil diseases will overtake them; there will be no weeping for them and their bodies will not be put to rest; they will be like waste on the face of the earth: the sword and need of food will put an end to them; their dead bodies will be meat for the birds of heaven and for the beasts of the earth.
5. For this is what the Lord has said: Do not go into the house of sorrow, do not go to make weeping or songs of grief for them: for I have taken away my peace from this people, says the Lord, even mercy and pity.
6. Death will overtake great as well as small in the land: their bodies will not be put in a resting-place, and no one will be weeping for them or wounding themselves or cutting off their hair for them:
7. No one will make a feast for them in sorrow, to give them comfort for the dead, or put to their lips the cup of comfort on account of their father or their mother.
8. And you are not to go into the house of feasting, or be seated with them to take food or drink.
9. For the Lord of armies, the God of Israel, has said, See, before your eyes and in your days I will put an end in this place to the laughing voices and the voice of joy; to the voice of the newly-married man and the voice of the bride.
10. And it will be, that when you say all these words to the people, then they will say to you, Why has the Lord done all this evil against us? what is our wrongdoing and what is our sin which we have done against the Lord our God?
11. Then you will say to them, Because your fathers have given me up, says the Lord, and have gone after other gods and become their servants and their worshippers, and have given me up and have not kept my law;
12. And you have done worse evil than your fathers; for see, every one of you is guided by the pride of his evil heart, so as not to give ear to me:
13. For this reason I will send you away out of this land into a land which is strange to you, to you and to your fathers; there you will be the servants of other gods day and night, and you will have no mercy from me.
14. For this cause, see, the days are coming, says the Lord, when it will no longer be said, By the living Lord, who took the children of Israel up out of the land of Egypt.
15. But, By the living Lord, who took the children of Israel up out of the land of the north, and from all the countries where he had sent them: and I will take them back again to their land which I gave to their fathers.
16. See, I will send for great numbers of fishermen, says the Lord, and they will take them like fish in a net; and after that, I will send for numbers of bowmen, and they will go after them, driving them from every mountain and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks.
17. For my eyes are on all their ways: there is no cover for them from my face, and their evil-doing is not kept secret from my eyes.
18. And I will give them the reward of their evil-doing and their sin twice over; because they have made my land unclean, and have made my heritage full of the bodies of their unholy and disgusting things.
19. O Lord, my strength and my strong tower, my safe place in the day of trouble, the nations will come to you from the ends of the earth, and say, The heritage of our fathers is nothing but deceit, even false things in which there is no profit.
20. Will a man make for himself gods which are no gods?
21. For this reason, truly, I will make them see, this once I will give them knowledge of my hand and my power; and they will be certain that my name is the Lord.

Philippians 4 / Basic English

1. So my brothers, well loved and very dear to me, my joy and crown, be strong in the Lord, my loved ones.
2. I make request to Euodias and Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord.
3. And I make request to you, true helper in my work, to see to the needs of those women who took part with me in the good news, with Clement and the rest of my brother-workers whose names are in the book of life.
4. Be glad in the Lord at all times: again I say, Be glad.
5. Let your gentle behaviour be clear to all men. The Lord is near.
6. Have no cares; but in everything with prayer and praise put your requests before God.
7. And the peace of God, which is deeper than all knowledge, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
8. For the rest, my brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things have honour, whatever things are upright, whatever things are holy, whatever things are beautiful, whatever things are of value, if there is any virtue and if there is any praise, give thought to these things.
9. The things which came to you by my teaching and preaching, and which you saw in me, these things do, and the God of peace will be with you.
10. But I am very glad in the Lord that your care for me has come to life again; though you did in fact take thought for me, but you were not able to give effect to it.
11. But I will not say anything about my needs, for I am able, wherever I am, to be dependent on myself.
12. It is the same to me if I am looked down on or honoured; everywhere and in all things I have the secret of how to be full and how to go without food; how to have wealth and how to be in need.
13. I am able to do all things through him who gives me strength.
14. But you did well to have care for me in my need.
15. And you have knowledge, Philippians, that when the good news first came to you, when I went away from Macedonia, no church took part with me in the business of giving to the saints, but you only;
16. Because even in Thessalonica you sent once and again to me in my need.
17. Not that I am looking for an offering, but for fruit which may be put to your credit.
18. I have all things and more than enough: I am made full, having had from Epaphroditus the things which came from you, a perfume of a sweet smell, an offering well pleasing to God.
19. And my God will give you all you have need of from the wealth of his glory in Christ Jesus.
20. Now to God our Father be glory for ever and ever. So be it.
21. Give words of love to every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me send you their love.
22. All the saints send their love to you, specially those who are of Caesar's house.
23. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.