Basic English Version : Read the Bible in 1 Year

Jeremiah 52 / Basic English

1. Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king; he was king for eleven years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
2. And he did evil in the eyes of the Lord, as Jehoiakim had done.
3. And because of the wrath of the Lord this came about in Jerusalem and Judah, till he had sent them away from before him: and Zedekiah took up arms against the king of Babylon.
4. And in the ninth year of his rule, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, came against Jerusalem with all his army and took up his position before it, building earthworks all round it.
5. So the town was shut in by their forces till the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.
6. In the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, the store of food in the town was almost gone, so that there was no food for the people of the land.
7. Then an opening was made in the wall of the town, and all the men of war went in flight out of the town by night through the doorway between the two walls which was by the king's garden; (now the Chaldaeans were stationed round the town:) and they went by the way of the Arabah.
8. And the Chaldaean army went after King Zedekiah and overtook him on the other side of Jericho, and all his army went in flight from him in every direction.
9. Then they made the king a prisoner and took him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath to be judged.
10. And the king of Babylon put the sons of Zedekiah to death before his eyes: and he put to death all the rulers of Judah in Riblah.
11. And he put out Zedekiah's eyes; and the king of Babylon, chaining him in iron bands, took him to Babylon, and put him in prison till the day of his death.
12. Now in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, in the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the armed men, a servant of the king of Babylon, came into Jerusalem.
13. And he had the house of the Lord and the king's house and all the houses of Jerusalem, even every great house, burned with fire:
14. And the walls round Jerusalem were broken down by the Chaldaean army which was with the captain.
15. Then Nebuzaradan, the captain of the armed men, took away as prisoners the rest of the people who were still in the town, and those who had given themselves up to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the workmen.
16. But Nebuzaradan, the captain of the armed men, let the poorest of the land go on living there, to take care of the vines and the fields.
17. And the brass pillars which were in the house of the Lord, and the wheeled bases and the great brass water-vessel in the house of the Lord, were broken up by the Chaldaeans, who took all the brass away to Babylon.
18. And the pots and the spades and the scissors for the lights and the spoons, and all the brass vessels used in the Lord's house, they took away.
19. And the cups and the fire-trays and the basins and the pots and the supports for the lights and the spoons and the wide basins; the gold of the gold vessels, and the silver of the silver vessels, the captain of the armed men took away.
20. The two pillars, the great water-vessel, and the twelve brass oxen which were under it, and the ten wheeled bases, which King Solomon had made for the house of the Lord: the brass of all these vessels was without weight.
21. And as for the pillars, one pillar was eighteen cubits high, and twelve cubits measured all round, and it was as thick as a man's hand: it was hollow.
22. And there was a crown of brass on it: the crown was five cubits high, circled with a network and apples all of brass; and the second pillar had the same.
23. There were ninety-six apples on the outside; the number of apples all round the network was a hundred.
24. And the captain of the armed men took Seraiah, the chief priest, and Zephaniah, the second priest, and the three door-keepers;
25. And from the town he took the unsexed servant who was over the men of war, and seven of the king's near friends who were in the town, and the scribe of the captain of the army, who was responsible for getting the people of the land together in military order, and sixty men of the people of the land who were in the town.
26. These Nebuzaradan, the captain of the armed men, took with him to the king of Babylon at Riblah.
27. And the king of Babylon put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was taken prisoner away from his land.
28. These are the people whom Nebuchadrezzar took away prisoner: in the seventh year, three thousand and twenty-three Jews:
29. And in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar he took away as prisoners from Jerusalem eight hundred and thirty-two persons:
30. In the twenty-third year of Nebuchadrezzar, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the armed men, took away as prisoners seven hundred and forty-five of the Jews: all the persons were four thousand and six hundred.
31. And in the thirty-seventh year after Jehoiachin, king of Judah, had been taken prisoner, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth day of the month, Evil-merodach, king of Babylon, in the first year after he became king, took Jehoiachin, king of Judah, out of prison.
32. And he said kind words to him and put his seat higher than the seats of the other kings who were with him in Babylon.
33. And his prison clothing was changed, and he was a guest at the king's table every day for the rest of his life.
34. And for his food, the king gave him a regular amount every day till the day of his death, for the rest of his life.

Lamentations 1 / Basic English

1. See her seated by herself, the town which was full of people! She who was great among the nations has become like a widow! She who was a princess among the countries has come under the yoke of forced work!
2. She is sorrowing bitterly in the night, and her face is wet with weeping; among all her lovers she has no comforter: all her friends have been false to her, they have become her haters.
3. Judah has been taken away as a prisoner because of trouble and hard work; her living-place is among the nations, there is no rest for her: all her attackers have overtaken her in a narrow place.
4. The ways of Zion are sad, because no one comes to the holy meeting; all her doorways are made waste, her priests are breathing out sorrow: her virgins are troubled, and it is bitter for her.
5. Those who are against her have become the head, everything goes well for her haters; for the Lord has sent sorrow on her because of the great number of her sins: her young children have gone away as prisoners before the attacker.
6. And all her glory has gone from the daughter of Zion: her rulers have become like harts with no place for food, and they have gone in flight without strength before the attacker.
7. Jerusalem keeps in mind, in the days of her sorrow and of her wanderings, all the desired things which were hers in days gone by; when her people came into the power of her hater and she had no helper, her attackers saw their desire effected on her and made sport of her destruction.
8. Great is the sin of Jerusalem; for this cause she has become an unclean thing: all those who gave her honour are looking down on her, because they have seen her shame: now truly, breathing out grief, she is turned back.
9. In her skirts were her unclean ways; she gave no thought to her end; and her fall has been a wonder; she has no comforter: see her sorrow, O Lord; for the attacker is lifted up.
10. The hand of her hater is stretched out over all her desired things; for she has seen that the nations have come into her holy place, about whom you gave orders that they were not to come into the meeting of your people.
11. Breathing out grief all her people are looking for bread; they have given their desired things for food to give them life: see, O Lord, and take note; for she has become a thing of shame.
12. Come to me, all you who go by! Keep your eyes on me, and see if there is any pain like the pain of my wound, which the Lord has sent on me in the day of his burning wrath.
13. From on high he has sent fire into my bones, and it has overcome them: his net is stretched out for my feet, I am turned back by him; he has made me waste and feeble all the day.
14. A watch is kept on my sins; they are joined together by his hand, they have come on to my neck; he has made my strength give way: the Lord has given me up into the hands of those against whom I have no power.
15. The Lord has made sport of all my men of war in me, he has got men together against me to send destruction on my young men: the virgin daughter of Judah has been crushed like grapes under the feet of the Lord.
16. For these things I am weeping; my eye is streaming with water; because the comforter who might give me new life is far from me: my children are made waste, because the hater is strong.
17. Zion's hands are outstretched; she has no comforter; the Lord has given orders to the attackers of Jacob round about him: Jerusalem has become like an unclean thing among them.
18. The Lord is upright; for I have gone against his orders: give ear, now, all you peoples, and see my pain, my virgins and my young men have gone away as prisoners.
19. I sent for my lovers, but they were false to me: my priests and my responsible men were breathing their last breath in the town, while they were looking for food to give them new life.
20. See, O Lord, for I am in trouble; the inmost parts of my body are deeply moved; my heart is turned in me; for I have been uncontrolled: outside the children are put to the sword, and in the house there is death.
21. Give ear to the voice of my grief; I have no comforter; all my haters have news of my troubles, they are glad because you have done it: let the day of fate come when they will be like me.
22. Let all their evil-doing come before you; do to them as you have done to me for all my sins: for loud is the sound of my grief, and the strength of my heart is gone.

1 Timothy 6 / Basic English

1. Let all who are servants under the yoke give all honour to their masters, so that no evil may be said against the name of God and his teaching.
2. And let those whose masters are of the faith have respect for them because they are brothers, working for them the more readily, because those who take part in the good work are of the faith and are dear. Give orders and teaching about these things.
3. If any man gives different teaching, not in agreement with the true words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the teaching which is in agreement with true religion,
4. He has an over-high opinion of himself; being without knowledge, having only an unhealthy love of questionings and wars of words, from which come envy, fighting, cruel words, evil thoughts,
5. Bitter talk of men who, being evil in mind and dead to what is true, take the faith to be a way of making profit.
6. But true faith, with peace of mind, is of great profit:
7. For we came into the world with nothing, and we are not able to take anything out;
8. But if we have food and a roof over us, let that be enough.
9. But those who have a desire for wealth are falling into danger, and are taken as in a net by a number of foolish and damaging desires, through which men are overtaken by death and destruction.
10. For the love of money is a root of all evil: and some whose hearts were fixed on it have been turned away from the faith, and been wounded with unnumbered sorrows.
11. But you, O man of God, keep yourself from these things, and go after righteousness, religion, faith, love, a quiet mind, gentle behaviour.
12. Be fighting the good fight of the faith; take for yourself the life eternal, for which you were marked out, and of which you gave witness in the eyes of all.
13. I give you orders before God, the giver of life, and Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate gave witness to the faith,
14. To keep the word untouched by evil, clear from all shame, till the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ:
15. Which at the right time he will make clear, who is the eternal and only Ruler, King of kings, and Lord of lords;
16. Who only has life for ever, living in light to which no man may come near; whom no man has seen or is able to see: to whom be honour and power for ever. So be it.
17. Give orders to those who have money and goods in this life, not to be lifted up in their minds, or to put their hope in the uncertain chances of wealth, but in God who gives us in full measure all things for our use;
18. And to do good, having wealth in good works, being quick to give, taking part with one another;
19. Making ready for themselves a safe place for the time to come, so that the true life may be theirs.
20. O Timothy, take good care of that which is given to you, turning away from the wrong and foolish talk and arguments of that knowledge which is falsely so named;
21. Through which some, who gave their minds to it, have been turned away from the faith. Grace be with you.