Basic English Version : Read the Bible in 1 Year

Ezekiel 17 / Basic English

1. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
2. Son of man, give out a dark saying, and make a comparison for the children of Israel,
3. And say, This is what the Lord has said: A great eagle with great wings, full of long feathers of different colours, came to Lebanon, and took the top of the cedar:
4. Biting off the highest of its young branches, he took it to the land of Canaan, and put it in a town of traders.
5. And he took some of the seed of the land, planting it in fertile earth, placing it by great waters; he put it in like a willow-tree.
6. And its growth went on and it became a vine, low and widely stretching, whose branches were turned to him and its roots were under him: so it became a vine, putting out branches and young leaves.
7. And there was another eagle with great wings and thick feathers: and now this vine, pushing out its roots to him, sent out its branches in his direction from the bed where it was planted, so that he might give it water.
8. He had it planted in a good field by great waters so that it might put out branches and have fruit and be a strong vine.
9. Say, This is what the Lord has said: Will it do well? will he not have its roots pulled up and its branches cut off, so that all its young leaves may become dry and it may be pulled up by its roots?
10. And if it is planted will it do well? will it not become quite dry at the touch of the east wind, drying up in the bed where it was planted?
11. Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
12. Say now to this uncontrolled people, Are these things not clear to you? Say to them, See, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and took its king and its rulers away with him to Babylon;
13. And he took one of the sons of the king and made an agreement with him; and he put him under an oath, and took away the great men of the land:
14. So that the kingdom might be made low with no power of lifting itself up, but might keep his agreement to be his servants.
15. But he went against his authority in sending representatives to Egypt to get from them horses and a great army. Will he do well? will he be safe who does such things? if the agreement is broken will he be safe?
16. By my life, says the Lord, truly in the place of the king who made him king, whose oath he put on one side and let his agreement with him be broken, even in Babylon he will come to his death.
17. And Pharaoh with his strong army and great forces will be no help to him in the war, when they put up earthworks and make strong walls for the cutting off of lives:
18. For he put his oath on one side in letting the agreement be broken; and though he had given his hand to it, he did all these things; he will not get away safe.
19. And so the Lord has said, By my life, truly, for my oath which he put on one side, and my agreement which has been broken, I will send punishment on his head.
20. My net will be stretched out over him, and he will be taken in my cords, and I will send him to Babylon, and there I will be his judge for the wrong which he has done against me.
21. All his best fighting-men will be put to the sword, and the rest will be sent away to every wind: and you will be certain that I the Lord have said it.
22. This is what the Lord has said: Further, I will take the highest top of the cedar and put it in the earth; cutting off from the highest of his young branches a soft one, I will have it planted on a high and great mountain;
23. It will be planted on the high mountain of Israel: it will put out branches and have fruit and be a fair cedar: under it all birds of every sort will make their living-place, resting in the shade of its branches.
24. And it will be clear to all the trees of the field that I the Lord have made low the high tree and made high the low tree, drying up the green tree and making the dry tree full of growth; I the Lord have said it and have done it.

Ezekiel 18 / Basic English

1. The word of the Lord came to me again, saying,
2. Why do you make use of this saying about the land of Israel, The fathers have been tasting bitter grapes and the children's teeth are on edge?
3. By my life, says the Lord, you will no longer have this saying in Israel.
4. See, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so the soul of the son is mine: death will be the fate of the sinner's soul.
5. But if a man is upright, living rightly and doing righteousness,
6. And has not taken flesh with the blood for food, or given worship to the images of the children of Israel; if he has not had connection with his neighbour's wife, or come near to a woman at the time when she is unclean;
7. And has done no wrong to any, but has given back to the debtor what is his, and has taken no one's goods by force, and has given food to him who was in need of it, and clothing to him who was without it;
8. And has not given his money out at interest or taken great profits, and, turning his hand from evil-doing, has kept faith between man and man,
9. And has been guided by my rules and has kept my laws and done them: he is upright, life will certainly be his, says the Lord.
10. If he has a son who is a thief, a taker of life, who does any of these things,
11. Who has taken flesh with the blood as food, and has had connection with his neighbour's wife,
12. Has done wrong to the poor and to him who is in need, and taken property by force, and has not given back to one in his debt what is his, and has given worship to images and has done disgusting things,
13. And has given out his money at interest and taken great profits: he will certainly not go on living: he has done all these disgusting things: death will certainly be his fate; his blood will be on him.
14. Now if he has a son who sees all his father's sins which he has done, and in fear does not do the same:
15. Who has not taken the flesh with the blood for food, or given worship to the images of the children of Israel, and has not had connection with his neighbour's wife,
16. Or done wrong to any, or taken anything from one in his debt, or taken goods by force, but has given food to him who was in need of it, and clothing to him who was without it;
17. Who has kept his hand from evil-doing and has not taken interest or great profits, who has done my orders and been guided by my rules: he will certainly not be put to death for the evil-doing of his father; life will certainly be his.
18. As for his father, because he was cruel, took goods by force, and did what is not good among his people, truly, death will overtake him in his evil-doing.
19. But you say, Why does not the son undergo punishment for the evil-doing of the father? When the son has done what is ordered and right, and has kept my rules and done them, life will certainly be his.
20. The soul which does sin will be put to death: the son will not be made responsible for the evil-doing of the father, or the father for the evil-doing of the son; the righteousness of the upright will be on himself, and the evil-doing of the evil-doer on himself.
21. But if the evil-doer, turning away from all the sins which he has done, keeps my rules and does what is ordered and right, life will certainly be his; death will not be his fate.
22. Not one of the sins which he has done will be kept in memory against him: in the righteousness which he has done he will have life.
23. Have I any pleasure in the death of the evil-doer? says the Lord: am I not pleased if he is turned from his way so that he may have life?
24. But when the upright man, turning away from his righteousness, does evil, like all the disgusting things which the evil man does, will he have life? Not one of his upright acts will be kept in memory: in the wrong which he has done and in his sin death will overtake him.
25. But you say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Give ear, now, O children of Israel; is my way not equal? are not your ways unequal?
26. When the upright man, turning away from his righteousness, does evil, death will overtake him; in the evil which he has done death will overtake him.
27. Again, when the evil-doer, turning away from the evil he has done, does what is ordered and right, he will have life for his soul.
28. Because he had fear and was turned away from all the wrong which he had done, life will certainly be his, death will not be his fate.
29. But still the children of Israel say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O children of Israel, are my ways not equal? are not your ways unequal?
30. For this cause I will be your judge, O children of Israel, judging every man by his ways, says the Lord. Come back and be turned from all your sins; so that they may not be the cause of your falling into evil.
31. Put away all your evil-doing in which you have done sin; and make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit: why are you desiring death, O children of Israel?
32. For I have no pleasure in the death of him on whom death comes, says the Lord: be turned back then, and have life.

Hebrews 2 / Basic English

1. For this reason there is the more need for us to give attention to the things which have come to our ears, for fear that by chance we might be slipping away.
2. Because if the word which came through the angels was fixed, and in the past every evil act against God's orders was given its full punishment;
3. What will come on us, if we do not give our minds to such a great salvation? a salvation of which our fathers first had knowledge through the words of the Lord, and which was made certain to us by those to whom his words came;
4. And God was a witness with them, by signs and wonders, and by more than natural powers, and by his distribution of the Holy Spirit at his pleasure.
5. For he did not make the angels rulers over the world to come, of which I am writing.
6. But a certain writer has given his witness, saying, What is man, that you keep him in mind? what is the son of man, that you take him into account?
7. You made him a little lower than the angels; you gave him a crown of glory and honour, and made him ruler over all the works of your hands:
8. You put all things under his feet. For in making man the ruler over all things, God did not put anything outside his authority; though we do not see everything under him now.
9. But we see him who was made a little lower than the angels, even Jesus, crowned with glory and honour, because he let himself be put to death so that by the grace of God he might undergo death for all men.
10. Because it was right for him, for whom and through whom all things have being, in guiding his sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation complete through pain.
11. For he who makes holy and those who are made holy are all of one family; and for this reason it is no shame for him to give them the name of brothers,
12. Saying, I will give the knowledge of your name to my brothers, I will make a song of praise to you before the church.
13. And again he says, I will put my faith in him. And again, See, I am here, and the children which God has given to me.
14. And because the children are flesh and blood, he took a body himself and became like them; so that by his death he might put an end to him who had the power of death, that is to say, the Evil One;
15. And let those who all their lives were in chains because of their fear of death, go free.
16. For, truly, he does not take on the life of angels, but that of the seed of Abraham.
17. Because of this it was necessary for him to be made like his brothers in every way, so that he might be a high priest full of mercy and keeping faith in everything to do with God, making offerings for the sins of the people.
18. For having been put to the test himself, he is able to give help to others when they are tested.