Basic English Version : Read the Bible in 1 Year

Ezekiel 19 / Basic English

1. Take up now a song of grief for the ruler of Israel, and say,
2. What was your mother? Like a she-lion among lions, stretched out among the young lions she gave food to her little ones.
3. And one of her little ones came to growth under her care, and became a young lion, learning to go after beasts for his food; and he took men for his meat.
4. And the nations had news of him; he was taken in the hole they had made: and, pulling him with hooks, they took him into the land of Egypt.
5. Now when she saw that her hope was made foolish and gone, she took another of her little ones and made him into a young lion.
6. And he went up and down among the lions and became a young lion, learning to go after beasts for his food; and he took men for his meat.
7. And he sent destruction on their widows and made waste their towns; and the land and everything in it became waste because of the loud sound of his voice.
8. Then the nations came against him from the kingdoms round about: their net was stretched over him and he was taken in the hole they had made.
9. They made him a prisoner with hooks, and took him to the king of Babylon; they put him in the strong place so that his voice might be sounding no longer on the mountains of Israel.
10. Your mother was in comparison like a vine, planted by the waters: she was fertile and full of branches because of the great waters.
11. And she had a strong rod for a rod of authority for the rulers, and it became tall among the clouds and it was seen lifted up among the number of its branches.
12. But she was uprooted in burning wrath, and made low on the earth; the east wind came, drying her up, and her branches were broken off; her strong rod became dry, the fire made a meal of it.
13. And now she is planted in the waste land, in a dry and unwatered country.
14. And fire has gone out from her rod, causing the destruction of her branches, so that there is no strong rod in her to be the ruler's rod of authority. This is a song of grief, and it was for a song of grief.

Ezekiel 20 / Basic English

1. Now it came about in the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, that certain of the responsible men of Israel came to get directions from the Lord and were seated before me.
2. Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
3. Son of man, say to the responsible men of Israel, This is what the Lord has said: Have you come to get directions from me? By my life, says the Lord, you will get no directions from me.
4. Will you be their judge, O son of man, will you be their judge? make clear to them the disgusting ways of their fathers,
5. And say to them, This is what the Lord has said: In the day when I took Israel for myself, when I made an oath to the seed of the family of Jacob, and I gave them knowledge of myself in the land of Egypt, saying to them with an oath, I am the Lord your God;
6. In that day I gave my oath to take them out of the land of Egypt into a land which I had been searching out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the glory of all lands:
7. And I said to them, Let every man among you put away the disgusting things to which his eyes are turned, and do not make yourselves unclean with the images of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.
8. But they would not be controlled by me, and did not give ear to me; they did not put away the disgusting things to which their eyes were turned, or give up the images of Egypt: then I said I would let loose my passion on them to give full effect to my wrath against them in the land of Egypt.
9. And I was acting for the honour of my name, so that it might not be made unclean before the eyes of the nations among whom they were, and before whose eyes I gave them knowledge of myself, by taking them out of the land of Egypt.
10. So I made them go out of the land of Egypt and took them into the waste land.
11. And I gave them my rules and made clear to them my orders, which, if a man keeps them, will be life to him.
12. And further, I gave them my Sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, so that it might be clear that I, who make them holy, am the Lord.
13. But the children of Israel would not be controlled by me in the waste land: they were not guided by my rules, and they were turned away from my orders, which, if a man does them, will be life to him; and they had no respect for my Sabbaths: then I said that I would let loose my passion on them in the waste land, and put an end to them.
14. And I was acting for the honour of my name, so that it might not be made unclean in the eyes of the nations, before whose eyes I had taken them out.
15. And further, I gave my oath to them in the waste land, that I would not take them into the land which I had given them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the glory of all lands;
16. Because they were turned away from my orders, and were not guided by my rules, and had no respect for my Sabbaths: for their hearts went after their images.
17. But still my eye had pity on them and I kept them from destruction and did not put an end to them completely in the waste land.
18. And I said to their children in the waste land, Do not be guided by the rules of your fathers or keep their orders or make yourselves unclean with their images:
19. I am the Lord your God; be guided by my rules and keep my orders and do them:
20. And keep my Sabbaths holy; and they will be a sign between me and you so that it may be clear to you that I am the Lord your God.
21. But the children would not be controlled by me; they were not guided by my rules, and they did not keep and do my orders, which, if a man does them, will be life to him; and they had no respect for my Sabbaths: then I said I would let loose my passion on them to give full effect to my wrath against them in the waste land.
22. And I was acting for the honour of my name, so that it might not be made unclean in the eyes of the nations, before whose eyes I had taken them out.
23. Further, I gave my oath to them in the waste land that I would send them wandering among the nations, driving them out among the countries;
24. Because they had not done my orders, but had been turned away from my rules, and had not given respect to my Sabbaths, and their eyes were turned to the images of their fathers.
25. And further, I gave them rules which were not good and orders in which there was no life for them;
26. I made them unclean in the offerings they gave, causing them to make every first child go through the fire, so that I might put an end to them.
27. For this cause, son of man, say to the children of Israel, This is what the Lord has said: In this your fathers have further put shame on my name by doing wrong against me.
28. For when I had taken them into the land which I made an oath to give to them, then they saw every high hill and every branching tree and made their offerings there, moving me to wrath by their offerings; and there the sweet smell of their offerings went up and their drink offerings were drained out.
29. Then I said to them, What is this high place where you go to no purpose? And it is named Bamah to this day.
30. For this cause say to the children of Israel, This is what the Lord has said: Are you making yourselves unclean as your fathers did? are you being untrue to me by going after their disgusting works?
31. And when you give your offerings, causing your sons to go through the fire, you make yourselves unclean with all your images to this day; and will you come to me for directions, O children of Israel? By my life, says the Lord, you will get no direction from me.
32. And that which comes into your minds will never take place; when you say, We will be like the nations, like the families of the countries, servants of wood and stone;
33. By my life, says the Lord, truly, with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm and with burning wrath let loose, I will be King over you:
34. And I will take you out from the peoples and get you together out of the countries where you are wandering, with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm and with burning wrath let loose:
35. And I will take you into the waste land of the peoples, and there I will take up the cause with you face to face.
36. As I took up the cause with your fathers in the waste land of the land of Egypt, so will I take up the cause with you says the Lord.
37. And I will make you go under the rod and will make you small in number:
38. Clearing out from among you all those who are uncontrolled and who are sinning against me; I will take them out of the land where they are living, but they will not come into the land of Israel: and you will be certain that I am the Lord.
39. As for you, O children of Israel, the Lord has said: Let every man completely put away his images and give ear to me: and let my holy name no longer be shamed by your offerings and your images.
40. For in my holy mountain, in the high mountain of Israel, says the Lord, there all the children of Israel, all of them, will be my servants in the land; there I will take pleasure in them, and there I will be worshipped with your offerings and the first-fruits of the things you give, and with all your holy things.
41. I will take pleasure in you as in a sweet smell, when I take you out from the peoples and get you together from the countries where you have been sent in flight; and I will make myself holy in you before the eyes of the nations.
42. And you will be certain that I am the Lord, when I take you into the land of Israel, into the country which I made an oath to give to your fathers.
43. And there, at the memory of your ways and of all the things you did to make yourselves unclean, you will have bitter hate for yourselves because of all the evil things you have done.
44. And you will be certain that I am the Lord, when I take you in hand for the honour of my name, and not for your evil ways or your unclean doings, O children of Israel, says the Lord.
45. Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
46. Son of man, let your face be turned to the south, let your words be dropped to the south, and be a prophet against the woodland of the South;
47. And say to the woodland of the South, Give ear to the words of the Lord: this is what the Lord has said: See, I will have a fire lighted in you, for the destruction of every green tree in you and every dry tree: the flaming flame will not be put out, and all faces from the south to the north will be burned by it.
48. And all flesh will see that I the Lord have had it lighted: it will not be put out.
49. Then I said, Ah, Lord! they say of me, Is he not a maker of stories?

Hebrews 3 / Basic English

1. For this reason, holy brothers, marked out to have a part in heaven, give thought to Jesus the representative and high priest of our faith;
2. Who kept faith with God who gave him his place, even as Moses did in all his house.
3. And it was right for this man to have more honour than Moses, even as the builder of a house has more honour than the house.
4. For every house has a builder; but the builder of all things is God.
5. And Moses certainly kept faith as a servant, in all his house, and as a witness of those things which were to be said later;
6. But Christ as a son, over his house; whose house are we, if we keep our hearts fixed in the glad and certain hope till the end.
7. And so, as the Holy Spirit says, Today if you let his voice come to your ears,
8. Be not hard of heart, as when you made me angry, on the day of testing in the waste land,
9. When your fathers put me to the test, and saw my works for forty years.
10. So that I was angry with this generation, and I said, Their hearts are in error at all times, and they have no knowledge of my ways;
11. And being angry I made an oath, saying, They may not come into my rest.
12. My brothers, take care that there is not by chance in any one of you an evil heart without belief, turning away from the living God:
13. But give comfort to one another every day as long as it is still Today; so that no one among you may be made hard by the deceit of sin:
14. For if we keep the substance of the faith which we had at the start, even till the end, we have a part with Christ;
15. As it is said, Today if you will let his voice come to your ears, be not hard of heart, as when you made him angry.
16. Who made him angry when his voice came to them? was it not all those who came out of Egypt with Moses?
17. And with whom was he angry for forty years? was it not with those who did evil, who came to their deaths in the waste land?
18. And to whom did he make an oath that they might not come into his rest? was it not to those who went against his orders?
19. So we see that they were not able to go in because they had no belief.