Basic English Version : Read the Bible in 1 Year

Amos 7 / Basic English

1. This is what the Lord God let me see: and I saw that, when the growth of the late grass was starting, he made locusts; it was the late growth after the king's cutting was done.
2. And it came about that after they had taken all the grass of the land, I said, O Lord God, have mercy: how will Jacob be able to keep his place? for he is small.
3. The Lord, changing his purpose about this, said, It will not be.
4. This is what the Lord let me see: and I saw that the Lord God sent for a great fire to be the instrument of his punishment; and, after burning up the great deep, it was about to put an end to the Lord's heritage.
5. Then said I, O Lord God, let there be an end: how will Jacob be able to keep his place? for he is small.
6. The Lord, changing his purpose about this, said, And this will not be.
7. This is what he let me see: and I saw the Lord stationed by a wall made straight by a weighted line, and he had a weighted line in his hand.
8. And the Lord said to me, Amos, what do you see? And I said, A weighted line. Then the Lord said, See, I will let down a weighted line among my people Israel; never again will my eyes be shut to their sin:
9. And the high places of Isaac will be unpeopled, and the holy places of Israel will be made waste; and I will come up against the family of Jeroboam with the sword.
10. Then Amaziah, the priest of Beth-el, sent to Jeroboam, king of Israel, saying, Amos has made designs against you among the people of Israel: the land is troubled by his words.
11. For Amos has said, Jeroboam will be put to the sword, and Israel will certainly be taken away as a prisoner out of his land.
12. And Amaziah said to Amos, O seer, go in flight into the land of Judah, and there get your living by working as a prophet:
13. But be a prophet no longer at Beth-el: for it is the holy place of the king, and the king's house.
14. Then Amos in answer said to Amaziah, I am no prophet, or one of the sons of the prophets; I am a herdman and one who takes care of sycamore-trees:
15. And the Lord took me from the flock, and the Lord said to me, Go, be a prophet to my people Israel.
16. Now then, give ear to the word of the Lord: You say, Be no prophet to Israel, and say not a word against the people of Isaac.
17. So this is what the Lord has said: Your wife will be a loose woman in the town, and your sons and your daughters will be put to the sword, and your land will be cut up into parts by a line; and you yourself will come to your end in an unclean land, and Israel will certainly be taken away a prisoner out of his land.

Amos 8 / Basic English

1. This is what the Lord God let me see: and I saw a basket of summer fruit.
2. And he said, Amos, what do you see? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then the Lord said to me, The end has come to my people Israel; never again will my eyes be shut to their sin.
3. And the songs of the king's house will be cries of pain in that day, says the Lord God: great will be the number of the dead bodies, and everywhere they will put them out without a word.
4. Give ear to this, you who are crushing the poor, and whose purpose is to put an end to those who are in need in the land,
5. Saying, When will the new moon be gone, so that we may do trade in grain? and the Sabbath, so that we may put out in the market the produce of our fields? making the measure small and the price great, and trading falsely with scales of deceit;
6. Getting the poor for silver, and him who is in need for the price of two shoes, and taking a price for the waste parts of the grain.
7. The Lord has taken an oath by the pride of Jacob, Truly I will ever keep in mind all their works.
8. Will not the land be shaking with fear because of this, and everyone in it have sorrow? and all of it will be overflowing like the River; and it will be troubled and go down again like the River of Egypt.
9. And it will come about in that day, says the Lord God, that I will make the sun go down in the middle of the day, and I will make the earth dark in daylight:
10. Your feasts will be turned into sorrow and all your melody into songs of grief; everyone will be clothed with haircloth, and the hair of every head will be cut; I will make the weeping like that for an only son, and the end of it like a bitter day.
11. See, the days are coming, says the Lord God, when I will send times of great need on the land, not need of food or desire for water, but for hearing the words of the Lord.
12. And they will go wandering from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, running here and there in search of the word of the Lord, and they will not get it.
13. In that day the fair virgins and the young men will be feeble from need of water.
14. Those who make their oaths by the sin of Samaria and say, By the life of your God, O Dan; and, By the living way of Beer-sheba; even they will go down, never again to be lifted up.

Amos 9 / Basic English

1. I saw the Lord stationed by the side of the altar, giving blows to the tops of the pillars so that the doorsteps were shaking: and he said, I will let all of them be broken with earth-shocks; I will put the last of them to the sword: if any one of them goes in flight he will not get away, not one of them will be safe.
2. Even if they go deep into the underworld, my hand will take them up from there; if they go up to heaven, I will get them down:
3. Though they take cover on the top of Carmel, I will go in search of them and get them out; though they keep themselves from my eyes in the bed of the sea, I will give orders to the great snake there and he will give them a bite:
4. And though they are taken away as prisoners by their attackers, even there will I give orders to the sword to put them to death: my eyes will be fixed on them for evil and not for good.
5. For the Lord, the God of armies, is he at whose touch the land is turned to water, and everyone in it will be given up to sorrow; all of it will be overflowing like the River, and will go down again like the River of Egypt;
6. It is he who makes his rooms in the heaven, basing his arch on the earth; whose voice goes out to the waters of the sea, and sends them flowing over the face of the earth; the Lord is his name.
7. Are you not as the children of the Ethiopians to me, O children of Israel? says the Lord. Have I not taken Israel up out of the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Aramaeans from Kir?
8. See, the eyes of the Lord are on the evil kingdom, and I will put an end to it in all the earth; but I will not send complete destruction on Jacob, says the Lord.
9. For see, I will give orders, and I will have Israel moved about among all the nations, as grain is moved about by the shaking of the tray, but not the smallest seed will be dropped on the earth.
10. All those sinners among my people will be put to the sword who say, Evil will not overtake us or come face to face with us.
11. In that day I will put up the tent of David which has come down, and make good its broken places; and I will put up again his damaged walls, building it up as in the past;
12. So that the rest of Edom may be their heritage, and all the nations who have been named by my name, says the Lord, who is doing this.
13. See, the days will come, says the Lord, when the ploughman will overtake him who is cutting the grain, and the crusher of the grapes him who is planting seed; and sweet wine will be dropping from the mountains, and the hills will be turned into streams of wine.
14. And I will let the fate of my people Israel be changed, and they will be building up again the waste towns and living in them; they will again be planting vine-gardens and taking the wine for their drink; and they will make gardens and get the fruit of them.
15. And I will have them planted in their land, and never again will they be uprooted from their land which I have given them, says the Lord your God.

Revelation 2 / Basic English

1. To the angel of the church in Ephesus say: These things says he who has the seven stars in his right hand, who is walking in the middle of the seven gold lights:
2. I have knowledge of your doings, and of your hard work and long waiting, and that you will not put up with evil men, and have put to the test those who say they are Apostles and are not, and have seen that they are false;
3. And you have the power of waiting, and have undergone trouble because of my name, without weariness.
4. But I have this against you, that you are turned away from your first love.
5. So keep in mind where you were at first, and be changed in heart and do the first works; or I will come to you, and will take away your light from its place, if your hearts are not changed.
6. But at least you have the credit of hating the works of the Nicolaitans, as I do.
7. He who has ears, let him give ear to what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give of the fruit of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.
8. And to the angel of the church in Smyrna say: These things says the first and the last, who was dead and is living:
9. I have knowledge of your troubles and how poor you are (but you have true wealth), and the evil words of those who say they are Jews, and are not, but are a Synagogue of Satan.
10. Have no fear of the things which you will have to undergo: see, the Evil One will send some of you into prison, so that you may be put to the test; and you will have great trouble for ten days. Be true till death, and I will give you the crown of life.
11. He who has ears, let him give ear to what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not come under the power of the second death.
12. And to the angel of the church in Pergamos say: These things says he who has the sharp two-edged sword:
13. I have knowledge that your living-place is where Satan has his seat: and you are true to my name, and were not turned away from your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my true witness, who was put to death among you, where Satan has his place.
14. But I have some things against you, because you have with you those who keep the teaching of Balaam, by whose suggestion Balak made the children of Israel go out of the right way, taking food which was offered to false gods, and going after the desires of the flesh.
15. And you have those who keep the teaching of the Nicolaitans.
16. See, then, that you have a change of heart; or I will come to you quickly, and will make war against them with the sword of my mouth.
17. He who has ears, let him give ear to what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give of the secret manna, and I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name, of which no one has knowledge but he to whom it is given.
18. And to the angel of the church in Thyatira say: These things says the Son of God, whose eyes are like a flame of fire, and his feet like polished brass:
19. I have knowledge of your works, and your love and faith and help and strength in trouble, and that your last works are more than the first.
20. But I have this against you, that you let the woman Jezebel say she is a prophet and give false teaching, making my servants go after the desires of the flesh and take food offered to false gods.
21. And I gave her time for a change of heart, but she has no mind to give up her unclean ways.
22. See, I will put her into a bed, and those who make themselves unclean with her, into great trouble, if they go on with her works.
23. And I will put her children to death; and all the churches will see that I am he who makes search into the secret thoughts and hearts of men: and I will give to every one of you the reward of your works.
24. But to you I say, to the rest in Thyatira, even to those who have not this teaching, and have no knowledge of the secrets of Satan, as they say; I put on you no other weight.
25. But what you have, keep safe till I come.
26. He who overcomes, and keeps my works to the end, to him I will give rule over the nations,
27. And he will be ruling them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of the potter they will be broken, even as I have power from my Father:
28. And I will give him the morning star.
29. He who has ears, let him give ear to what the Spirit says to the churches.