Basic English Version : Read the Bible in 1 Year

Zechariah 1 / Basic English

1. In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,
2. The Lord has been very angry with your fathers:
3. And you are to say to them, These are the words of the Lord of armies: Come back to me, says the Lord of armies, and I will come back to you.
4. Be not like your fathers, to whom the voice of the earlier prophets came, saying, Be turned now from your evil ways and from your evil doings: but they did not give ear to me or take note, says the Lord.
5. Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they go on living for ever?
6. But my words and my orders, which I gave to my servants the prophets, have they not overtaken your fathers? and turning back they said, As it was the purpose of the Lord of armies to do to us, in reward for our ways and our doings, so has he done.
7. On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the month Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,
8. I saw in the night a man on a red horse, between the mountains in the valley, and at his back were horses, red, black, white, and of mixed colours.
9. Then I said, O my lord, what are these? And the angel who was talking to me said to me, I will make clear to you what they are.
10. And the man who was between the mountains, answering me, said, These are those whom the Lord has sent to go up and down through the earth.
11. And the man who was between the mountains, answering, said to the angel of the Lord, We have gone up and down through the earth, and all the earth is quiet and at rest.
12. Then the angel of the Lord, answering, said, O Lord of armies, how long will it be before you have mercy on Jerusalem and on the towns of Judah against which your wrath has been burning for seventy years?
13. And the Lord gave an answer in good and comforting words to the angel who was talking to me.
14. And the angel who was talking to me said to me, Let your voice be loud and say, These are the words of the Lord of armies: I am greatly moved about the fate of Jerusalem and of Zion.
15. And I am very angry with the nations who are living untroubled: for when I was only a little angry, they made the evil worse.
16. So this is what the Lord has said: I have come back to Jerusalem with mercies; my house is to be put up in her, says the Lord of armies, and a line is to be stretched out over Jerusalem.
17. And again let your voice be loud and say, This is what the Lord of armies has said: My towns will again be overflowing with good things, and again the Lord will give comfort to Zion and take Jerusalem for himself.
18. And lifting up my eyes I saw four horns.
19. And I said to the angel who was talking to me, What are these? And he said to me, These are the horns which have sent Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem in flight.
20. And the Lord gave me a vision of four metal-workers.
21. Then I said, What have these come to do? And he said, These are the horns which sent Judah in flight, and kept him from lifting up his head: but these men have come to send fear on them and to put down the nations who are lifting up their horns against the land of Judah to send it in flight.

Zechariah 2 / Basic English

1. And lifting up my eyes, I saw a man with a measuring-line in his hand.
2. And I said to him, Where are you going? And he said to me, To take the measure of Jerusalem, to see how wide and how long it is.
3. And the angel who was talking to me went out, and another angel went out, and, meeting him,
4. Said to him, Go quickly and say to this young man, Jerusalem will be an unwalled town, because of the great number of men and cattle in her.
5. For I, says the Lord, will be a wall of fire round about her, and I will be the glory inside her.
6. Ho, ho! go in flight from the land of the north, says the Lord: for I have sent you far and wide to the four winds of heaven, says the Lord.
7. Ho! Zion, go in flight from danger, you who are living with the daughter of Babylon.
8. For this is what the Lord of armies has said: In the way of glory he has sent me to the nations which have taken your goods: for anyone touching you is touching what is most dear to him.
9. For at the shaking of my hand over them, their goods will be taken by those who were their servants: and you will see that the Lord of armies has sent me.
10. Give songs of joy, O daughter of Zion: for I come, and I will make my resting-place among you, says the Lord.
11. And a number of nations will be joined to the Lord in that day, and will become my people; and I will be living among you, and you will see that the Lord of armies has sent me to you.
12. And Judah will be the Lord's heritage in the holy land, and Jerusalem will again be his.
13. Let all flesh be quiet and make no sound before the Lord: for he is awake and has come from his holy resting-place.

Zechariah 3 / Basic English

1. And he let me see Joshua, the high priest, in his place before the angel of the Lord, and the Satan at his right hand ready to take up a cause against him.
2. And the Lord said to the Satan, May the Lord's word be sharp against you, O Satan, the word of the Lord who has taken Jerusalem for himself: is this not a burning branch pulled out of the fire?
3. Now Joshua was clothed in unclean robes, and he was in his place before the angel.
4. And he made answer and said to those who were there before him, Take the unclean robes off him, and let him be clothed in clean robes;
5. And let them put a clean head-dress on his head. So they put a clean head-dress on his head, clothing him with clean robes: and to him he said, See, I have taken your sin away from you.
6. And the angel of the Lord made a statement to Joshua, and said,
7. These are the words of the Lord of armies: If you will go in my ways and keep what I have put in your care, then you will be judge over my Temple and have the care of my house, and I will give you the right to come in among those who are there.
8. Give ear now, O Joshua, the high priest, you and your friends who are seated before you; for these are men who are a sign: for see, I will let my servant the Branch be seen.
9. For see, the stone which I have put before Joshua; on one stone are seven eyes: see, the design cut on it will be my work, says the Lord of armies, and I will take away the sin of that land in one day.
10. In that day, says the Lord of armies, you will be one another's guests under the vine and under the fig-tree.

Revelation 15 / Basic English

1. And I saw another sign in heaven, great and strange; seven angels having the seven last punishments, for in them the wrath of God is complete.
2. And I saw a sea which seemed like glass mixed with fire; and those who had overcome the beast and his image and the number of his name, were in their places by the sea of glass, with God's instruments of music in their hands.
3. And they give the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and full of wonder are your works, O Lord God, Ruler of all; true and full of righteousness are your ways, eternal King.
4. What man is there who will not have fear before you, O Lord, and give glory to your name? because you only are holy; for all the nations will come and give worship before you; for your righteousness has been made clear.
5. And after these things I saw, and the house of the Tent of witness in heaven was open:
6. And the seven angels who had the seven punishments came out from the house of God, clothed with linen, clean and bright and with bands of gold about their breasts.
7. And one of the four beasts gave to the seven angels seven gold vessels full of the wrath of God, who is living for ever and ever.
8. And the house of God was full of smoke from the glory of God, and from his power, and no one was able to go into the house of God, till the seven punishments of the seven angels were ended.

Revelation 16 / Basic English

1. And a great voice out of the house of God came to my ears, saying to the seven angels, Go, and let that which is in the seven vessels of the wrath of God come down on the earth.
2. And the first went, and let what was in his vessel come down on the earth; and it became an evil poisoning wound on the men who had the mark of the beast, and who gave worship to his image.
3. And the second let what was in his vessel come out into the sea; and it became blood as of a dead man; and every living thing in the sea came to an end.
4. And the third let what was in his vessel come out into the rivers and the fountains of water; and they became blood.
5. And the voice of the angel of the waters came to my ears, saying, True and upright is your judging, O Holy One, who is and was from all time:
6. For they made the blood of saints and prophets come out like a stream, and blood have you given them for drink; which is their right reward.
7. And a voice came from the altar, saying, Even so, O Lord God, Ruler of all, true and full of righteousness is your judging.
8. And the fourth let what was in his vessel come out on the sun; and power was given to it that men might be burned with fire.
9. And men were burned with great heat: and they said evil things against the name of the God who has authority over these punishments; and they were not turned from their evil ways to give him glory.
10. And the fifth let what was in his vessel come out on the high seat of the beast; and his kingdom was made dark; and they were biting their tongues for pain.
11. And they said evil things against the God of heaven because of their pain and their wounds; and they were not turned from their evil works.
12. And the sixth let what was in his vessel come out on the great river Euphrates; and it became dry, so that the way might be made ready for the kings from the east.
13. And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits, like frogs.
14. For they are evil spirits, working signs; who go out even to the kings of all the earth, to get them together to the war of the great day of God, the Ruler of all.
15. (See, I come as a thief. Happy is he who is watching and keeps his robes, so that he may not go unclothed, and his shame be seen.)
16. And they got them together into the place which is named in Hebrew Armageddon.
17. And the seventh let what was in his vessel come out on the air; and there came out a great voice from the house of God, from the high seat, saying, It is done.
18. And there were flames and voices and thunders; and there was a great earth-shock so that never, from the time when men were on the earth, had there been so great an earth-shock, so full of power.
19. And the great town was cut into three parts, and the towns of the nations came to destruction: and Babylon the great came into mind before God, to be given the cup of the wine of his wrath.
20. And every island went in flight, and the mountains were seen no longer.
21. And great drops of ice, every one about the weight of a talent, came down out of heaven on men: and men said evil things against God because of the punishment of the ice-drops; for it is very great.