Bible in Basic English
The Acts, 13
Word in Cyprus
13:1 Now there were at Antioch, in the church there, prophets and teachers, Barnabas, and Symeon who was named Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, a relation of Herod the king, and Saul.
13:2 And while they were doing the Lord's work, and going without food, the Holy Spirit said, Let Barnabas and Saul be given to me for the special work for which they have been marked out by me.
13:3 Then, after prayer and going without food they put their hands on them, and sent them away.
13:4 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia ; and from there they went by ship to Cyprus.
13:5 And at Salamis they were preaching the word of God in the Synagogues of the Jews : and John was with them, helping them.
13:6 And when they had gone through all the island to Paphos, they came across a certain wonder-worker and false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus ;
13:7 Who was with the ruler, Sergius Paulus, an able man. This man sent for Barnabas and Saul, desiring to have knowledge of the word of God.
13:8 But Elymas, the wonder-worker (for that is the sense of his name), put himself against them, with the purpose of turning the ruler from the faith.
13:9 But Saul, whose other name is Paul, being full of the Holy Spirit, looking hard at him, said,
13:10 O you, who are full of false tricks and evil ways, a son of the Evil One, hating all righteousness, will you for ever be turning people from the right ways of the Lord ?
13:11 And now, see, the hand of the Lord is on you, and you will be blind and not able to see the sun for a time. And straight away a dark mist came down on him; and he went about looking for a guide.
13:12 Then the ruler, when he saw what was done, had faith, being full of wonder at the teaching of the Lord.
13:13 Then Paul and those who were with him went by ship from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia : and there John went away from them and came back to Jerusalem.
13:14 But they, going through from Perga, came to Antioch in Pisidia; and they went into the Synagogue on the Sabbath and were seated.
13:15 And after the reading of the law and the prophets, the rulers of the Synagogue sent to them, saying, Brothers, if you have a word of comfort for the people, say on.
13:16 And Paul, getting up and making a sign with his hand, said, Men of Israel, and you who have the fear of God, give ear.
13:17 The God of this people Israel made selection of our fathers, lifting the people up from their low condition when they were living in the land of Egypt, and with a strong arm took them out of it.
13:18 And for about forty years he put up with their ways in the waste land.
13:19 And having put to destruction seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them the land for their heritage for about four hundred and fifty years.
13:20 And after these things he gave them judges, till the time of Samuel the prophet.
13:21 Then at their request for a king, God gave them Saul, the son of Kish, a man of the family of Benjamin, who was their king for forty years.
13:22 And having put him on one side, he made David their king, to whom he gave witness, saying, I have taken David, the son of Jesse, a man dear to my heart, who will do all my pleasure.
13:23 From this man's seed has God given to Israel a Saviour, even Jesus, as he gave his word;
13:24 For whose coming John made ready the way by preaching to all the people of Israel the baptism which goes with a change of heart.
13:25 And when John was completing his work, he said, What do I seem to you to be? I am not he; but one is coming after me, whose shoes I am not good enough to undo.
13:26 My brothers, children of the family of Abraham, and those among you who have the fear of God, to us the word of this salvation is sent.
13:27 For the men of Jerusalem and their rulers, having no knowledge of him, or of the sayings of the prophets which come to their ears every Sabbath day, gave effect to them by judging him.
13:28 And though no cause of death was seen in him, they made a request to Pilate that he might be put to death.
13:29 And when they had done all the things said in the Writings about him, they took him down from the tree, and put him in the place of the dead.
13:30 But God gave him back from the dead :
13:31 And for a number of days he was seen by those who came with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses before the people.
13:32 And we are giving you the good news of the undertaking made to the fathers,
13:33 Which God has now put into effect for our children, by sending Jesus; as it says in the second Psalm, You are my Son; this day I have given you being.
13:34 And about his coming back from the dead, never again to go to destruction, he has said these words, I will give you the holy and certain mercies of David.
13:35 Because he says in another Psalm, You will not let your Holy One see destruction.
13:36 Now David, having done God's work for his generation, went to sleep, and was put with his fathers, and his body came to destruction:
13:37 But he, who was lifted up by God, did not see destruction.
13:38 And so, let it be clear to you, my brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is offered to you:
13:39 And through him everyone who has faith is made free from all those things, from which the law of Moses was not able to make you free.
13:40 So take care that these words of the prophets do not come true for you;
13:41 See, you doubters, have wonder and come to your end; for I will do a thing in your days to which you will not give belief, even if it is made clear to you.
13:42 And when they went out, they made a request that these words might be said to them again on the Sabbath after.
13:43 Now when the meeting was ended, a number of the Jews and of the God-fearing Gentiles who had become Jews, went after Paul and Barnabas : who put before them how important it was to keep on in the grace of God.
13:44 And on the Sabbath after, almost all the town came together to give hearing to the word of God.
13:45 But when the Jews saw such a great number of people, they were full of envy and said evil words against Paul's preaching.
13:46 Then Paul and Barnabas without fear said, It was necessary for the word of God to be given to you first; but because you will have nothing to do with it, and have no desire for eternal life, it will now be offered to the Gentiles.
13:47 For so the Lord has given us orders, saying, I have given you for a light to the Gentiles so that you may be for salvation to the ends of the earth.
13:48 And the Gentiles, hearing this, were glad and gave glory to the word of God : and those marked out by God for eternal life had faith.
13:49 And the word of the Lord went through all the country.
13:50 But the Jews, working up the feelings of the God-fearing women of high position and of the chief men of the town, got an attack started against Paul and Barnabas, driving them out of those parts.
13:51 But they, shaking off the dust of that place from their feet, came to Iconium.
13:52 And the disciples were full of joy and of the Holy Spirit.
The Acts, 14
We are not gods
14:1 Now in Iconium they went together to the Synagogue of the Jews and gave such teaching that a great number of Jews and Greeks had faith.
14:2 But those Jews who had not the faith, made the minds of the Gentiles bitter against the brothers.
14:3 So they kept there for a long time, taking heart in the Lord, who gave witness to the word of his grace by causing signs and wonders to be done by their hands.
14:4 But there was a division among the people of the town; some were on the side of the Jews and some on the side of the Apostles.
14:5 And when a violent attempt was made by the Gentiles and the Jews, with their rulers, to make an attack on them and have them stoned,
14:6 Having got news of it, they went in flight to the towns of Lycaonia, Lystra, and Derbe, and the country round about:
14:7 And went on preaching the good news there.
14:8 And at Lystra there was a certain man, who from birth had been without the use of his feet, never having had the power of walking.
14:9 This man was giving ear to the preaching of Paul, who, looking at him, and seeing that he had faith to be made well,
14:10 Said in a loud voice, Get up on your feet. And, jumping up, he went walking about.
14:11 And when the people saw what Paul had done, they said in a loud voice, in the language of Lycaonia, The gods have come down to us in the form of men.
14:12 And they gave the name of Jupiter to Barnabas, and to Paul that of Mercury, because he was the chief talker.
14:13 And the priest of the image of Jupiter, which was before the town, took oxen and flowers to the doors of the town, and was about to make an offering with the people.
14:14 But when this came to the ears of the Apostles, Paul and Barnabas, they went running out among the people, parting their clothing, and crying out,
14:15 Good people, why are you doing these things? We are men with the same feelings as you, and we give you the good news so that you may be turned away from these foolish things to the living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all things in them:
14:16 Who in the past let all nations go in the ways which seemed good to them.
14:17 But he was not without witness, because he did good, and gave you rain from heaven and times of fruit, making your hearts full of food and joy.
14:18 And even with these words, it was hard for them to keep the people from making an offering to them.
14:19 But some Jews came to that place from Antioch and Iconium, and got control over the people; and after stoning Paul, they had him pulled out of the town, taking him for dead.
14:20 But when the disciples came round him, he got up and went into the town : and the day after he went away with Barnabas to Derbe.
14:21 And having made a number of disciples through the preaching of the good news in that town, they went back to Lystra and Iconium and Antioch,
14:22 Making strong the souls of the disciples, saying to them that they were to keep the faith, and that we have to go through troubles of all sorts to come into the kingdom of God.
14:23 And when they had made selection of some to be rulers in every church, and had given themselves to prayer and kept themselves from food, they put them into the care of the Lord in whom they had faith.
14:24 And they went through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia.
14:25 And, after preaching the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia ;
14:26 And from there they went by ship to Antioch, where they had been handed over to the grace of God for the work which they had not done.
14:27 And when they came there, and had got the church together, they gave them an account of all the things which God had done through them, and how he had made open a door of faith to the Gentiles.
14:28 And they were with the disciples there for a long time.
The Acts, 15
Apostles come together in Jerusalem
15:1 Now certain men came down from Judaea, teaching the brothers and saying that without circumcision, after the rule of Moses, there is no salvation.
15:2 And after Paul and Barnabas had had no little argument and discussion with them, the brothers made a decision to send Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them to the Apostles and the rulers of the church at Jerusalem about this question.
15:3 So they, being sent on their way by the church, went through Phoenicia and Samaria, giving news of the salvation of the Gentiles, to the great joy of all the brothers.
15:4 And when they came to Jerusalem, they had a meeting with the church and the Apostles and the rulers, and they gave an account of all the things which God had done through them.
15:5 But some of the Pharisees, who were of the faith, got up and said, It is necessary for these to have circumcision and to keep the law of Moses.
15:6 And the Apostles and the rulers of the church came together and gave thought to the question.
15:7 And when there had been much discussion, Peter got up and said to them, My brothers, you have knowledge that some time back it was God's pleasure that by my mouth the good news might be given to the Gentiles so that they might have faith.
15:8 And God, the searcher of hearts, was a witness to them, giving them the Holy Spirit even as he did to us;
15:9 Making no division between them and us, but making clean their hearts by faith.
15:10 Why then are you testing God, by putting on the neck of the disciples a yoke so hard that not even our fathers or we were strong enough for it ?
15:11 But we have faith that we will get salvation through the grace of the Lord Jesus in the same way as they.
15:12 And all the people were quiet while Barnabas and Paul gave an account of the signs and wonders which God had done among the Gentiles by them.
15:13 And when they had come to an end, James, answering, said, My brothers, give ear to me:
15:14 Symeon has given an account of how God was first pleased to take from among the Gentiles a people for himself.
15:15 And this is in agreement with the words of the prophets, as it is said,
15:16 After these things I will come back, and will put up the tent of David which has been broken down, building up again its broken parts and making it complete:
15:17 So that the rest of men may make search for the Lord, and all the Gentiles on whom my name is named,
15:18 Says the Lord, who has made these things clear from the earliest times.
15:19 For this reason my decision is, that we do not put trouble in the way of those who from among the Gentiles are turned to God ;
15:20 But that we give them orders to keep themselves from things offered to false gods, and from the evil desires of the body, and from the flesh of animals put to death in ways against the law, and from blood.
15:21 For Moses, from times long past, has his preachers in every town, reading his law in the Synagogues every Sabbath.
15:22 Then it seemed good to the Apostles and the rulers and all the church, to send men from among them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas ; Judas, named Barsabbas, and Silas, chief men among the brothers :
15:23 And they sent a letter by them, saying, The Apostles and the older brothers, to the brothers who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, may joy be with you:
15:24 Because we have knowledge that some who went from us have been troubling you with their words, putting your souls in doubt; to whom we gave no such order;
15:25 It seemed good to us, having come to an agreement together, to send these men to you, with our well loved Barnabas and Paul,
15:26 Men who have given up their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
15:27 And so we have sent Judas and Silas, who will say the same things to you themselves, by word of mouth.
15:28 For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us, to put on you nothing more than these necessary things;
15:29 To keep from things offered to false gods, and from blood, and from things put to death in ways which are against the law, and from the evil desires of the body; if you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. May you be happy.
15:30 So they, being sent away, came down to Antioch, and having got the people together, they gave them the letter.
15:31 And after reading it, they were glad of its comfort.
15:32 And Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, gave teaching to the brothers and made them strong in the faith.
15:33 And when they had been there for some time, they were sent back in peace by the brothers to those who had sent them.
(15:34)
15:35 But Paul and Barnabas kept on in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of God, with a number of others.
15:36 And after some days, Paul said to Barnabas, Let us go back and see the brothers in every town where we have given the word of God, and see how they are.
15:37 And Barnabas had a desire to take with them John, named Mark.
15:38 But Paul was of the opinion that it was not right to take with them one who had gone away from them in Pamphylia, and had not gone on with the work.
15:39 And there was a sharp argument between them, so that they were parted from one another, and Barnabas took Mark with him and went by ship to Cyprus ;
15:40 But Paul took Silas and went away with the blessing of the brothers.
15:41 And he went through Syria and Cilicia, making the churches stronger in the faith.
- - - - -15:34 .Some authorities add : But it seemed good to Silas to be there.
The Acts, 16
Paul in Macedonia
16:1 And he came to Derbe and Lystra : and there was a certain disciple there named Timothy, whose mother was one of the Jews of the faith, but his father was a Greek ;
16:2 Of whom the brothers at Lystra and Iconium had a high opinion.
16:3 Paul had a desire for him to go with him, and he gave him circumcision because of the Jews who were in those parts : for they all had knowledge that his father was a Greek.
16:4 And on their way through the towns, they gave them the rules which had been made by the Apostles and the rulers of the church at Jerusalem, so that they might keep them.
16:5 So the churches were made strong in the faith and were increased in number every day.
16:6 And after they had gone through the land of Phrygia and Galatia, the Holy Spirit did not let them take the word into Asia ;
16:7 And having come to Mysia, they made an attempt to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not let them;
16:8 And going past Mysia, they came down to Troas.
16:9 And Paul had a vision in the night; a man of Macedonia came, requesting him, and saying, Come over into Macedonia and give us help.
16:10 And when he had seen the vision, straight away we made the decision to go into Macedonia, for it seemed certain to us that God had sent us to give the good news to them.
16:11 So, from Troas we went straight by ship to Samothrace and the day after to Neapolis;
16:12 And from there to Philippi, which is the most important town of Macedonia and a Roman colony : and we were there for some days.
16:13 And on the Sabbath we went outside the town, by the river, where we had an idea that there would be a place of prayer; and, being seated, we had talk with the women who had come together.
16:14 And a certain woman named Lydia, a trader in purple cloth of the town of Thyatira, and a God-fearing woman, gave ear to us : whose heart the Lord made open to give attention to the things which Paul was saying.
16:15 And when she and her family had had baptism, she made a request to us, saying, If it seems to you that I am true to the Lord, come into my house and be my guests. And she made us come.
16:16 And when we were going to the place of prayer, we came across a girl with a spirit which gave knowledge of the future, whose masters made great profit from her power.
16:17 She came after Paul and us, crying out and saying, These men are the servants of the Most High God, who are giving you news of the way of salvation.
16:18 And this she did on a number of days. But Paul was greatly troubled and, turning, said to the spirit, I give you orders in the name of Jesus Christ, to come out of her. And it came out that very hour.
16:19 But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they took Paul and Silas, pulling them into the market-place before the rulers ;
16:20 And when they had taken them before the authorities, they said, These men, who are Jews, are greatly troubling our town ;
16:21 Teaching rules of living which it is not right for us to have or to keep, being Romans.
16:22 And the people made an attack on them all together : and the authorities took their clothing off them, and gave orders for them to be whipped.
16:23 And when they had given them a great number of blows, they put them in prison, giving orders to the keeper of the prison to keep them safely :
16:24 And he, having such orders, put them into the inner prison with chains on their feet.
16:25 But about the middle of the night, Paul and Silas were making prayers and songs to God in the hearing of the prisoners ;
16:26 And suddenly there was an earth-shock, so that the base of the prison was moved : and all the doors came open, and everyone's chains came off.
16:27 And the keeper, coming out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, took his sword and was about to put himself to death, fearing that the prisoners had got away.
16:28 But Paul said in a loud voice, Do yourself no damage, for we are all here.
16:29 And he sent for lights and came rushing in and, shaking with fear, went down on his face before Paul and Silas,
16:30 And took them out and said, Sirs, what have I to do to get salvation ?
16:31 And they said, Have faith in the Lord Jesus, and you and your family will have salvation.
16:32 And they gave the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house.
16:33 And that same hour of the night, he took them, and when he had given attention to their wounds, he and all his family had baptism straight away.
16:34 And he took them into his house and gave them food, and he was full of joy, having faith in God with all his family.
16:35 But when it was day, the authorities sent the police, saying, Let these men go.
16:36 And the keeper said to Paul, The authorities have given orders to let you go : come out now, and go in peace.
16:37 But Paul said to them, They have given us who are Romans a public whipping without judging us, and have put us in prison. Will they now send us out secretly ? no, truly, let them come themselves and take us out.
16:38 And the police gave an account of these words to the authorities, and they were full of fear on hearing that they were Romans ;
16:39 Then they came and made prayers to them, requesting them, when they had taken them out, to go away from the town.
16:40 And they came out of the prison and went to the house of Lydia : and when they had seen the brothers they gave them comfort and went away.
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