Bible in Basic English
MATTHEW, 9
Taking food with sinners
9:1 And he got into a boat and went across and came to his town.
2 And they took to him a man stretched on a bed who had no power of moving ; and Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the man who was ill, Son, take heart ; you have forgiveness for your sins.
3 And some of the scribes said among themselves, This man has no respect for God.
4 And Jesus, having knowledge of what was in their minds, said, Why are your thoughts evil ?
5 For which is the simpler, to say, You have forgiveness for your sins; or to say, Get up and go ?
6 But so that you may see that on earth the Son of man has authority for the forgiveness of sins, (then said he to the man who was ill,) Get up, and take up your bed, and go to your house.
7 And he got up and went away to his house.
8 But when the people saw it they were full of fear, and gave glory to God who had given such authority to men.
9:9 And when Jesus was going from there, he saw a man whose name was Matthew, seated at the place where taxes were taken ; and he said to him, Come after me. And he got up and went after him.
9:10 And it came about, when he was in the house taking food, that a number of tax-farmers and sinners came and took their places with Jesus and his disciples.
11 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to his disciples, Why does your Master take food with tax-farmers and sinners ?
12 But on hearing this he said, Those who are well have no need of a medical man, but those who are ill.
13 But go and take to heart the sense of these words, My desire is for mercy, not offerings : for I have come not to get the upright, but sinners.
14 Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees frequently go without food, but your disciples do not ?
15 And Jesus said to them, Will the friends of the newly-married man be sad as long as he is with them? But the days will come when he will be taken away from them, and then will they go without food.
16 And no man puts a bit of new cloth on an old coat, for by pulling away from the old, it makes a worse hole.
17 And men do not put new wine into old wine-skins ; or the skins will be burst and the wine will come out, and the skins are of no more use : but they put new wine into new wine-skins, and so the two will be safe.
9:18 While he was saying these things to them, there came a ruler and gave him worship, saying, My daughter is even now dead; but come and put your hand on her, and she will come back to life.
19 And Jesus got up and went after him, and so did his disciples.
20 And a woman, who for twelve years had had a flow of blood, came after him, and put her hand on the edge of his robe :
21 Because, she said to herself, if I may but put my hand on his robe, I will be made well.
22 But Jesus, turning and seeing her, said, Daughter, take heart; your faith has made you well. And the woman was made well from that hour.
23 And when Jesus came into the ruler's house and saw the players with their instruments and the people making a noise,
24 He said, Make room ; for the girl is not dead, but sleeping. And they were laughing at him.
25 But when the people were sent out, he went in and took her by the hand ; and the girl got up.
26 And the news of it went out into all that land.
9:27 And when Jesus went on from there, two blind men came after him, crying out, Have mercy on us, you Son of David.
28 And when he had come into the house, the blind men came to him ; and Jesus said to them, Have you faith that I am able to do this? They said to him, Yes, Lord.
29 Then he put his hand on their eyes, saying, As your faith is, let it be done to you.
30 And their eyes were made open. And Jesus said to them sharply, Let no man have knowledge of it.
31 But they went out and gave news of him in all that land.
9:32 And while they were going away, there came to him a man without the power of talking, and with an evil spirit.
33 And when the evil spirit had been sent out, the man had the power of talking : and they were all surprised, saying, Such a thing has never been seen in Israel.
34 But the Pharisees said, By the ruler of evil spirits, he sends evil spirits out of men.
9:35 And Jesus went about all the towns and small places, teaching in their Synagogues and preaching the good news of the kingdom and making well all sorts of disease and pain.
36 But when he saw all the people he was moved with pity for them, because they were troubled and wandering like sheep without a keeper.
37 Then he said to his disciples, There is much grain but not enough men to get it in.
38 Make prayer, then, to the Lord of the grain-fields, that he may send out workers to get in his grain.
MATTHEW, 10
Mission of the twelve
10:1 And he got together his twelve disciples and gave them the power of driving out unclean spirits, and of making well all sorts of disease and pain.
2 Now the names of the twelve are these : The first, Simon, who is named Peter, and Andrew, his brother; James, the son of Zebedee, and John, his brother ;
3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew, the tax-farmer ; James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus ;
4 Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who was false to him.
10:5 These twelve Jesus sent out and gave them orders, saying, Do not go among the Gentiles, or into any town of Samaria,
6 But go to the wandering sheep of the house of Israel,
7 And, on your way, say, The kingdom of heaven is near.
8 Make well those who are ill, give life to the dead, make lepers clean, send evil spirits out of men ; freely it has been given to you, freely give.
9 Take no gold or silver or copper in your pockets ;
10 Take no bag for your journey and do not take two coats or shoes or a stick : for the workman has a right to his food.
11 And into whatever town or small place you go, make search there for someone who is respected, and make his house your resting-place till you go away.
12 And when you go in, say, May peace be on this house.
13 And if the house is good enough, let your peace come on it : but if not, let your peace come back to you.
14 And whoever will not take you in, or give ear to your words, when you go out from that house or that town, put off its dust from your feet.
15 Truly I say to you, It will be better for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of God's judging than for that town.
10:16 See, I send you out as sheep among wolves. Be then as wise as snakes, and as gentle as doves.
17 But be on the watch against men : for they will give you up to the Sanhedrins, and in their Synagogues they will give you blows ;
18 And you will come before rulers and kings because of me, for a witness to them and to the Gentiles.
19 But when you are given up into their hands, do not be troubled about what to say or how to say it : for in that hour what you are to say will be given to you;
20 Because it is not you who say the words, but the Spirit of your Father in you.
21 And brother will give up brother to death, and the father his child : and children will go against their fathers and mothers, and put them to death.
22 And you will be hated by all men because of my name : but he who is strong to the end will have salvation.
23 But when they are cruel to you in one town, go in flight to another : for truly, I say to you, You will not have gone through the towns of Israel before the Son of man comes.
10:24 A disciple is not greater than his master, or a servant than his lord.
25 It is enough for the disciple that he may be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have given the name Beelzebub to the master of the house, how much more to those of his house !
10:26 Have, then, no fear of them : because nothing is covered which will not come to light, or secret which will not be made clear.
27 What I say to you in the dark, say in the light : and what comes to your ear secretly, say publicly from the house-tops.
28 And have no fear of those who put to death the body, but are not able to put to death the soul. But have fear of him who has power to give soul and body to destruction in hell.
29 Are not sparrows two a farthing ? and not one of them comes to an end without your Father :
30 But the hairs of your head are all numbered.
31 Then have no fear; you are of more value than a flock of sparrows.
32 To everyone, then, who gives witness to me before men, I will give witness before my Father in heaven.
33 But if anyone says before men that he has no knowledge of me, I will say that I have no knowledge of him before my Father in heaven.
10:34 Do not have the thought that I have come to send peace on the earth; I came not to send peace but a sword.
35 For I have come to put a man against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law :
36 And a man will be hated by those of his house.
37 He who has more love for his father or mother than for me is not good enough for me; he who has more love for son or daughter than for me is not good enough for me.
38 And he who does not take his cross and come after me is not good enough for me.
39 He who has the desire to keep his life will have it taken from him, and he who gives up his life because of me will have it given back to him.
10:40 He who gives honour to you gives honour to me; and he who gives honour to me gives honour to him who sent me.
41 He who gives honour to a prophet, in the name of a prophet, will be given a prophet's reward; and he who gives honour to an upright man, in the name of an upright man, will be given an upright man's reward.
42 And whoever gives to one of these little ones a cup of cold water only, in the name of a disciple, truly I say to you, he will not go without his reward.
MATTHEW, 11
Sabbath
11:1 And it came about that when Jesus had come to the end of giving these orders to his twelve disciples, he went away from there, teaching and preaching in their towns.
11:2 Now when John had news in prison of the works of the Christ, he sent his disciples
3 To say to him, Are you he who is to come, or are we waiting for another ?
4 And Jesus, answering, said to them, Go and give news to John of the things which you are seeing and hearing :
5 The blind see; those who were not able to, are walking ; lepers are made clean ; those who were without hearing, now have their ears open ; the dead come to life again, and the poor have the good news given to them.
6 And a blessing will be on him who has no doubts about me.
11:7 And when they were going away, Jesus, talking of John, said to all the people, What went you out into the waste land to see ? a tall stem moving in the wind ?
8 But what went you out to see ? a man delicately clothed ? Those who have fair robes are in kings' houses.
9 But why did you go out? to see a prophet ? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet.
10 This is he of whom it has been said, See, I send my servant before your face, who will make ready your way before you.
11 Truly I say to you, Among the sons of women there has not been a greater than John the Baptist : but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
12 And from the days of John the Baptist till now, the kingdom of heaven is forcing its way in, and men of force take it.
13 For all the prophets and the law were in force till John.
14 And if you are able to see it, this is Elijah who was to come.
15 He who has ears, let him give ear.
11:16 But what comparison may I make of this generation ? It is like children seated in the market-places, crying out to one another,
17 We made music for you and you did not take part in the dance; we gave cries of sorrow and you made no signs of grief.
18 For John came, taking no food or drink, and they say, He has an evil spirit.
19 The Son of man has come feasting, and they say, See, a lover of food and wine, a friend of tax-farmers and sinners ! And wisdom is judged to be right by her works.
11:20 Then he went on to say hard things to the towns where most of his works of power were done, because they had not been turned from their sins.
21 Unhappy are you, Chorazin ! Unhappy are you, Beth-saida ! For if the works of power which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have been turned from their sins in days gone by, clothing themselves in haircloth and putting dust on their heads.
22 But I say to you, It will be better for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judging, than for you.
23 And you, Capernaum, were you not to be lifted up to heaven ? you will go down into hell : for if the works of power which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have been here to this day.
24 But I say to you that it will be better for the land of Sodom in the day of judging, than for you.
11:25 At that time Jesus made answer and said, I give praise to you, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have kept these things secret from the wise and the men of learning, and have made them clear to little children.
26 Yes, Father, for so it was pleasing in your eyes.
27 All things have been given to me by my Father ; and no one has knowledge of the Son, but the Father ; and no one has knowledge of the Father, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will make it clear.
28 Come to me, all you who are troubled and weighted down with care, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke on you and become like me, for I am gentle and without pride, and you will have rest for your souls ;
30 For my yoke is good, and the weight I take up is not hard.
MATTHEW, 12
Selection of servants
12:1 At that time Jesus went through the fields on the Sabbath day ; and his disciples, being in need of food, were taking the heads of grain.
2 But the Pharisees, when they saw it, said to him, See, your disciples do that which it is not right to do on the Sabbath.
3 But he said to them, Have you no knowledge of what David did when he had need of food, and those who were with him ?
4 How he went into the house of God and took for food the holy bread which it was not right for him or for those who were with him to take, but only for the priests ?
5 Or is it not said in the law, how the Sabbath is broken by the priests in the Temple and they do no wrong?
6 But I say to you that a greater thing than the Temple is here.
7 But if these words had been in your minds, My desire is for mercy and not for offerings, you would not have been judging those who have done no wrong.
8 For the Son of man is lord of the Sabbath.
12:9 And he went from there into their Synagogue :
10 And there was a man with a dead hand. And they put a question to him, saying, Is it right to make a man well on the Sabbath day? so that they might have something against him.
11 And he said to them, Which of you, having a sheep, if it gets into a hole on the Sabbath day, will not put out a helping hand and get it back ?
12 Of how much more value is a man than a sheep ! For this reason it is right to do good on the Sabbath day.
13 Then said he to the man, Put out your hand. And he put it out, and it was made as well as the other.
14 But the Pharisees went out and made designs against him, how they might put him to death.
12:15 And Jesus, having knowledge of this, went away from there, and a great number went after him; and he made them all well,
16 Ordering them not to give people word of him :
17 So that what was said by Isaiah the prophet might come true,
18 See my servant, the man of my selection, my loved one in whom my soul is well pleased : I will put my Spirit on him, and he will make my decision clear to the Gentiles.
19 His coming will not be with fighting or loud cries; and his voice will not be lifted up in the streets.
20 The crushed stem will not be broken by him ; and the feebly burning light will he not put out, till he has made righteousness overcome all.
21 And in his name will the Gentiles put their hope.
12:22 Then they took to him one with an evil spirit, who was blind and had no power of talking : and he made him well so that he had the power of talking and seeing.
23 And all the people were surprised and said, Is not this the Son of David?
24 But the Pharisees, hearing of it, said, This man only sends evil spirits out of men by Beelzebub, the ruler of evil spirits.
25 And having knowledge of their thoughts he said to them, Every kingdom having division in itself is made waste, and every town or house having division in itself will come to destruction.
26 And if Satan sends out Satan, he makes war against himself ; how then will he keep his kingdom?
27 And if I by Beelzebub send evil spirits out of men, by whom do your sons send them out ? So let them be your judges.
28 But if I by the Spirit of God send out evil spirits, then is the kingdom of God come on you.
29 Or how may one go into a strong man's house and take his goods, if he does not first put cords round the strong man? and then he may take his goods.
30 Whoever is not with me is against me; and he who does not take part with me in getting people together, is driving them away.
31 So I say to you, Every sin and every evil word against God will have forgiveness; but for evil words against the Spirit there will be no forgiveness.
32 And whoever says a word against the Son of man, will have forgiveness; but whoever says a word against the Holy Spirit, will not have forgiveness in this life or in that which is to come.
12:33 Make the tree good, and its fruit good ; or make the tree bad, and its fruit bad; for by its fruit you will get knowledge of the tree.
34 You offspring of snakes, how are you, being evil, able to say good things ? because out of the heart's store come the words of the mouth.
35 The good man out of his good store gives good things; and the evil man out of his evil store gives evil things.
36 And I say to you that in the day when they are judged, men will have to give an account of every foolish word they have said.
37 For by your words will your righteousness be seen, and by your words you will be judged.
12:38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees, hearing this, said to him, Master, we are looking for a sign from you.
39 But he, answering, said to them, An evil and false generation is looking for a sign; and no sign will be given to it but the sign of the prophet Jonah :
40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the stomach of the great fish, so will the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
41 The men of Nineveh will come up in the day of judging and give their decision against this generation : because they were turned from their sins at the preaching of Jonah ; and now a greater than Jonah is here.
42 The queen of the South will come up in the day of judging and give her decision against this generation : for she came from the ends of the earth to give ear to the wisdom of Solomon; and now a greater than Solomon is here.
12:43 But the unclean spirit, when he is gone out of a man, goes through dry places looking for rest, and getting it not.
44 Then he says, I will go back into my house from which I came out; and when he comes, he sees that there is no one in it, but that it has been made fair and clean.
45 Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits worse than himself, and they go in and make it their living-place : and the last condition of that man is worse than the first. Even so will it be with this evil generation.
12:46 While he was still talking to the people, his mother and his brothers came, desiring to have talk with him.
47 And one said to him, See, your mother and your brothers are outside, desiring to have talk with you.
48 But he in answer said to him who gave the news, Who is my mother and who are my brothers ?
49 And he put out his hand to his disciples and said, See, my mother and my brothers !
50 For whoever does the pleasure of my Father in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother.
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