Bible in Basic English

John, 5

5:1     After these things there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

5:2     Now in Jerusalem near the sheep-market there is a public bath which in Hebrew is named Beth-zatha. It has five doorways. 3 In these doorways there were a great number of people with different diseases : some unable to see, some without the power of walking, some with wasted bodies. 5:4    5 One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him there on the floor it was clear to him that he had been now a long time in that condition, and so he said to the man, Is it your desire to get well ? 7 The ill man said in answer, Sir, I have nobody to put me into the bath when the water is moving; and while I am on the way down some other person gets in before me. 8 Jesus said to him, Get up, take your bed and go. 9 And the man became well straight away, and took up his bed and went.   Now that day was the Sabbath. 10 So the Jews said to the man who had been made well, It is the Sabbath; and it is against the law for you to take up your bed. 11 He said to them, But he who made me well, said to me, Take up your bed and go. 12 Then they put to him the question : Who is the man who said to you, Take it up and go ? 13 Now he who had been made well had no knowledge who it was, Jesus having gone away because of the number of people who were in that place. 14 After a time Jesus came across him in the Temple and said to him, See, you are well and strong; do no more sin for fear a worse thing comes to you. 15 The man went away and said to the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. 16 And for this reason the Jews were turned against Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. 17 But his answer was : My Father is still working even now, and so I am working. 18 For this cause the Jews had an even greater desire to put Jesus to death, because not only did he not keep the Sabbath but he said God was his Father, so making himself equal with God.

5:19     So Jesus made answer and said, Truly I say to you, The Son is not able to do anything himself; he is able to do only what he sees the Father doing; whatever the Father does the Son does it in the same way. 20 For the Father has love for the Son and lets him see everything which he does : and he will let him see greater works than these so that you may be full of wonder. 21 In the same way, as the Father gives life to the dead, even so the Son gives life to those to whom he is pleased to give it. 22 The Father is not the judge of men, but he has given all decisions into the hands of the Son; 23 So that all men may give honor to the Son even as they give honor to the Father. He who gives no honor to the Son gives no honor to the Father who sent him. 24 Truly I say to you, The man whose ears are open to my word and who has faith in him who sent me, has eternal life; he will not be judged, but has come from death into life.

5:25     Truly I say to you, The time is coming, it has even now come, when the voice of the Son of God will come to the ears of the dead, and those hearing it will have life. 26 For even as the Father has life in himself, so he has given to the Son to have life in himself. 27 And he has given him authority to be judge because he is the Son of man. 28 Do not be surprised at this : for the time is coming when his voice will come to all who are in the place of the dead, 29 And they will come out; those who have done good, into the new life; and those who have done evil, to be judged.

5:30     Of myself I am unable to do anything : as the voice comes to me so I give a decision : and my decision is right because I have no desire to do what is pleasing to myself, but only what is pleasing to him who sent me. 31 If I gave witness about myself, my witness would not be true. 32 There is another who gives witness about me and I am certain that the witness he gives about me is true. 33 You sent to John and he gave true witness. 34 But I have no need of a man's witness : I only say these things so that you may have salvation. 35 He was a burning and shining light, and for a time you were ready to be happy in his light. 36 But the witness which I have is greater than that of John : the work which the Father has given me to do, the very work which I am now doing, is a witness that the Father has sent me. 37 And the Father himself who sent me has given witness about me. Not one of you has ever given ear to his voice; his form you have not seen. 38 And you have not kept his word in your hearts, because you have not faith in him whom he has sent. 39 You make search in the holy Writings, in the belief that through them you get eternal life; and it is those Writings which give witness about me. 40 And still you have no desire to come to me so that you may have life. 41 I do not take honor from men; 42 But I have knowledge of you that you have no love for God in your hearts. 43 I have come in my Father's name, and your hearts are not open to me. If another comes with no other authority but himself, you will give him your approval. 44 How is it possible for you to have faith while you take honor one from another and have no desire for the honor which comes from the only God ? 45 Put out of your minds the thought that I will say things against you to the Father : the one who says things against you is Moses, on whom you put your hopes. 46 If you had belief in Moses you would have belief in me; for his writings are about me. 47 If you have no belief in his writings, how will you have belief in my words ?
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John, 6

6:1     After these things Jesus went away to the other side of the sea of Galilee--that is, the sea of Tiberias. 2 And a great number of people went after him because they saw the signs which he did on those who were ill. 3 Then Jesus went up the mountain and was seated there with his disciples. 4 Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near. 5 Lifting up his eyes, Jesus saw a great number of people coming to where he was, and he said to Philip, Where may we get bread for all these people ? 6 This he said, testing him : for he had no doubt what he himself would do. 7 Philip made answer, Bread to the value of two hundred pence would not be enough even to give everyone a little. 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to Jesus, 9 There is a boy here with five barley cakes and two fishes : but what is that among such a number ? 10 Jesus said, Let the people be seated. Now there was much grass in that place. And those seated on the grass were about five thousand. 11 Then Jesus took the cakes and having given praise to God, he gave them to the people who were seated, and the fishes in the same way, as much as they had need of. 12 And when they had had enough, Jesus said to his disciples, Take up the broken bits which are over, so that nothing may be wasted. 13 So they took them up : twelve baskets full of broken bits of the five cakes which were over after the people had had enough. 14 And when the people saw the sign which he had done, they said, Truly, this is the prophet who is to come into the world.

6:15     Now when Jesus saw that the people were about to come and take him by force to make him a king, he went away again up the mountain by himself.

6:16     When evening came the disciples went down to the sea; 17 And they took a boat and went across the sea in the direction of Capernaum. By then it was dark and still Jesus had not come to them. 18 The sea was getting rough because of a strong wind which was blowing. 19 After they had gone three or four miles they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near to the boat; and they had great fear. 20 But he said to them, It is I, have no fear. 21 Then they readily took him into the boat : and straight away the boat was at the land to which they were going.

6:22     The day after, the people who were on the other side of the sea saw that only one small boat had been there, that Jesus had not gone in that boat with the disciples, but that the disciples had gone away by themselves. 23 Some other boats, however, came from Tiberias near to the place where they had taken the bread after the Lord had given praise. 24 So when the people saw that Jesus was not there, or his disciples, they got into those boats and went over to Capernaum looking for Jesus.

6:25     And when they came across him on the other side of the sea they said, Rabbi, when did you come here ? 26 Jesus, answering them, said, Truly I say to you, You come after me, not because you saw signs, but because you were given the bread and had enough. 27 Let your work not be for the food which comes to an end, but for the food which goes on for eternal life, which the Son of man will give to you, for on him has God the Father put his mark. 28 Then they said to him, How may we do the works of God ? 29 Jesus, answering, said to them, This is to do the work of God : to have faith in him whom God has sent. 30 So they said, What sign do you give us, so that we may see and have faith in you ? What do you do ? 31 Our fathers had the manna in the waste land, as the Writings say, He gave them bread from heaven. 32 Jesus then said to them, Truly I say to you, What Moses gave you was not the bread from heaven; it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 The bread of God is the bread which comes down out of heaven and gives life to the world. 34 Ah, Lord, they said, give us that bread for ever !

6:35     And this was the answer of Jesus : I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never be in need of food, and he who has faith in me will never be in need of drink. 36 But it is as I said to you : you have seen me, and still you have no faith. 37 Whatever the Father gives to me will come to me ; and I will not send away anyone who comes to me. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my pleasure, but the pleasure of him who sent me. 39 And this is the pleasure of him who sent me, that I am not to let out of my hands anything which he has given me, but I am to give it new life on the last day. 40 This, I say, is my Father's pleasure, that everyone who sees the Son and has faith in him may have eternal life : and I will take him up on the last day.

6:41     Now the Jews said bitter things about Jesus because of his words, I am the bread which came down from heaven. 42 And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we have seen ? How is it then that he now says, I have come down from heaven ? 43 Jesus made answer and said, Do not say things against me, one to another. 44 No man is able to come to me if the Father who sent me does not give him the desire to come : and I will take him up from the dead on the last day. 45 The writings of the prophets say, And they will all have teaching from God. Everyone whose ears have been open to the teaching of the Father comes to me. 46 Not that anyone has ever seen the Father; only he who is from God, he has seen the Father. 47 Truly I say to you, He who has faith in me has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers took the manna in the waste land -- and they are dead. 50 The bread which comes from heaven is such bread that a man may take it for food and never see death. 51 I am the living bread which has come from heaven : if any man takes this bread for food he will have life for ever : and more than this, the bread which I will give is my flesh which I will give for the life of the world.

6:52     Then the Jews had an angry discussion among themselves, saying, How is it possible for this man to give us his flesh for food ? 53 Then Jesus said to them, Truly I say to you, If you do not take the flesh of the Son of man for food, and if you do not take his blood for drink, you have no life in you. 54 He who takes my flesh for food and my blood for drink has eternal life : and I will take him up from the dead at the last day. 55 My flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. 56 He who takes my flesh for food and my blood for drink is in me and I in him. 57 As the living Father has sent me, and I have life because of the Father, even so he who takes me for his food will have life because of me. 58 This is the bread which has come down from heaven. It is not like the food which your fathers had : they took of the manna, and are dead; but he who takes this bread for food will have life for ever. 59 Jesus said these things in the Synagogue while he was teaching at Capernaum.

6:60     Then, hearing this, a number of his disciples said, This is a hard saying; who is able to take in such teaching ? 61 When Jesus became conscious that his disciples were protesting about what he said, he said to them, Does this give you trouble ? 62 What then will you say if you see the Son of man going up to where he was before ? 63 The spirit is the life giver; the flesh is of no value : the words which I have said to you are spirit and they are life. 64 But still some of you have no faith. For it was clear to Jesus from the first who they were who had no faith, and who it was who would be false to him. 65 And he said, This is why I said to you, No man is able to come to me if he is not given the power to do so by the Father.

6:66     Because of what he said, a number of the disciples went back and would no longer go with him. 67 So Jesus said to the twelve, Have you a desire to go away ? 68 Then Simon Peter gave this answer : Lord, to whom are we to go ? you have the words of eternal life; 69 And we have faith and are certain that you are the Holy One of God. 70 Then Jesus said, Did I not make a selection of you, the twelve, and one of you is a son of the Evil One ? 71 He was talking of Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. It was he who was to be false to Jesus -- one of the twelve.

John, 7

7:1     After this, Jesus went from place to place in Galilee. He did not go about in Judea, because the Jews were looking for a chance to put him to death. 2 But the feast of the Jews, the feast of tents, was near. 3 So his brothers said to him, Go away from here into Judea so that your disciples may see the works which you do. 4 Because no man does things secretly if he has a desire that men may have knowledge of him. If you do these things, let yourself be seen by all men. 5 For even his brothers had no belief in him. 6 Jesus said to them, My time is still to come, but any time is good for you. 7 It is not possible for you to be hated by the world; but I am hated by it, because I give witness that what it does is evil. 8 Go you up to the feast : I am not going up now to the feast because my time has not fully come. 9 Having said these things to them, he still kept in Galilee.

7:10     But after his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he went up, not publicly, but in secret. 11 At the feast the Jews were looking for him and saying, Where is he ? 12 And there was much discussion about him among the mass of the people. Some said, He is a good man; but others said, No, he is giving people false ideas. 13 But no man said anything about him openly for fear of the Jews.

7:14     Now in the middle of the feast Jesus went up to the Temple and was teaching. 15 Then the Jews were surprised and said, How has this man got knowledge of books ? He has never been to school. 16 Jesus gave them this answer : It is not my teaching, but his who sent me. 17 If any man is ready to do God's pleasure he will have knowledge of the teaching and of where it comes from--from God or from myself. 18 The man whose words come from himself is looking for glory for himself, but he who is looking for the glory of him who sent him -- that man is true and there is no evil in him. 19 Did not Moses give you the law ? Even so, not one of you keeps the law. Why have you a desire to put me to death ? 20 The people said in answer, You have an evil spirit : who has any desire to put you to death ? 21 This was the answer of Jesus : I have done one work and you are all surprised at it. 22 Moses gave you circumcision -- not that it comes from Moses, but from the fathers--and even on the Sabbath you give a child circumcision. 23 If a child is given circumcision on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath ? 24 Let not your decisions be based on what you see, but on righteousness.

7:25     Then some of the people of Jerusalem said, Is not this the man whose death is desired ? 26 And here he is talking openly and they say nothing to him ! Is it possible that the rulers have knowledge that this is truly the Christ ? 27 However, it is clear to us where this man comes from : but when the Christ comes no one will have knowledge where he comes from. 28 Then, when he was teaching in the Temple, Jesus said with a loud voice, You have knowledge of me and you have knowledge of where I come from ; and I have not come of myself ; but there is One who has sent me ; he is true, but you have no knowledge of him. 29 I have knowledge of him because I came from him and he sent me. 30 Then they had a desire to take him : but no man put hands on him because his hour was still to come. 31 And numbers of the people had belief in him, and they said, When the Christ comes will he do more signs than this man has done ?

7:32     This discussion of the people came to the ears of the Pharisees ; and the chief priests and the Pharisees sent servants to take him. 33 Then Jesus said, I will be with you a little longer and then I go to him who sent me. 34 You will be looking for me, and you will not see me : and where I am you may not come. 35 So the Jews said among themselves, To what place is he going where we will not see him ? will he go to the Jews living among the Greeks and become the teacher of the Greeks ? 36 What is this saying of his, You will be looking for me and will not see me, and where I am you may not come ?

7:37     On the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus got up and said in a loud voice, If any man is in need of drink let him come to me and I will give it to him. 38 He who has faith in me, out of his body, as the Writings have said, will come rivers of living water. 39 This he said of the Spirit which would be given to those who had faith in him : the Spirit had not been given then, because the glory of Jesus was still to come. 40     When these words came to their ears, some of the people said, This is certainly the prophet. 41 Others said, This is the Christ. But others said, Not so; will the Christ come from Galilee ? 42 Do not the Writings say that the Christ comes of the seed of David and from Beth-lehem, the little town where David was ? 43 So there was a division among the people because of him. 44 And some of them had a desire to take him; but no man put hands on him.

7:45     Then the servants went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, Why have you not got him with you ? 46 The servants made answer, No man ever said things like this man. 47 Then the Pharisees said to them, Have you, like the others, been given false ideas ? 48 Have any of the rulers belief in him, or any one of the Pharisees ? 49 But these people who have no knowledge of the law are cursed. 50 Nicodemus--he who had come to Jesus before, being himself one of them -- said to them, 51 Is a man judged by our law before it has given him a hearing and has knowledge of what he has done ? 52 This was their answer : And do you come from Galilee ? Make search and you will see that no prophet comes out of Galilee. 53 And every man went to his house;

John, 8

8:1     But Jesus went to the Mountain of Olives. 2 And early in the morning he came again into the Temple and all the people came to him and he was seated teaching them. 3 Now the scribes and Pharisees came, with a woman who had been taken in the act of sinning against the married relation; 4 And putting her forward, they said to him, Master, this woman has been taken in the very act of sinning against the married relation. 5 Now in the law Moses gave directions that such women were to be stoned; what do you say about it ? 6 They said this, testing him, so that they might have something against him. But Jesus, with his head bent down, made letters on the floor with his finger. 7 But when they went on with their questions, he got up and said to them, Let him among you who is without sin be the first to send a stone at her. 8 And again, with bent head, he made letters on the floor. 9 And when his words came to their ears, they went out one by one, starting with the oldest even to the last, because they were conscious of what was in their hearts : and Jesus was there by himself with the woman before him. 10 Then Jesus got up, and seeing nobody but the woman, he said to her, Where are the men who said things against you ? did no one give a decision against you ? 11 And she said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said, And I do not give a decision against you : go, and never do wrong again.]

8:12     Then again Jesus said to them, I am the light of the world; he who comes with me will not be walking in the dark but will have the light of life. 13 So the Pharisees said to him, The witness you give is about yourself : your witness is not true. 14 Jesus said in answer, Even if I give witness about myself, my witness is true, because I have knowledge of where I came from and where I am going; but you have no knowledge of where I come from or of where I am going. 15 You are judging from what you see; I am judging no man. 16 Even if I am judging, my decision is right, because I am not by myself--with me is the Father who sent me. 17 Even in your law it is said that the witness of two men is true. 18 I give witness about myself and the Father who sent me gives witness about me. 19 Then they said to him, Where is your Father ? Jesus said in answer, You have no knowledge of me or of my Father : if you had knowledge of me you would have knowledge of my Father. 20 Jesus said these words in the place where the offerings were stored, while he was teaching in the Temple : but no man took him because his time was still to come.

8:21     Then he said to them again, I am going away and you will be looking for me, but death will overtake you in your sins. It is not possible for you to come where I am going. 22 So the Jews said, Will he take his life ? Is that why he says, Where I go it is not possible for you to come ? 23 And he said to them, You are of the earth; I am from heaven : you are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 For this reason I said to you that death will overtake you in your sins : for if you have not faith that I am he, death will come to you while you are in your sins. 25 Then they said to him, Who are you ? Jesus said, What I said to you from the first. 26 I have much to say about you and against you : but he who sent me is true and what he has said to me I say to the world. 27 They did not see that his words were about the Father. 28 So Jesus said, When the Son of man has been lifted up by you, then it will be clear to you who I am, and that I do nothing of myself, but say as the Father gave me teaching. 29 He who sent me is with me; he has not gone from me, because at all times I do the things which are pleasing to him. 30 When he said this a number came to have faith in him.

8:31     Then Jesus said to the Jews who had faith in him, If you keep my word, then you are truly my disciples; 32 And you will have knowledge of what is true, and that will make you free. 33 They said to him in answer, We are Abraham's seed and have never been any man's servant : why do you say, You will become free ?

8:34     And this was the answer Jesus gave them : Truly I say to you, Everyone who does evil is the servant of sin. 35 Now the servant does not go on living in the house for ever, but the son does. 36 If then the son makes you free, you will be truly free. 37 I am conscious that you are Abraham's seed; but you have a desire to put me to death because my word has no place in you. 38 I say the things which I have seen in my Father's house : and you do the things which come to you from your father's house.

8:39     In answer they said to him, Our father is Abraham. Jesus said to them, If you were Abraham's children you would do what Abraham did. 40 But now you have a desire to put me to death, a man who has said to you what is true, as I had it from God : Abraham did not do that. 41 You are doing the works of your father. They said to him, We are true sons of Abraham; we have one Father, who is God. 42 Jesus said to them, If God was your Father you would have love for me, because it was from God I came and am here. I did not come of myself, but he sent me. 43 Why are my words not clear to you ? It is because your ears are shut to my teaching. 44 You are the children of your father the Evil One and it is your pleasure to do his desires. From the first he was a taker of life; and he did not go in the true way because there is no true thing in him. When he says what is false, it is natural to him, for he is false and the father of what is false. 45 But because I say what is true, you have no belief in me. 46 Which of you is able truly to say that I am a sinner ? If I say what is true, why have you no belief in me ? 47 He who is a child of God gives ear to the words of God : your ears are not open to them because you are not from God.

8:48     The Jews said to him in answer, Are we not right in saying that you are of Samaria and have an evil spirit ? 49 And this was the answer of Jesus : I have not an evil spirit ; but I give honor to my Father and you do not give honor to me. 50 I, however, am not in search of glory for myself : there is One who is searching for it and he is judge. 51 Truly I say to you, If a man keeps my word he will never see death. 52 The Jews said to him, Now we are certain that you have an evil spirit. Abraham is dead, and the prophets are dead; and you say, If a man keeps my word he will never see death. 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham, who is dead ? and the prophets are dead : who do you say that you are ? 54 Jesus said in answer, If I take glory for myself, my glory is nothing : it is my Father who gives me glory, of whom you say that he is your God. 55 You have no knowledge of him, but I have knowledge of him; and if I said I have no knowledge of him I would be talking falsely like you : but I have full knowledge of him, and I keep his word. 56 Your father Abraham was full of joy at the hope of seeing my day : he saw it and was glad. 57 Then the Jews said to him, You are not fifty years old; have you seen Abraham ? 58 Jesus said to them, Truly I say to you, Before Abraham came into being, I am. 59 So they took up stones to send at him : but Jesus got secretly out of their way and went out of the Temple.
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