Bible in Basic English
Luke, 9
9:1 And getting the twelve together, he gave them power and authority over all evil spirits and over diseases, to make them well.
9:2 And he sent them out to be preachers of the kingdom of God, and to make well those who were ill.
9:3 And he said to them, Take nothing for your journey, no stick or bag or bread or money, and do not take two coats.
9:4 And if you go into a house, let that house be your resting-place till you go away.
9:5 And if any people will not take you in, when you go away from that town, put off its dust from your feet for a witness against them.
9:6 And they went away, journeying through all the towns, preaching the good news and making people free from diseases in all places.
9:7 Now Herod the king had news of all these things: and he was in doubt, because it was said by some people that John had come back from the dead ;
9:8 And by some, that Elijah had come; and by others, that one of the old prophets had come back to life.
9:9 And Herod said, I put John to death: but who is this, of whom such stories are given to me ? And he had a desire to see him.
9:10 And the twelve, when they came back, gave him an account of what they had done. And he took them with him and went away from the people to a town named Beth-saida.
9:11 But the people, getting news of it, went after him: and he was pleased to see them, and gave them teaching about the kingdom of God, and made those well who were in need of it.
9:12 And the day went on; and the twelve came to him and said, Send these people away so that they may go into the towns and the country round about and get resting-places and food for themselves, for we are in a waste place.
9:13 But he said, Give them food yourselves. And they said, We have only five cakes of bread and two fishes, if we do not go and get food for all these people.
9:14 For there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, Make them be seated in groups, about fifty to a group.
9:15 And they did so, and made them all be seated.
9:16 And he took the five cakes of bread and the two fishes and, looking up to heaven, he said words of blessing over them, and when they had been broken, he gave them to the disciples to give to the people.
9:17 And they all took the food and had enough; and they took up of the broken bits which were over, twelve baskets full.
9:18 And it came about that when he was in prayer, by himself, and the disciples were with him, he put a question to them, saying, Who do the people say I am ?
9:19 And they, answering, said, John the Baptist; but others say Elijah ; and others, that one of the old prophets has come back.
9:20 And he said, But who do you say that I am ? And Peter, answering, said, The Christ of God.
9:21 But he gave them special orders, not to say this to any man ;
9:22 Saying, The Son of man will undergo much and be put on one side by the rulers and the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and be put to death, and on the third day he will come back to life.
9:23 And he said to them all, If any man has a desire to come after me, let him give up all, and take up his cross every day, and come after me.
9:24 For whoever has a desire to keep his life will have it taken from him, but whoever gives up his life because of me, will keep it.
9:25 For what profit will a man have if he gets all the world, but undergoes loss or destruction himself ?
9:26 For if any man has a feeling of shame because of me or of my words, the Son of man will have shame because of him when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
9:27 But truly I say to you, Some of those who are here now will have no taste of death till they see the kingdom of God.
9:28 And about eight days after he had said these things, he took Peter and John and James with him and went up into the mountain for prayer.
9:29 And while he was in prayer, his face was changed and his clothing became white and shining.
9:30 And two men, Moses and Elijah, were talking with him ;
9:31 Who were seen in glory and were talking of his death which was about to take place in Jerusalem.
9:32 Now Peter and those who were with him were overcome with sleep : but when they were fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men who were with him.
9:33 And when they were about to go away from him, Peter said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah : having no knowledge of what he was saying.
9:34 And while he said these things, the shade of a cloud came over them, and they were full of fear when they went into the cloud.
9:35 And there was a voice from the cloud saying, This is my Son, the man of my selection ; give ear to him.
9:36 And after the voice was gone they saw that Jesus was by himself. And they kept quiet, and said nothing at that time to anyone of the things which they had seen.
9:37 And on the day after, when they came down from the mountain, a great band of people came to him.
9:38 And a man from among them, crying out, said, Master, I make a request to you, give a thought to my son, for he is my only child :
9:39 And see, a spirit takes him, and suddenly he gives a cry, twisted in pain and streaming at the lips, and when it goes away from him at last, he is marked as from blows.
9:40 And I made a request to your disciples to send it out of him, but they were not able to do it.
9:41 And Jesus said, O generation without faith and false in heart, how long will I have to be with you and put up with you ? let your son come here.
9:42 And while he was coming, he was pushed violently down and twisted by the evil spirit. But Jesus gave sharp orders to the unclean spirit, and made the boy well, and gave him back to his father.
9:43 And they were full of wonder at the great power of God. But while they were all wondering at all the things which he did, he said to his disciples,
9:44 Let these words go deep into your ears, for the Son of man will be given up into the hands of men.
9:45 But this saying was not clear to them and its sense was kept secret from them so that they were not able to see it: and they had fear of questioning him about it.
9:46 Now there was a discussion among them about which of them would be the greatest.
9:47 But when Jesus saw the reasoning of their hearts, he took a small child and put him by his side,
9:48 And said to them, Whoever gives honour to this child in my name, gives honour to me : and whoever gives honour to me, gives honour to him who sent me : for whoever is least among you all, that man is great.
9:49 And John, answering, said, Master, we saw a man driving out evil spirits in your name, and we did not let him do it, because he was not one of us.
9:50 But Jesus said to him, Let him do it, for he who is not against you is for you.
9:51 And it came about that when the days were near for him to be taken up, his face was turned to go to Jerusalem,
9:52 And he sent men before: and they came to a small town of Samaria to make ready for him.
9:53 But they would not have him there, because he was clearly going to Jerusalem.
9:54 And when his disciples, James and John, saw this, they said, Lord, may we send fire from heaven and put an end to them ?
9:55 But turning round he said sharp words to them.
9:56 And they went to another small town.
9:57 And when they were on the way, a certain man said to him, I will come after you wherever you go.
9:58 And Jesus said to him, Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have resting-places, but the Son of man has nowhere to put his head.
9:59 And he said to another, Come after me. But he said, Lord, let me first go and give the last honours to my father.
9:60 But he said to him, Let the dead take care of their dead ; it is for you to go and give news of the kingdom of God.
9:61 And another man said, I will come with you, Lord, but first let me say a last good-day to those who are at my house.
9:62 But Jesus said, No man, having put his hand to the plough and looking back, is good enough for the kingdom of God.
Luke, 10
10:1 Now after these things, the Lord made selection of seventy others and sent them before him, two together, into every town and place where he himself was about to come.
10:2 And he said to them, There is much grain ready to be cut, but not enough workers: so make prayer to the Lord of the grain-fields that he will send workers to get in the grain.
10:3 Go on your way : see, I send you out like lambs among wolves.
10:4 Take no bag for money or for food, and no shoes ; say no word to any man on the way.
10:5 And whenever you go into a house, first say, Peace be to this house.
10:6 And if a son of peace is there, your peace will be with him : but if not, it will come back to you again.
10:7 And keep in that same house, taking what food and drink they give you: for the worker has a right to his reward. Do not go from house to house.
10:8 And into whatever town you go, if they take you in, take whatever food is given to you :
10:9 And make well those in it who are ill and say to them, The kingdom of God is near to you.
10:10 But if you go into a town where they will not have you, go out into the streets of it and say,
10:11 Even the dust of your town, which is on our feet, we put off as a witness against you; but be certain of this, that the kingdom of God is near.
10:12 I say to you, It will be better in that day for Sodom than for that town.
10:13 A curse is on you, Chorazin ! A curse is on you, Beth-saida ! For if such works of power had been done in Tyre and Sidon as have been done in you, they would have been turned from their sins, in days gone by, seated in the dust.
10:14 But it will be better for Tyre and Sidon, in the day of judging, than for you.
10:15 And you, Capernaum, were you not lifted up to heaven ? you will go down to hell.
10:16 Whoever gives ear to you, gives ear to me; and whoever is against you, is against me; and whoever is against me, is against him who sent me.
10:17 And the seventy came back with joy, saying, Lord, even the evil spirits are under our power in your name.
10:18 And he said, I was watching for Satan, falling from heaven like a star.
10:19 See, I have given you power to put your feet on snakes and evil beasts, and over all the strength of him who is against you : and nothing will do you damage.
10:20 Do not be glad, however, because you have power over spirits, but because your names are recorded in heaven.
10:21 In that same hour he was full of joy in the Holy Spirit 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 : for so, O Father, it was pleasing in your eyes.
10:22 All things have been given to me by my Father: and no one has knowledge of the Son, but only the Father: and of the Father, but only the Son, and he to whom the Son will make it clear.
10:23 And, turning to the disciples, he said privately, Happy are the eyes which see the things you see:
10:24 For I say to you that numbers of prophets and kings have had a desire to see the things which you see, and have not seen them, and to have knowledge of the things which have come to your ears, and they had it not.
10:25 And a certain teacher of the law got up and put him to the test, saying, Master, what have I to do so that I may have eternal life ?
10:26 And he said to him, What does the law say, in your reading of it ?
10:27 And he, answering, said, Have love for the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and for your neighbour as for yourself.
10:28 And he said, You have given the right answer: do this and you will have life.
10:29 But he, desiring to put himself in the right, said to Jesus, And who is my neighbour ?
10:30 And Jesus, answering him, said, A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he got into the hands of thieves, who took his clothing and gave him cruel blows, and when they went away, he was half dead.
10:31 And by chance a certain priest was going down that way : and when he saw him, he went by on the other side.
10:32 And in the same way, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, went by on the other side.
10:33 But a certain man of Samaria, journeying that way, came where he was, and when he saw him, he was moved with pity for him,
10:34 And came to him and put clean linen round his wounds, with oil and wine ; and he put him on his beast and took him to a house and took care of him.
10:35 And the day after he took two pennies and gave them to the owner of the house and said, Take care of him; and if this money is not enough, when I come again I will give you whatever more is needed.
10:36 Which of these three men, in your opinion, was neighbour to the man who came into the hands of thieves ?
10:37 And he said, The one who had mercy on him. And Jesus said, Go and do the same.
10:38 Now, while they were on their way, he came to a certain town; and a woman named Martha took him into her house.
10:39 And she had a sister, by name Mary, who took her seat at the Lord's feet and gave attention to his words.
10:40 But Martha had her hands full of the work of the house, and she came to him and said, Lord, is it nothing to you that my sister has let me do all the work ? Say to her that she is to give me some help.
10:41 But the Lord, answering, said to her, Martha, Martha, you are full of care and troubled about such a number of things :
10:42 Little is needed, or even one thing only : for Mary has taken that good part, which will not be taken away from her.
Luke, 11
11:1 And it came about that he was in prayer in a certain place, and when he came to an end, one of his disciples said to him, Lord, will you give us teaching about prayer, as John did to his disciples ?
11:2 And he said to them, When you say your prayers, say, Father, may your name be kept holy and your kingdom come.
11:3 Give us every day bread for our needs.
11:4 May we have forgiveness for our sins, as we make free all those who are in debt to us. And let us not be put to the test.
11:5 And he said to them, Which of you, having a friend, would go to him in the middle of the night and say to him, Friend, let me have three cakes of bread ;
11:6 Because a friend of mine has come to me on a journey, and I have nothing to put before him;
11:7 And he, from inside the house, would say in answer, Do not be a trouble to me ; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed ; it is not possible for me to get up and give to you ?
11:8 I say to you, Though he will not get up and give to him, because he is his friend, still, if he keeps on making his request, he will get up and give him as much as he has need of.
11:9 And I say to you, Make requests, and they will be answered; what you are searching for, you will get; when you give the sign, the door will be open to you.
11:10 For to everyone who makes a request, it will be given ; and he who is searching will get his desire; and to him who gives the sign, the door will be open.
11:11 And which of you, being a father, will give a stone to his son, who makes request for bread ? or for a fish, will give him a snake ?
11:12 Or for an egg, will give him a scorpion ?
11:13 If, then, you who are evil are able to give good things to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who make request to him ?
11:14 And he was sending an evil spirit out of a man who was without the power of talking. And it came about that when the spirit had gone the man had the power of talking; and the people were full of wonder.
11:15 But some of them said, He sends out evil spirits by Beelzebul, the ruler of evil spirits.
11:16 And others, testing him, were looking for a sign from heaven from him.
11:17 But he, having knowledge of their thoughts, said to them, Every kingdom in which there is division is made waste; and a house in which there is division comes to destruction.
11:18 If, then, Satan is at war with himself, how will he keep his kingdom ? because you say that I send evil spirits out of men by the help of Beelzebul.
11:19 And if I, by Beelzebul, send out evil spirits, by whose help do your sons send them out ? so let them be your judges.
11:20 But if I, by the finger of God, send out evil spirits, then the kingdom of God has overtaken you.
11:21 When the strong man armed keeps watch over his house, then his goods are safe :
11:22 But when one who is stronger makes an attack on him and overcomes him, he takes away his instruments of war, in which he had put his faith, and makes division of his goods.
11:23 He who is not with me is against me, and he who will not give me help in getting people together is driving them away.
11:24 The unclean spirit, when he has gone out of a man, goes through dry places, looking for rest; and when he does not get it, he says, I will go back to my house from which I came.
11:25 And when he comes, he sees that it has been made fair and clean.
11:26 Then he goes and gets seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they go in, and take their places there: and the last condition of that man is worse than the first.
11:27 And it came about that when he said these things, a certain woman among the people said in a loud voice, Happy is the body which gave you birth, and the breasts from which you took milk.
11:28 But he said, More happy are they who give hearing to the word of God and keep it.
11:29 And when a great number of people came together to him, he said, This generation is an evil generation: it is looking for a sign and no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah.
11:30 For even as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of man be to this generation.
11:31 The queen of the South will come up on the day of judging and give her decision against the men of this generation: for she came from the ends of the earth to give ear to the wisdom of Solomon; and now something greater than Solomon is here.
11:32 The men of Nineveh will come up in the day of judging and give their decision against this generation: for they were turned away from their sins at the preaching of Jonah ; but now something greater than Jonah is here.
11:33 No man, when the light has been lighted, puts it in a secret place, or under a vessel, but on its table, so that those who come in may see the light.
11:34 The light of the body is the eye: when your eye is true, all your body is full of light ; but when it is evil, your body is dark.
11:35 So take care that the light which is in you is not dark.
11:36 If, then, all your body is light, with no part of it dark, it will be completely full of light, as when a flame with its bright shining gives you light.
11:37 Now, while he was talking, a Pharisee made a request that he would come to a meal with him; and he went in and took his seat at the meal.
11:38 And when the Pharisee saw it, he was surprised because he came to the meal without first washing himself.
11:39 And the Lord said to him, You Pharisees make the outside of the cup and the plate clean; but inside you are thieves and full of evil.
11:40 O you foolish ones ! did not he who made the outside in the same way make the inside ?
11:41 But if you give to the poor such things as you are able, then all things are clean to you.
11:42 But a curse is on you, Pharisees ! for you make men give a tenth of every sort of plant, and give no thought to right and the love of God; but it is right for you to do these things, and not let the others be undone.
11:43 A curse is on you, Pharisees ! for your desires are for the most important seats in the Synagogues and for words of respect said to you in the market-place.
11:44 A curse is on you ! for you are like the resting-places of dead men, which are not seen, and men go walking over them without knowledge of it.
11:45 And one of the teachers of the law, answering, said to him, Master, in saying this, you give a bad name to us as to them.
11:46 And he said, A curse is on you, teachers of the law ! for while other men are crushed under the weight of the rules you make for them, you yourselves do not put so much as one finger to them.
11:47 A curse is on you ! for you make resting-places for the bodies of the prophets, but your fathers put them to death.
11:48 So you are witnesses and give approval to the work of your fathers; for they put them to death and you make their last resting-places.
11:49 For this reason the wisdom of God has said, I will send them prophets and teachers, and to some of them they will give death and cruel pains ;
11:50 So that punishment may come on this generation for the blood of all the prophets which was given from the earliest days ;
11:51 From the blood of Abel to the blood of Zachariah, who was put to death between the altar and the Temple. Yes, I say to you, It will come on this generation.
11:52 A curse is on you, teachers of the law ! for you have taken away the key of knowledge: you did not go in yourselves, and you got in the way of those who were going in.
11:53 And when he had come out of that place, the scribes and the Pharisees came round him angrily, questioning him about more things ;
11:54 And watching him, for a chance to get something from his words which might be used against him.
Luke, 12
12:1 At that time, when thousands of the people had come together, in such numbers that they were crushing one another, he said first to his disciples, Have nothing to do with the leaven of the Pharisees, which is deceit.
12:2 But nothing is covered up, which will not come to light, or secret, which will not be made clear.
12:3 So, whatever you have said in the dark, will come to men's hearing in the light, and what you have said secretly inside the house, will be made public from the house-tops.
12:4 And I say to you, my friends, Have no fear of those who may put the body to death, and are able to do no more than that.
12:5 But I will make clear to you of whom you are to be in fear: of him who after death has power to send you to hell; yes, truly I say, Have fear of him.
12:6 Are not five sparrows given in exchange for two farthings ? and God has every one of them in mind.
12:7 But even the hairs of your head are numbered. Have no fear : you are of more value than a flock of sparrows.
12:8 And I say to you that to everyone who gives witness to me before men, the Son of man will give witness before the angels of God.
12:9 But if anyone says before men that he has no knowledge of me, I will say that I have no knowledge of him before the angels of God.
12:10 And if anyone says a word against the Son of man, he will have forgiveness: but for him who says evil words against the Holy Spirit, there will be no forgiveness.
12:11 And when they take you before the Synagogues and the authorities and the rulers, take no thought about what answers you will give, or what you will say :
12:12 For the Holy Spirit will make clear to you in that very hour what to say.
12:13 And one of the people said to him, Master, give an order to my brother to make division of the heritage with me.
12:14 But he said, Man, who made me a judge or a maker of decisions for you ?
12:15 And he said to them, Take care to keep yourselves free from the desire for property; for a man's life is not made up of the number of things which he has.
12:16 And he said to them, in a story, The land of a certain man of great wealth was very fertile:
12:17 And he said to himself, What is to be done ? for I have no place in which to put all my fruit.
12:18 And he said, This I will do : I will take down my store-houses and make greater ones, and there I will put all my grain and my goods.
12:19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have a great amount of goods in store, enough for a number of years; be at rest, take food and wine and be happy.
12:20 But God said to him, You foolish one, tonight I will take your soul from you, and who then will be the owner of all the things which you have got together ?
12:21 So that is what comes to the man who gets wealth for himself, and has not wealth in the eyes of God.
12:22 And he said to his disciples, For this reason I say to you, Take no thought for your life, about what food you will take, or for your body, how it may be clothed.
12:23 Is not life more than food, and the body than its clothing ?
12:24 Give thought to the ravens; they do not put seeds into the earth, or get together grain; they have no store-houses or buildings; and God gives them their food : of how much greater value are you than the birds !
12:25 And which of you by taking thought is able to make himself any taller ?
12:26 If, then, you are not able to do even that which is least, why are you troubled about the rest ?
12:27 Give thought to the flowers: they do no work, they make no thread ; and still I say to you, Even Solomon, in all his glory, was not clothed like one of these.
12:28 But if God gives such clothing to the grass in the field, which today is living, and tomorrow will be burned in the oven, how much more will he give clothing to you, O men of little faith ?
12:29 And do not give overmuch thought to your food and drink, and let not your mind be full of doubts.
12:30 For the nations of the world go in search of all these things: but your Father has knowledge that you have need of them.
12:31 But let your chief care be for his kingdom, and these other things will be given to you in addition.
12:32 Have no fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
12:33 Give what property you have in exchange for money, and give the money to the poor; make for yourselves money-bags which will not get old, wealth stored up in heaven which will be yours for ever, where thieves will not come nor worms put it to destruction.
12:34 For where your wealth is, there will your heart be.
12:35 Be ready, dressed as for a journey, with your lights burning.
12:36 And be like men who are looking for their lord, when he comes back from the bride-feast; so that when he comes to the door, it will be open to him quickly.
12:37 Happy are those servants who are watching when the lord comes ; truly I say to you, he will make himself their servant and, placing them at the table, he will come out and give them food.
12:38 And if he comes in the second division of the night or in the third, and they are watching for him, happy are those servants.
12:39 But be certain of this, that if the master of the house had had knowledge of the time when the thief was coming, he would have been watching, and would not have let his house be broken into.
12:40 So be ready: for the Son of man is coming at a time when you are not looking for him.
12:41 And Peter said to him, Lord, are these words said to us only, or to all men ?
12:42 And the Lord said, Who then is the wise and responsible servant whom his lord will put in control of his family, to give them their food at the right time ?
12:43 Happy is that servant who, when his lord comes, is doing so.
12:44 Truly I say to you, he will put him in control of all his goods.
12:45 But if that servant says to himself, My lord is a long time coming; and goes about giving blows to the men-servants and the women-servants, feasting and taking overmuch wine;
12:46 The lord of that servant will come at a time when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not ready for him, and he will have him cut in two and will give him his part in the fate of those who have no faith;
12:47 And the servant who had knowledge of his lord's desires and was not ready for him and did not do as he was ordered, will be given a great number of blows;
12:48 But he who, without knowledge, did things for which punishment is given, will get only a small number of blows. The man to whom much is given, will have to give much ; if much is given into his care, of him more will be requested.
12:49 I came to send a fire on the earth, and it may even now have been lighted.
12:50 But there is a baptism which I have to undergo; and how am I kept back till it is complete !
12:51 Is it your opinion that I have come to give peace on earth ? I say to you, No, but division:
12:52 For from this time, a family of five in one house will be on opposite sides, three against two and two against three.
12:53 They will be at war, the father against his son, and the son against his father ; mother against daughter, and daughter against mother ; mother-in-law against daughter-in-law, and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.
12:54 Then he said to the people, When you see a cloud coming up in the west, straight away you say, There will be rain ; and so it is.
12:55 And when you see a south wind blowing, you say, There will be heat ; and so it is.
12:56 O false ones ! the face of the earth and the heaven is clear to you; how is it that the signs of these times are not as clear to you ?
12:57 And why are you, in your hearts, unable to be judges of what is right ?
12:58 For if anyone has a cause at law against you, and you are going with him before the ruler, make an attempt, on the way, to come to an agreement with him, for if you do not, he may take you before the judge and the judge will give you up to the police, and they will put you in prison.
12:59 I say to you, You will not come out of it till you have made payment to the very last farthing.
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