The Bible in Basic English BBE
Good News Translation GNT
1 Ho! uncontrolled children, says the Lord, who give effect to a purpose which is not mine, and who make an agreement, but not by my spirit, increasing their sin:
1
The Lord has spoken: "Those who rule Judah are doomed because they rebel against me. They follow plans that I did not make, and sign treaties against my will, piling one sin on another.
2 Who make a move to go down into Egypt, without authority from me; who are looking to the strength of Pharaoh for help, and whose hope is in the shade of Egypt.
2
They go to Egypt for help without asking for my advice. They want Egypt to protect them, so they put their trust in Egypt's king.
3 And the strength of Pharaoh will be your shame, and your hope in the shade of Egypt will come to nothing.
3
But the king will be powerless to help them, and Egypt's protection will end in disaster.
4 For his chiefs are at Zoan, and his representatives have come to Hanes.
4
Although their ambassadors have already arrived at the Egyptian cities of Zoan and Hanes,
5 For they have all come with offerings to a people of no use to them, in whom is no help or profit, but only shame and a bad name.
5
the people of Judah will regret that they ever trusted that unreliable nation, a nation that fails them when they expect help."
6 The word about the Beasts of the South. Through the land of trouble and grief, the land of the she-lion and the voice of the lion, of the snake and the burning winged snake, they take their wealth on the backs of young asses, and their stores on camels, to a people in whom is no profit.
6
This is God's message about the animals of the southern desert: "The ambassadors travel through dangerous country, where lions live and where there are poisonous snakes and flying dragons. They load their donkeys and camels with expensive gifts for a nation that cannot give them any help.
7 For there is no use or purpose in the help of Egypt: so I have said about her, She is Rahab, who has come to an end.
7
The help that Egypt gives is useless. So I have nicknamed Egypt, "The Harmless Dragon.' "
8 Now go, put it in writing before them on a board, and make a record of it in a book, so that it may be for the future, a witness for all time to come.
8
God told me to write down in a book what the people are like, so that there would be a permanent record of how evil they are.
9 For they are an uncontrolled people, false-hearted, who will not give ear to the teaching of the Lord:
9
They are always rebelling against God, always lying, always refusing to listen to the Lord's teachings.
10 Who say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Do not give us word of what is true, but say false things to give us pleasure:
10
They tell the prophets to keep quiet. They say, "Don't talk to us about what's right. Tell us what we want to hear. Let us keep our illusions.
11 Get out of the good way, turning from the right road; do not keep the Holy One of Israel before our minds.
11
Get out of our way and stop blocking our path. We don't want to hear about your holy God of Israel."
12 For this cause the Holy One of Israel says, Because you will not give ear to this word, and are looking for help in ways of deceit and evil, and are putting your hope in them:
12
But this is what the holy God of Israel says: "You ignore what I tell you and rely on violence and deceit.
13 This sin will be to you like a crack in a high wall, causing its fall suddenly and in a minute.
13
You are guilty. You are like a high wall with a crack running down it; suddenly you will collapse.
14 And he will let it be broken as a potter's vessel is broken: it will be smashed to bits without mercy; so that there will not be a bit in which one may take fire from the fireplace, or water from the spring.
14
You will be shattered like a clay pot, so badly broken that there is no piece big enough to pick up hot coals with or to dip water from a cistern."
15 For the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, said, In quiet and rest is your salvation: peace and hope are your strength: but you would not have it so.
15
The Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says to the people, "Come back and quietly trust in me. Then you will be strong and secure." But you refuse to do it.
16 Saying, No, for we will go in flight on horses; so you will certainly go in flight: and, We will go on the backs of quick-running beasts; so those who go after you will be quick-footed.
16
Instead, you plan to escape from your enemies by riding fast horses. And you are right - escape is what you will have to do! You think your horses are fast enough, but those who pursue you will be faster!
17 A thousand will go in fear before one; even before five you will go in flight: till you are like a pillar by itself on the top of a mountain, and like a flag on a hill.
17
A thousand of you will run away when you see one enemy soldier, and five soldiers will be enough to make you all run away. Nothing will be left of your army except a lonely flagpole on the top of a hill.
18 For this cause the Lord will be waiting, so that he may be kind to you; and he will be lifted up, so that he may have mercy on you; for the Lord is a God of righteousness: there is a blessing on all whose hope is in him.
18
And yet the Lord is waiting to be merciful to you. He is ready to take pity on you because he always does what is right. Happy are those who put their trust in the Lord.
19 O people, living in Zion, at Jerusalem, your weeping will be ended; he will certainly have mercy on you at the sound of your cry; when it comes to his ear, he will give you an answer.
19
You people who live in Jerusalem will not weep any more. The Lord is compassionate, and when you cry to him for help, he will answer you.
20 And though the Lord will give you the bread of trouble and the water of grief, you will no longer put your teacher on one side, but you will see your teacher:
20
The Lord will make you go through hard times, but he himself will be there to teach you, and you will not have to search for him any more.
21 And at your back, when you are turning to the right hand or to the left, a voice will be sounding in your ears, saying, This is the way in which you are to go.
21
If you wander off the road to the right or the left, you will hear his voice behind you saying, "Here is the road. Follow it."
22 And you will make unclean what is covering your pictured images of silver, and the plating of your images of gold: you will send them away as an unclean thing, saying, Be gone!
22
You will take your idols plated with silver and your idols covered with gold, and will throw them away like filth, shouting, "Out of my sight!"
23 And he will give rain for your seed, so that you may put it in the earth; and you will have bread from the produce of the earth, good and more than enough for your needs: in that day the cattle will get their food in wide grass-lands.
23
Whenever you plant your crops, the Lord will send rain to make them grow and will give you a rich harvest, and your livestock will have plenty of pasture.
24 And the oxen and the young asses which are used for ploughing, will have salted grain which has been made free from the waste with fork and basket.
24
The oxen and donkeys that plow your fields will eat the finest and best fodder.
25 And there will be rivers and streams of water on every tall mountain and on every high hill, in the day when great numbers are put to the sword, when the towers come down.
25
On the day when the forts of your enemies are captured and their people are killed, streams of water will flow from every mountain and every hill.
26 And the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times greater, as the light of seven days, in the day when the Lord puts oil on the wounds of his people, and makes them well from the blows they have undergone.
26
The moon will be as bright as the sun, and the sun will be seven times brighter than usual, like the light of seven days in one. This will all happen when the Lord bandages and heals the wounds he has given his people.
27 See, the name of the Lord is coming from far, burning with his wrath, with thick smoke going up: his lips are full of passion, and his tongue is like a burning fire:
27
The Lord's power and glory can be seen in the distance. Fire and smoke show his anger. He speaks, and his words burn like fire.
28 And his breath is as an overflowing stream, coming up even to the neck, shaking the nations for their destruction, like the shaking of grain in a basket: and he will put a cord in the mouths of the people, turning them out of their way.
28
He sends the wind in front of him like a flood that carries everything away. It sweeps nations to destruction and puts an end to their evil plans.
29 You will have a song, as in the night when a holy feast is kept; and you will be glad in heart, as when they go with music of the pipe to the mountain of the Lord, the Rock of Israel.
29
But you, God's people, will be happy and sing as you do on the night of a sacred festival. You will be as happy as those who walk to the music of flutes on their way to the Temple of the Lord, the defender of Israel.
30 And the Lord will send out the sound of his great voice, and they will see his arm stretched out, with the heat of his wrath, and the flame of a burning fire; with a cloud-burst, and storm, and a rain of ice.
30
The Lord will let everyone hear his majestic voice and feel the force of his anger. There will be flames, cloudbursts, hailstones, and torrents of rain.
31 For through the voice of the Lord the Assyrian will be broken, and the Lord's rod will be lifted up against him.
31
The Assyrians will be terrified when they hear the Lord's voice and feel the force of his punishment.
32 And every blow of the rod of his punishment, which the Lord will send on him, will be with the sound of music: and with the waving of his sword the Lord will make war against him.
32
As the Lord strikes them again and again, his people will keep time with the music of drums and harps. God himself will fight against the Assyrians.
33 For a place of fire has long been ready; yes, it has been made ready for the king; he has made it deep and wide: it is massed with fire and much wood; the breath of the Lord, like a stream of fire, puts a light to it.
33
Long ago a place was prepared where a huge fire will burn the emperor of Assyria. It is deep and wide, and piled high with wood. The Lord will breathe out a stream of flame to set it on fire.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.