Bible in Basic English BBE

Scholarly edition
Old Testament source: Masoretic Hebrew (not verified)
New Testament source: Critical text (not verified)
Protestant (66 books)
Simplified language
1965
Public domain

At a glance

Language: English
Tradition: Scholarly edition — Made under the direction of Professor S. H. Hooke using a controlled 1,000-word 'Basic English' vocabulary; not a church project.
Church approval: No — None.
Old Testament source: Masoretic Hebrew — Hebrew (detail of base text not verified).
New Testament source: Critical text — SOURCE NOT VERIFIED (mid-20th-century, probably a critical text).
Canon: Protestant (66 books)
Style: Simplified language
Year: NT 1941, OT 1949; 1965 Cambridge printing (no copyright notice).
Translators: Prof. S. H. Hooke (with committee)
Reading level: Very simple English (1,000-word vocabulary); good for learners of English.
Verse numbering: English (KJV-style)
Licence: Public domain — PD in the US because the 1965 printing carried no copyright notice; status outside the US is less certain.
Text source: eBible.org (engBBE)

About

A simple translation using about 1,000 English words, made under Professor S. H. Hooke (NT 1941, OT 1949). It is easy to read, especially for people learning English.

Strengths

Very accessible

Things to know

Restricted vocabulary loses nuance
US-only public-domain basis (no notice on 1965 printing)

Not yet verified

Greek NT base text of the BBE: SOURCE NOT VERIFIED
Copyright status outside the USA: SOURCE NOT VERIFIED

Profile checked 2026-10-17.

Books in this edition (66 books)

Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Psalms, Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Hosea, Amos, Micah, Joel, Obadiah, Jonah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude, Revelation

Not in this edition: Tobit, Judith, Esther (Greek), Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach, Baruch, Letter of Jeremiah, Prayer of Azariah and Song of the Three, Susanna, Bel and the Dragon, 1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees, 3 Maccabees, 4 Maccabees, 1 Esdras, 2 Esdras (4 Ezra), Prayer of Manasseh, Psalm 151, Odes, Daniel (Greek)

Letters show which canons include a book: O Orthodox, C Catholic, P Protestant (in brackets: printed as Apocrypha or in an appendix).

Publisher's statement

Bible in Basic English
The Bible in Basic English
Public Domain
Language: English
Dialect: simple British
Translation by: Samuel Henry Hooke
The Bible In Basic English was printed in 1965 by Cambridge Press in England. Published without any copyright notice and distributed in America, this work fell immediately and irretrievably into the Public Domain in the United States according to the UCC convention of that time. A call to Cambridge prior to placing this work in etext resulted in an admission of this fact.
2020-04-17

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