Basic English Version : Read the Bible in 1 Year

Judges 16 / Basic English

1. Now Samson went to Gaza, and there he saw a loose woman and went in to her.
2. And it was said to the Gazites, Samson is here. So they went round, watching for him all day at the doorway of the town, but at night they kept quiet, saying, When daylight comes we will put him to death.
3. And Samson was there till the middle of the night; then he got up, and took a grip on the doors of the town, pulling them up, together with their two supports and their locks, and put them on his back and took them up to the top of the hill in front of Hebron.
4. Now after this, he was in love with a woman in the valley of Sorek, named Delilah.
5. And the chiefs of the Philistines came up to her, and said to her, Make use of your power over him and see what is the secret of his great strength, and how we may get the better of him, and put bands on him, so that we may make him feeble; and every one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels of silver.
6. So Delilah said to Samson, Make clear to me now what is the secret of your great strength, and how you may be put in bands and made feeble.
7. And Samson said to her, If seven new bow-cords which have never been made dry are knotted round me, I will become feeble and will be like any other man.
8. So the chiefs of the Philistines gave her seven new bow-cords which had never been made dry, and she had them tightly knotted round him.
9. Now she had men waiting secretly in the inner room; and she said to him, The Philistines are on you, Samson. And the cords were broken by him as a twist of thread is broken when touched by a flame. So the secret of his strength did not come to light.
10. Then Delilah said to Samson, See, you have been making sport of me with false words; now, say truly how may you be put in bands?
11. And he said to her, If they only put round me new thick cords which have never been used, then I will become feeble and will be like any other man.
12. So Delilah took new thick cords, knotting them tightly round him, and said to him, The Philistines are on you, Samson. And men were waiting secretly in the inner room. And the cords were broken off his arms like threads.
13. Then Delilah said to Samson, Up to now you have made sport of me with false words; now say truly, how may you be put in bands? And he said to her, If you get the seven twists of my hair worked into the cloth you are making and fixed with the pin, I will become feeble and will be like any other man.
14. So while he was sleeping she got the seven twists of his hair worked into her cloth and fixed with the pin, and said to him, The Philistines are on you, Samson. Then awaking from his sleep, he got up quickly, pulling up cloth and machine together.
15. And she said to him, Why do you say you are my lover when your heart is not mine? Three times you have made sport of me, and have not made clear to me the secret of your great strength.
16. So day after day she gave him no peace, for ever questioning him till his soul was troubled to death.
17. And opening all his heart to her, he said to her, My head has never been touched by a blade, for I have been separate to God from the day of my birth: if my hair is cut off, then my strength will go from me and I will become feeble, and will be like any other man.
18. And when Delilah saw that he had let her see into his heart, she sent word to the chiefs of the Philistines saying, Come up this time, for he has let out all his heart to me. Then the chiefs of the Philistines came to her, with the money in their hands.
19. And she made him go to sleep on her knees; and she sent for a man and had his seven twists of hair cut off; and while it was being done he became feeble and his strength went from him.
20. Then she said, The Philistines are on you, Samson. And awaking from his sleep, he said, I will go out as at other times, shaking myself free. But he was not conscious that the Lord had gone from him.
21. So the Philistines took him and put out his eyes; then they took him down to Gaza, and, chaining him with bands of brass, put him to work crushing grain in the prison-house.
22. But the growth of his hair was starting again after it had been cut off.
23. And the chiefs of the Philistines came together to make a great offering to Dagon their god, and to be glad; for they said, Our god has given into our hands Samson our hater.
24. And when the people saw him, they gave praise to their god; for they said, Our god has given into our hands the one who was fighting against us, who made our country waste, and who put great numbers of us to death.
25. Now when their hearts were full of joy, they said, Send for Samson to make sport for us. And they sent for Samson out of the prison-house, and he made sport before them; and they put him between the pillars.
26. And Samson said to the boy who took him by the hand, Let me put my hand on the pillars supporting the house, so that I may put my back against them.
27. Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and about three thousand men and women were on the roof, looking on while Samson made sport.
28. And Samson, crying out to the Lord, said, O Lord God, do have me now in mind, and do make me strong only this once, O God, so that I may take one last payment from the Philistines for my two eyes.
29. Then Samson put his arms round the two middle pillars supporting the house, putting his weight on them, on one with his right hand and on the other with his left.
30. And Samson said, Let death overtake me with the Philistines. And he put out all his strength, and the house came down on the chiefs and on all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he sent to destruction by his death were more than all those on whom he had sent destruction in his life.
31. Then his brothers and his father's people came down and took him up and put his body to rest in the earth between Zorah and Eshtaol in the resting-place of Manoah his father. And he had been judge of Israel for twenty years.

Judges 17 / Basic English

1. Now there was a man of the hill-country of Ephraim named Micah.
2. And he said to his mother, The eleven hundred shekels of silver which were taken from you, about which you took an oath and said in my hearing, I have given this silver to the Lord from my hand for myself, to make a pictured image and a metal image: see, I have the silver, for I took it: so now I will give it back to you. And his mother said, May the blessing of the Lord be on my son.
3. And he gave back the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, and his mother said, I have made the silver holy to the Lord from me for my son, to make a pictured image and a metal image.
4. So he gave the silver back to his mother. Then his mother took two hundred shekels of silver and gave them to a metal-worker who made a pictured image and a metal image from them: and it was in the house of Micah.
5. And the man Micah had a house of gods; and he made an ephod and family gods and put one of his sons in the position of priest.
6. In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did as seemed right to him.
7. Now there was a young man living in Beth-lehem-judah, of the family of Judah and a Levite, who was not a townsman of the place.
8. And he went away from the town of Beth-lehem-judah, looking for somewhere to make his living-place; and on his journey he came to the hill-country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah.
9. And Micah said to him, Where do you come from? And he said to him, I am a Levite from Beth-lehem-judah, and I am looking for a living-place.
10. Then Micah said to him, Make your living-place with me, and be a father and a priest to me, and I will give you ten shekels of silver a year and your clothing and food.
11. And the Levite said he would make his living-place with the man, and he became to him as one of his sons.
12. And Micah gave the position to the Levite, and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah.
13. Then Micah said, Now I am certain that the Lord will do me good, seeing that the Levite has become my priest.

Psalms 101 / Basic English

1. <A Psalm. Of David.> I will make a song of mercy and righteousness; to you, O Lord, will I make melody.
2. I will do wisely in the way of righteousness: O when will you come to me? I will be walking in my house with a true heart.
3. I will not put any evil thing before my eyes; I am against all turning to one side; I will not have it near me.
4. The false heart I will send away from me: I will not have an evil-doer for a friend.
5. I will put to death anyone who says evil of his neighbour secretly; the man with a high look and a heart of pride is disgusting to me.
6. My eyes will be on those of good faith in the land, so that they may be living in my house; he who is walking in the right way will be my servant.
7. The worker of deceit will not come into my house; the false man will have no place before my eyes.
8. Morning by morning will I put to death all the sinners in the land, so that all evil-doers may be cut off from Jerusalem.

Psalms 102 / Basic English

1. <A Prayer of the man who is in trouble, when he is overcome, and puts his grief before the Lord.> Give ear to my prayer, O Lord, and let my cry come to you.
2. Let not your face be veiled from me in the day of my trouble; give ear to me, and let my cry be answered quickly.
3. My days are wasted like smoke, and my bones are burned up as in a fire.
4. My heart is broken; it has become dry and dead like grass, so that I give no thought to food.
5. Because of the voice of my sorrow, my flesh is wasted to the bone.
6. I am like a bird living by itself in the waste places; like the night-bird in a waste of sand.
7. I keep watch like a bird by itself on the house-top.
8. My haters say evil of me all day; those who are violent against me make use of my name as a curse.
9. I have had dust for bread and my drink has been mixed with weeping:
10. Because of your passion and your wrath, for I have been lifted up and then made low by you.
11. My days are like a shade which is stretched out; I am dry like the grass.
12. But you, O Lord, are eternal; and your name will never come to an end.
13. You will again get up and have mercy on Zion: for the time has come for her to be comforted.
14. For your servants take pleasure in her stones, looking with love on her dust.
15. So the nations will give honour to the name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth will be in fear of his glory:
16. When the Lord has put up the walls of Zion, and has been been in his glory;
17. When he has given ear to the prayer of the poor, and has not put his request on one side.
18. This will be put in writing for the coming generation, and the people of the future will give praise to the Lord.
19. For from his holy place the Lord has seen, looking down on the earth from heaven;
20. Hearing the cry of the prisoner, making free those for whom death is ordered;
21. So that they may give out the name of the Lord in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem;
22. When the peoples are come together, and the kingdoms, to give worship to the Lord.
23. He has taken my strength from me in the way; he has made short my days.
24. I will say, O my God, take me not away before my time; your years go on through all generations:
25. In the past you put the earth on its base, and the heavens are the work of your hands.
26. They will come to an end, but you will still go on; they all will become old like a coat, and like a robe they will be changed:
27. But you are the unchanging One, and your years will have no end.
28. The children of your servants will have a safe resting-place, and their seed will be ever before you.