Basic English Version : Read the Bible in 1 Year

Ruth 4 / Basic English

1. And Boaz went up to the public place of the town, and took his seat there: and the near relation of whom he had been talking came by; and Boaz, crying out to him by name, said, Come and be seated here. And he came and was seated.
2. Then he got ten of the responsible men of the town, and said, Be seated here. And they took their seats.
3. Then he said to the near relation, Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, is offering for a price that bit of land which was our brother Elimelech's:
4. And it was in my mind to give you the chance of taking it, with the approval of those seated here and of the responsible men of my people. If you are ready to do what it is right for a relation to do, then do it: but if you will not do it, say so to me now; for there is no one who has the right to do it but you, and after you myself. And he said, I will do it.
5. Then Boaz said, On the day when you take this field, you will have to take with it Ruth, the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, so that you may keep the name of the dead living in his heritage.
6. And the near relation said, I am not able to do the relation's part, for fear of damaging the heritage I have: you may do it in my place, for I am not able to do it myself.
7. Now, in earlier times this was the way in Israel when property was taken over by a near relation, or when there was a change of owner. To make the exchange certain one man took off his shoe and gave it to the other; and this was a witness in Israel.
8. So the near relation said to Boaz, Take it for yourself. And he took off his shoe.
9. Then Boaz said to the responsible men and to all the people, You are witnesses today that I have taken at a price from Naomi all the property which was Elimelech's, and everything which was Chilion's and Mahlon's.
10. And, further, I have taken Ruth, the Moabitess, who was the wife of Mahlon, to be my wife, to keep the name of the dead man living in his heritage, so that his name may not be cut off from among his countrymen, and from the memory of his town: you are witnesses this day.
11. And all the people who were in the public place, and the responsible men, said, We are witnesses. May the Lord make this woman, who is about to come into your house, like Rachel and Leah, which two were the builders of the house of Israel: and may you have wealth in Ephrathah, and be great in Beth-lehem;
12. May your family be like the family of Perez, the son whom Tamar gave to Judah, from the offspring which the Lord may give you by this young woman.
13. So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife; and he went in to her, and the Lord made her with child and she gave birth to a son.
14. And the women said to Naomi, A blessing on the Lord, who has not let you be this day without a near relation, and may his name be great in Israel.
15. He will be a giver of new life to you, and your comforter when you are old, for your daughter-in-law, who, in her love for you, is better than seven sons, has given birth to him.
16. And Naomi took the child and put her arms round it, and she took care of it.
17. And the women who were her neighbours gave it a name, saying, Naomi has a child; and they gave him the name of Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father of David.
18. Now these are the generations of Perez: Perez became the father of Hezron;
19. And Hezron became the father of Ram, and Ram became the father of Amminadab;
20. And Amminadab became the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon became the father of Salmon;
21. And Salmon became the father of Boaz, and Boaz became the father of Obed;
22. And Obed became the father of Jesse, and Jesse became the father of David.

1 Samuel (1 Kings) 1 / Basic English

1. Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim, a Zuphite of the hill-country of Ephraim, named Elkanah; he was the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite:
2. And he had two wives, one named Hannah and the other Peninnah: and Peninnah was the mother of children, but Hannah had no children.
3. Now this man went up from his town every year to give worship and to make offerings to the Lord of armies in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the Lord, were there.
4. And when the day came for Elkanah to make his offering, he gave to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and daughters, their part of the feast:
5. But to Hannah he gave one part, though Hannah was very dear to him, but the Lord had not let her have children.
6. And the other wife did everything possible to make her unhappy, because the Lord had not let her have children;
7. And year by year, whenever she went up to the house of the Lord, she kept on attacking her, so that Hannah gave herself up to weeping and would take no food.
8. Then her husband Elkanah said to her, Hannah, why are you weeping? and why are you taking no food? why is your heart troubled? am I not more to you than ten sons?
9. So after they had taken food and wine in the guest room, Hannah got up. Now Eli the priest was seated by the pillars of the doorway of the Temple of the Lord.
10. And with grief in her soul, weeping bitterly, she made her prayer to the Lord.
11. And she made an oath, and said, O Lord of armies, if you will truly take note of the sorrow of your servant, not turning away from me but keeping me in mind, and will give me a man-child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and his hair will never be cut.
12. Now while she was a long time in prayer before the Lord, Eli was watching her mouth.
13. For Hannah's prayer came from her heart, and though her lips were moving she made no sound: so it seemed to Eli that she was overcome with wine.
14. And Eli said to her, How long are you going to be the worse for drink? Put away the effects of your wine from you.
15. And Hannah, answering him, said, No, my lord, I am a woman whose spirit is broken with sorrow: I have not taken wine or strong drink, but I have been opening my heart before the Lord.
16. Do not take your servant to be a good-for-nothing woman: for my words have come from my stored-up sorrow and pain.
17. Then Eli said to her, Go in peace: and may the God of Israel give you an answer to the prayer you have made to him.
18. And she said, May your servant have grace in your eyes. So the woman went away, and took part in the feast, and her face was no longer sad.
19. And early in the morning they got up, and after worshipping before the Lord they went back to Ramah, to their house: and Elkanah had connection with his wife; and the Lord kept her in mind.
20. Now the time came when Hannah, being with child, gave birth to a son; and she gave him the name Samuel, Because, she said, I made a prayer to the Lord for him.
21. And the man Elkanah with all his family went up to make the year's offering to the Lord, and to give effect to his oath.
22. But Hannah did not go, for she said to her husband, I will not go till the child has been taken from the breast, and then I will take him with me and put him before the Lord, where he may be for ever.
23. And her husband Elkanah said to her, Do whatever seems right to you, but not till you have taken him from the breast; only may the Lord do as he has said. So the woman, waiting there, gave her son milk till he was old enough to be taken from the breast.
24. Then when she had done so, she took him with her, with a three-year old ox and an ephah of meal and a skin full of wine, and took him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh: now the child was still very young.
25. And when they had made an offering of the ox, they took the child to Eli.
26. And she said, O my lord, as your soul is living, my lord, I am that woman who was making a prayer to the Lord here by your side:
27. My prayer was for this child; and the Lord has given him to me in answer to my request:
28. So I have given him to the Lord; for all his life he is the Lord's. Then he gave the Lord worship there.

Psalms 107 / Basic English

1. O give praise to the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy is unchanging for ever.
2. Let those whose cause the Lord has taken up say so, his people whom he has taken out of the hands of their haters;
3. Making them come together out of all the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.
4. They were wandering in the waste places; they saw no way to a resting-place.
5. Their souls became feeble for need of food and drink.
6. Then they sent up their cry to the Lord in their sorrow, and he gave them salvation out of all their troubles;
7. Guiding them in the right way, so that they might come into the town of their resting-place.
8. Let men give praise to the Lord for his mercy, and for the wonders which he does for the children of men!
9. He gives its desire to the unresting soul, so that it is full of good things.
10. Those who were in the dark, in the black night, in chains of sorrow and iron;
11. Because they went against the words of God, and gave no thought to the laws of the Most High:
12. So that he made their hearts weighted down with grief; they were falling, and had no helper.
13. Then they sent up their cry to the Lord in their sorrow, and he gave them salvation out of all their troubles.
14. He took them out of the dark and the black night, and all their chains were broken.
15. Let men give praise to the Lord for his mercy, and for the wonders which he does for the children of men!
16. The doors of brass are broken by his arm, and the bands of iron are cut in two.
17. Foolish men, because of their sins, and because of their wrongdoing, are troubled;
18. They are disgusted by all food, and they come near to the doors of death.
19. Then they send up their cry to the Lord in their sorrow, and he gives them salvation out of all their troubles.
20. He sent his word and made them well, and kept them safe from the underworld.
21. Let men give praise to the Lord for his mercy, and for the wonders which he does for the children of men!
22. Let them make offerings of praise, giving news of his works with cries of joy.
23. Those who go down to the sea in ships, who do business in the great waters;
24. They see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep.
25. For at his word comes up the storm-wind, lifting high the waves.
26. The sailors go up to heaven, and down into the deep; their souls are wasted because of their trouble.
27. They are turned here and there, rolling like a man who is full of wine; and all their wisdom comes to nothing.
28. Then they send up their cry to the Lord in their sorrow, and he gives them salvation out of all their troubles.
29. He makes the storm into a calm, so that the waves are at peace.
30. Then they are glad, because the sea is quiet, and he takes them to the harbour of their desire.
31. Let men give praise to the Lord for his mercy, and for the wonders which he does for the children of men!
32. Let them give glory to him in the meeting of the people, and praise among the chiefs.
33. He makes rivers into waste places, and springs of water into a dry land;
34. He makes a fertile country into a salt waste, because of the sins of those who are living there.
35. He makes a waste land into a place of water, and a dry land into water-springs.
36. And there he gives the poor a resting-place, so that they may make themselves a town;
37. And put seed in the fields and make vine-gardens, to give them fruit.
38. He gives them his blessing so that they are increased greatly, and their cattle do not become less.
39. And when they are made low, and crushed by trouble and sorrow,
40. He puts an end to the pride of kings, and sends them wandering in the waste lands where there is no way.
41. But he puts the poor man on high from his troubles, and gives him families like a flock.
42. The upright see it and are glad: the mouth of the sinner is stopped.
43. Let the wise give thought to these things, and see the mercies of the Lord.