Basic English Version : Read the Bible in 1 Year

2 Chronicles 4 / Basic English

1. Then he made a brass altar, twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide and ten cubits high.
2. And he made the great water-vessel of metal, round in form, measuring ten cubits across from edge to edge; it was five cubits high and thirty cubits round.
3. And under it was a design of flowers all round it, ten to a cubit, circling the water-vessel in two lines; they were made from liquid metal at the same time as the water-vessel.
4. It was supported on twelve oxen, three facing to the north, three to the west, three to the south, and three to the east, the water-vessel resting on top of them; their back parts were all turned to the middle of it.
5. It was as thick as a man's open hand, and the edge of it was curved like the edge of a cup, like a lily flower; it would take three thousand baths.
6. And he made ten washing-vessels, putting five on the right side and five on the left; such things as were used in making the burned offering were washed in them; but the great water-vessel was to be used by the priests for washing themselves.
7. And he made the ten gold supports for the lights, as directions had been given for them, and he put them in the Temple, five on the right side and five on the left.
8. He made ten tables, and put them in the Temple, five on the right side and five on the left. And he made a hundred gold basins.
9. Then he made the open space for the priests, and the great open space and its doors, plating the doors with brass.
10. He put the great water-vessel on the right side of the house to the east, facing south.
11. And Huram made all the pots and the spades and the basins. So he came to the end of all the work he did for King Solomon in the house of God:
12. The two pillars, and the two crowns on the tops of the pillars, and the network covering the two cups of the crowns on the tops of the pillars;
13. And the four hundred apples for the network, two lines of apples for the network covering the two cups of the crowns on the pillars.
14. And he made the ten bases and the ten washing-vessels which were on the bases;
15. The great water-vessel with the twelve oxen under it.
16. All the pots and the spades and the meat-hooks and their vessels, which Huram, who was as his father, made for King Solomon for the house of the Lord, were of polished brass.
17. The king made them of liquid metal in the lowland of Jordan, in the soft earth between Succoth and Zeredah.
18. So Solomon made all these vessels, a very great store of them, and the weight of the brass used was not measured.
19. And Solomon made all the vessels used in the house of God, the gold altar and the tables on which the holy bread was placed,
20. And the supports for the lights with their lights, to be burning in the regular way in front of the inmost room, of the best gold;
21. The flowers and the vessels for the lights and the instruments used for them, were all of gold; it was the best gold.
22. The scissors and the basins and the spoons and the fire-trays, of the best gold; and the inner doors of the house, opening into the most holy place, and the doors of the Temple, were all of gold.

2 Chronicles 5 / Basic English

1. So all the work which Solomon did for the house of the Lord was complete. And Solomon took the holy things which David his father had given, the silver and the gold and all the vessels, and put them in the store-houses of the house of God.
2. Then Solomon sent for all the responsible men of Israel, all the chiefs of the tribes and the heads of families of the children of Israel, to come to Jerusalem and take the ark of the Lord's agreement up out of the town of David, which is Zion.
3. And all the men of Israel came together to the king at the feast in the seventh month.
4. All the responsible men of Israel came, and the Levites took up the ark.
5. They took up the ark and the Tent of meeting and all the holy vessels which were in the Tent; all these the priests, the Levites, took up.
6. And King Solomon and all the men of Israel who had come together there with him, were before the ark, making offerings of sheep and oxen more than might be numbered.
7. And the priests took the ark of the Lord's agreement and put it in its place, in the inner room of the house, in the most holy place, under the wings of the winged ones.
8. For their wings were outstretched over the place where the ark was, covering the ark and its rods.
9. The rods were so long that their ends were seen from the holy place before the inmost room; but they were not seen from outside; and there they are to this day.
10. Nothing was in the ark but the two flat stones which Moses put there at Horeb, where the Lord made an agreement with the children of Israel when they came out of Egypt.
11. Now when the priests had come out of the holy place, (for all the priests who were present had made themselves holy, not keeping to their divisions;
12. And the Levites who made the music, all of them, Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their sons and brothers, robed in fair linen, were in their places with their brass and corded instruments at the east side of the altar, and with them a hundred and twenty priests blowing horns;)
13. And when the players on horns, and those who made melody in song, with one voice were sounding the praise and glory of the Lord; with loud voices and with wind instruments, and brass and corded instruments of music, praising the Lord and saying, He is good; his mercy is unchanging for ever: then the house was full of the cloud of the glory of the Lord,
14. So that the priests were not able to keep their places to do their work because of the cloud; for the house of God was full of the glory of the Lord.

2 Chronicles 6 / Basic English

1. Then Solomon said, O Lord, to the sun you have given the heaven for a living-place, but your living-place was not seen by men,
2. So I have made for you a living-place, a house in which you may be for ever present.
3. Then, turning his face about, the king gave a blessing to all the men of Israel; and they were all on their feet together.
4. And he said, Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who himself gave his word to my father David, and with his strong hand has made his word come true, saying,
5. From the day when I took my people out of the land of Egypt, no town in all the tribes of Israel has been marked out by me for the building of a house for the resting-place of my name; and I took no man to be a ruler over my people Israel;
6. But now I have made selection of Jerusalem, that my name might be there, and of David, to be over my people Israel.
7. Now it was in the heart of my father David to put up a house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
8. But the Lord said to David my father, You did well to have in your heart the desire to make a house for my name:
9. But you yourself will not be the builder of the house; but your son, the offspring of your body, he it is who will put up a house for my name.
10. And the Lord has kept his word; for I have taken my father David's place on the seat of the kingdom of Israel, as the Lord gave his word; and I have made the house for the name of the Lord the God of Israel.
11. And there I have put the ark, in which is the agreement of the Lord, which he made with the people of Israel.
12. Then he took his place in front of the altar of the Lord, all the men of Israel being present,
13. (For Solomon had made a brass stage, five cubits long, five cubits wide and three cubits high, and had put it in the middle of the open space; on this he took his place and went down on his knees before all the meeting of Israel, stretching out his hands to heaven.)
14. And he said, O Lord, the God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven or on earth; keeping faith and mercy unchanging for your servants, while they go in your ways with all their hearts;
15. For you have kept the word which you gave to your servant David, my father; with your mouth you said it and with your hand you have made it come true this day.
16. So now, O Lord, the God of Israel, let your word to your servant David, my father, come true, when you said, You will never be without a man to take his place before me on the seat of the kingdom of Israel; if only your children give attention to their ways, walking in my law, as you have done before me.
17. So now, O Lord, the God of Israel, make your word come true which you said to your servant David.
18. But is it truly possible that God may be housed with men on earth? see, heaven and the heaven of heavens are not wide enough to be your resting-place: how much less this house which I have made:
19. Still, let your heart be turned to the prayer of your servant and to his prayer for grace, O Lord my God, and give ear to the cry and the prayer which your servant makes before you;
20. That your eyes may be open to this house day and night, to this place of which you have said that you would put your name there; to give ear to the prayer which your servant may make, turning to this place.
21. And give ear to the prayers of your servant and of your people Israel, when they make their prayers, turning to this place; give ear from heaven your living-place; and hearing have mercy.
22. If a man does wrong to his neighbour and has to take an oath, and comes before your altar to take his oath in this house:
23. Then let your ear be open in heaven, and be the judge of your servants, giving punishment to the wrongdoer, so that his sin may come on his head; and, by your decision, keeping from evil him who has done no wrong.
24. And if your people Israel are overcome in war, because of their sin against you; if they are turned to you again, honouring your name, making prayers and requesting your grace in this house:
25. Then give ear from heaven, and let the sin of your people Israel have forgiveness, and take them back again to the land which you gave to them and to their fathers.
26. When heaven is shut up and there is no rain, because of their sin against you: if they make prayers with their faces turned to this place, honouring your name and turning away from their sin when you send trouble on them:
27. Then give ear from heaven, so that the sin of your servants and the sin of your people Israel may have forgiveness, when you make clear to them the good way in which they are to go; and send rain on your land which you have given to your people for their heritage.
28. If there is no food in the land, if there is disease, if the fruits of the earth are damaged by heat or water, locust or worm; if their towns are shut in by their attackers: whatever trouble or whatever disease there may be:
29. Whatever prayer or request for your grace is made by any man, or by all your people Israel, whatever his trouble may be, whose hands are stretched out to this house:
30. Then give ear from heaven your living-place, answering with forgiveness, and give to every man, whose secret heart is open to you, the reward of all his ways; (for you, and you only, have knowledge of the hearts of the children of men;)
31. So that they may give you worship, walking in your ways, as long as they are living in the land which you gave to our fathers.
32. And as for the man from a strange land, who is not of your people Israel but comes from a far country because of the glory of your name and your strong hand and your outstretched arm; when he comes to make his prayer, turning to this house:
33. Then give ear from heaven your living-place, and give him his desire, whatever it may be; so that all the peoples of the earth may have knowledge of your name, worshipping you as do your people Israel, and may see that this house which I have made is truly named by your name.
34. If your people go out to war against their attackers, by whatever way you may send them, if they make their prayers to you turning their faces to this town of yours and to this house which I have put up for your name:
35. Then give ear from heaven to their prayer and their cry for grace, and see right done to them.
36. If they do wrong against you, (for no man is without sin,) and you are angry with them, and give them up into the power of those who are fighting against them, so that they take them away prisoners to a land far off or near;
37. And if they take thought, in the land where they are prisoners, turning again to you, crying out in prayer to you in that land, and saying, We are sinners, we have done wrong, we have done evil;
38. If with all their heart and soul they are turned again to you, in the land where they are prisoners, the land where they have been taken, and make their prayers, turning their eyes to their land which you gave to their fathers, and to the town which you took for yourself, and the house which I have made for your name:
39. Then give ear from heaven your living-place to their prayer and their cry, and see right done to them, answering with forgiveness your people who have done wrong against you.
40. Now, O my God, may your eyes be open and your ears awake to the prayers made in this place.
41. Up! now, O Lord God, come back to your resting-place, you and the ark of your strength: let your priests, O Lord God, be clothed with salvation, and let your saints be glad in what is good.
42. O Lord God, let him whom you have taken for yourself never be given up by you: keep in mind your mercies to David your servant.

Proverbs 29 / Basic English

1. A man hating sharp words and making his heart hard, will suddenly be broken and will not be made well again.
2. When the upright have power, the people are glad; when an evil man is ruler, grief comes on the people.
3. A man who is a lover of wisdom is a joy to his father: but he who goes in the company of loose women is a waster of wealth.
4. A king, by right rule, makes the land safe; but one full of desires makes it a waste.
5. A man who says smooth things to his neighbour is stretching out a net for his steps.
6. In the steps of an evil man there is a net for him, but the upright man gets away quickly and is glad.
7. The upright man gives attention to the cause of the poor: the evil-doer gives no thought to it.
8. Men of pride are the cause of violent acts in a town, but by wise men wrath is turned away.
9. If a wise man goes to law with a foolish man, he may be angry or laughing, but there will be no rest.
10. Men of blood are haters of the good man, and evil-doers go after his soul.
11. A foolish man lets out all his wrath, but a wise man keeps it back quietly.
12. If a ruler gives attention to false words, all his servants are evil-doers.
13. The poor man and his creditor come face to face: the Lord gives light to their eyes equally.
14. The king who is a true judge in the cause of the poor, will be safe for ever on the seat of his power.
15. The rod and sharp words give wisdom: but a child who is not guided is a cause of shame to his mother.
16. When evil men are in power, wrongdoing is increased; but the upright will have pleasure when they see their downfall.
17. Give your son training, and he will give you rest; he will give delight to your soul.
18. Where there is no vision, the people are uncontrolled; but he who keeps the law will be happy.
19. A servant will not be trained by words; for though the sense of the words is clear to him, he will not give attention.
20. Have you seen a man who is quick with his tongue? There is more hope for a foolish man than for him.
21. If a servant is gently cared for from his early years, he will become a cause of sorrow in the end.
22. An angry man is the cause of fighting, and a man given to wrath does much wrong.
23. A man's pride will be the cause of his fall, but he who has a gentle spirit will get honour.
24. A man who takes part with a thief has hate for his soul; he is put under oath, but says nothing.
25. The fear of man is a cause of danger: but whoever puts his faith in the Lord will have a safe place on high.
26. The approval of a ruler is desired by great numbers: but the decision in a man's cause comes from the Lord.
27. An evil man is disgusting to the upright, and he who is upright is disgusting to evil-doers.