Basic English Version : Read the Bible in 1 Year

Exodus 30 / Basic English

1. And you are to make an altar for the burning of perfume; of hard wood let it be made.
2. The altar is to be square, a cubit long and a cubit wide, and two cubits high, and its horns are to be made of the same.
3. It is to be plated with the best gold, the top of it and the sides and the horns, with an edging of gold all round it.
4. Under the edge on the two opposite sides, you are to make two gold rings, to take the rods for lifting it.
5. And make these rods of the same wood, plating them with gold.
6. And let it be placed in front of the veil before the ark of the law, before the cover which is over the law, where I will come face to face with you.
7. And on this altar sweet spices are to be burned by Aaron every morning when he sees to the lights.
8. And every evening, when he puts the lights up in their places, the spices are to be burned, a sweet-smelling smoke going up before the Lord from generation to generation for ever.
9. No strange perfume, no burned offering or meal offering, and no drink offering is to be offered on it.
10. And once every year Aaron is to make its horns clean: with the blood of the sin-offering he is to make it clean once every year from generation to generation: it is most holy to the Lord.
11. And the Lord said to Moses,
12. When you are taking the number of the children of Israel, let every man who is numbered give to the Lord a price for his life, so that no disease may come on them when they are numbered.
13. And this is what they are to give; let every man who is numbered give half a shekel, by the scale of the holy place: (the shekel being valued at twenty gerahs:) this money is an offering to the Lord.
14. Everyone who is numbered, from twenty years old and over, is to give an offering to the Lord.
15. The man of wealth is to give no more and the poor man no less than the half-shekel of silver, when the offering is made to the Lord as the price for your lives.
16. And you are to take this money from the children of Israel to be used for the work of the Tent of meeting, to keep the memory of the children of Israel before the Lord and to be the price of your lives.
17. And the Lord said to Moses,
18. You are to make a brass washing-vessel, with a brass base; and put it between the Tent of meeting and the altar, with water in it;
19. That it may be used by Aaron and his sons for washing their hands and feet;
20. Whenever they go into the Tent of meeting they are to be washed with water, to keep them from death; and whenever they come near to do the work of the altar, or to make an offering by fire to the Lord,
21. Their hands and feet are to be washed. so that they may be safe from death: this is an order to them for ever; to him and his seed from generation to generation.
22. And the Lord said to Moses,
23. Take the best spices, five hundred shekels' weight of liquid myrrh, and of sweet cinnamon half as much, that is, two hundred and fifty shekels, and two hundred and fifty shekels of sweet calamus,
24. And of cassia, five hundred shekels' weight measured by the scale of the holy place, and of olive oil a hin:
25. And make these into a holy oil, a perfume made by the art of the perfume-maker; it is to be a holy oil.
26. This oil is to be put on the Tent of meeting, and on the ark of the law,
27. And on the table and all its vessels, and on the support for the lights, with its vessels, and on the altar for burning spices,
28. And on the altar of burned offerings with its vessels, and on the washing-vessel and its base.
29. And you are to make them most holy; anything touching them will become holy.
30. And put the oil on Aaron and his sons, making them holy to do the work of priests to me.
31. And say to the children of Israel, This is to be the Lord's holy oil, from generation to generation.
32. It is not to be used for man's flesh, and no other is to be made like it: holy it is, and you are to keep it holy.
33. Whoever makes any like it, or puts it on one who is not a priest, will be cut off from his people.
34. And the Lord said to Moses, Take sweet spices, stacte and onycha and galbanum, with the best frankincense, in equal weights;
35. And make from them a perfume, such as is made by the art of the perfume-maker, mixed with salt, and clean and holy.
36. And put some of it, crushed very small, in front of the ark in the Tent of meeting, where I will come face to face with you; it is to be most holy.
37. You are not to make any perfume like it for yourselves: it is to be kept holy to the Lord.
38. Whoever makes any like it, for its sweet smell, will be cut off from his people.

Exodus 31 / Basic English

1. And the Lord said to Moses,
2. I have made selection of Bezalel, the son of Uri, by name, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah:
3. And I have given him the spirit of God and made him wise and full of knowledge and expert in every sort of handwork,
4. To do all sorts of delicate work in gold and silver and brass;
5. In cutting stones for framing, and to do every form of woodwork.
6. And I have made selection of Oholiab with him, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and in the hearts of all who are wise I have put the knowledge to make whatever I have given you orders to have made;
7. The Tent of meeting, and the ark of the law, and the cover which is on it, and all the things for the tent,
8. And the table with its vessels, and the holy light-support with all its vessels, and the altar for the burning of spices,
9. And the altar of burned offerings with all its vessels, and the washing-vessel with its base,
10. And the robes of needlework, the holy robes for Aaron and for his sons, for their use when acting as priests,
11. And the holy oil, and the perfume of sweet spices for the holy place; they will do whatever I have given you orders to have done.
12. And the Lord said to Moses,
13. Say to the children of Israel that they are to keep my Sabbaths; for the Sabbath day is a sign between me and you through all your generations; so that you may see that I am the Lord who makes you holy.
14. So you are to keep the Sabbath as a holy day; and anyone not honouring it will certainly be put to death: whoever does any work on that day will be cut off from his people.
15. Six days may work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest, holy to the Lord; whoever does any work on the Sabbath day is to be put to death.
16. And the children of Israel are to keep the Sabbath holy, from generation to generation, by an eternal agreement.
17. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever; because in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he took his rest and had pleasure in it.
18. And when his talk with Moses on Mount Sinai was ended, he gave him the two stones of the law, two stones on which was the writing made by the finger of God.

Psalms 34 / Basic English

1. <Of David. When he made a change in his behaviour before Abimelech, who sent him away, and he went.> I will be blessing the Lord at all times; his praise will be ever in my mouth.
2. My soul will say great things of the Lord: the poor in spirit will have knowledge of it and be glad.
3. O give praise to the Lord with me; let us be witnesses together of his great name.
4. I was searching for the Lord, and he gave ear to my voice, and made me free from all my fears.
5. Let your eyes be turned to him and you will have light, and your faces will not be shamed.
6. This poor man's cry came before the Lord, and he gave him salvation from all his troubles.
7. The angel of the Lord is ever watching over those who have fear of him, to keep them safe.
8. By experience you will see that the Lord is good; happy is the man who has faith in him.
9. Keep yourselves in the fear of the Lord, all you his saints; for those who do so will have no need of anything.
10. The young lions are in need and have no food; but those who are looking to the Lord will have every good thing.
11. Come, children, give attention to me; I will be your teacher in the fear of the Lord.
12. What man has a love of life, and a desire that his days may be increased so that he may see good?
13. Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from words of deceit.
14. Be turned from evil, and do good; make a search for peace, desiring it with all your heart.
15. The eyes of the Lord are on the upright, and his ears are open to their cry.
16. The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to take away the memory of them from the earth.
17. The cry of the upright comes before the Lord, and he takes them out of all their troubles.
18. The Lord is near the broken-hearted; he is the saviour of those whose spirits are crushed down.
19. Great are the troubles of the upright: but the Lord takes him safely out of them all.
20. He keeps all his bones: not one of them is broken.
21. Evil will put an end to the sinner, and those who are haters of righteousness will come to destruction.
22. The Lord will be the saviour of the souls of his servants, and no one who has faith in him will be put to shame.