Basic English Version : Read the Bible in 1 Year

Exodus 38 / Basic English

1. The altar of burned offerings he made of hard wood; a square altar, five cubits long, five cubits wide and three cubits high,
2. And he put horns at its four angles made of the same, plating it all with brass;
3. And brass was used for all the vessels of the altar, the baskets and the spades, the basins and the meat-hooks and the fire-trays; all the vessels he made of brass
4. And he made a network of brass for the altar, under the frame round it, stretching half-way up;
5. And four rings for the four angles of this network, to take the rods.
6. The rods he made of hard wood plated with brass.
7. He put the rods through the rings at the opposite sides of the altar for lifting it; he made the altar hollow, boarded in with wood.
8. And he made the washing-vessel of brass on a brass base, using the polished brass looking-glasses given by the women who did work at the doors of the Tent of meeting.
9. To make the open space, he put hangings on the south side, of the best linen, a hundred cubits long:
10. Their twenty pillars and their twenty bases were brass; and the hooks of the pillars and their bands were of silver.
11. And for the north side. hangings a hundred cubits long, on twenty brass pillars in brass bases, with silver hooks and bands.
12. And on the west side, hangings fifty cubits long, on ten pillars in ten bases, with silver bands.
13. And on the east side, the open space was fifty cubits long.
14. The hangings on one side of the doorway were fifteen cubits long, on three pillars with their three bases;
15. And the same on the other side of the doorway; on this side and on that the hangings were fifteen cubits long, on three pillars with their three bases.
16. All the hangings were of the best linen.
17. And the bases of the pillars were of brass; their hooks and the bands round the tops of them were of silver; all the pillars were ringed with silver.
18. And the curtain for the doorway of the open space was of the best linen, with designs of blue and purple and red in needlework; it was twenty cubits long and five cubits high, to go with the hangings round the sides.
19. There were four pillars with their bases, all of brass, the hooks being of silver, and their tops and their bands being covered with silver.
20. All the nails used for the House and the open space round it were of brass.
21. This is the price of the making of the House, even the House of witness, as it was valued by the word of Moses, for the work of the Levites under the direction of Ithamar, the son of Aaron the priest.
22. Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made everything as the Lord had given orders to Moses.
23. And with him was Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; a designer and a trained workman, expert in needlework of blue and purple and red and the best linen.
24. The gold used for all the different work done for the holy place, the gold which was given, was twenty-nine talents, and seven hundred and thirty shekels in weight, by the scale of the holy place.
25. And the silver given by those who were numbered of the people was a hundred talents, and a thousand, seven hundred and seventy-five shekels in weight, by the scale of the holy place.
26. A beka, that is, half a shekel by the holy scale, for everyone who was numbered; there were six hundred and three thousand, five hundred and fifty men of twenty years old and over.
27. Of this silver, a hundred talents was used for making the bases of the pillars of the holy place and of the veil; a talent for every base.
28. And a thousand, seven hundred and seventy-five shekels of silver was used to make the hooks for the pillars, and for plating the tops of the pillars and for making their bands.
29. The brass which was given was seventy talents, two thousand four hundred shekels;
30. From it he made the bases of the doorway of the Tent of meeting and the brass altar and the network for it and all the vessels for the altar,
31. And the bases for the open space all round and for its doorway, and all the nails for the House and for the open space.

Exodus 39 / Basic English

1. And from the needlework of blue and purple and red they made the robes used for the work of the holy place, and the holy robes for Aaron, as the Lord had given orders to Moses.
2. The ephod he made of gold and blue and purple and red and the best linen;
3. Hammering the gold into thin plates and cutting it into wires to be worked into the blue and the purple and the red and the linen by the designer.
4. And they made two bands for joining its edges together at the top of the arms.
5. And the beautifully worked band which went on it was of the same design and the same material, worked in gold and blue and purple and red and twisted linen-work, as the Lord gave orders to Moses.
6. Then they made the beryl stones, fixed in twisted frames of gold and cut like the cutting of a stamp, with the names of the children of Israel.
7. These he put on the ephod, over the arm-holes, to be stones of memory for the children of Israel, as the Lord had said to Moses.
8. The priest's bag was designed like the ephod, of the best linen worked with gold and blue and purple and red.
9. It was square and folded in two, as long and as wide as the stretch of a man's hand;
10. And on it they put four lines of stones: in the first line was a carnelian, a chrysolite, and an emerald;
11. In the second, a ruby, a sapphire, and an onyx;
12. In the third, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst;
13. In the fourth, a topaz, a beryl, and a jasper; they were fixed in twisted frames of gold.
14. There were twelve stones for the twelve tribes of Israel; on every one the name of one of the tribes of Israel was cut, like the cutting of a stamp.
15. And on the bag they put gold chains, twisted like cords.
16. And they made two gold frames and two gold rings, the rings being fixed to the ends of the priest's bag;
17. And they put the two twisted chains on the two rings at the ends of the priest's bag;
18. And the other two ends of the chains were joined to the two frames and fixed to the front of the ephod over the arm-holes.
19. And they made two rings of gold and put them on the two lower ends of the bag, on the inner side nearest to the ephod.
20. And two other gold rings were put on the front of the ephod, over the arm-holes, at the join, and over the worked band.
21. And the rings on the bag were fixed to the rings of the ephod by a blue cord, keeping it in place over the band, so that the bag might not get loose, as the Lord gave orders to Moses.
22. The robe which went with the ephod was made all of blue;
23. With a hole at the top in the middle, like the hole in the coat of a fighting-man, edged with a band to make it strong.
24. The skirts of the robe were worked all round with fruits in blue and purple and red made of twisted linen.
25. And between the fruits all round the skirt they put gold bells, as the Lord gave orders to Moses.
26. All round the skirt of the robe were bells and fruits in turn.
27. The coats for Aaron and his sons they made of the best linen;
28. And the twisted head-dress for Aaron, and beautiful head-dresses of linen, and linen trousers,
29. And a linen band worked with a design of blue and purple and red, as the Lord had said to Moses.
30. The plate for the holy crown was made of the best gold, and on it were cut these words, HOLY TO THE LORD.
31. It was fixed to the head-dress by a blue cord, as the Lord had given orders to Moses.
32. So all the work on the House of the Tent of meeting was done; as the Lord had given orders to Moses, so the children of Israel did it.
33. Then they took the House to Moses, the tent with all the things for it; its hooks, its boards, its rods, its pillars, and its bases;
34. The outer cover of sheepskins coloured red, and the cover of leather, and the veil for the doorway;
35. The ark of the law, with its rods and its cover;
36. The table, with all its vessels and the holy bread;
37. The support for the lights, with the vessels for the lights to be put in their places on it, and all its vessels, and the oil for the lights;
38. And the gold altar, and the holy oil, and the sweet perfume for burning, and the curtain for the doorway of the tent;
39. And the brass altar, with its network of brass, and its rods and all its vessels, and the washing-vessel and its base;
40. The hangings for the open space, with the pillars and their bases, and the curtain for the doorway, and the cords and nails, and all the instruments necessary for the work of the House of the Tent of meeting;
41. The robes for use in the holy place, and the holy robes for Aaron and his sons when acting as priests.
42. The children of Israel did everything as the Lord had given orders to Moses.
43. Then Moses, when he saw all their work and saw that they had done everything as the Lord had said, gave them his blessing.

Psalms 39 / Basic English

1. <To the chief music-maker. Of Jeduthun. A Psalm. Of David.> I said, I will give attention to my ways, so that my tongue may do no wrong; I will keep my mouth under control, while the sinner is before me.
2. I made no sound, I said no word, even of good; and I was moved with sorrow.
3. My heart was burning in my breast; while I was deep in thought the fire was lighted; then I said with my tongue,
4. Lord, give me knowledge of my end, and of the measure of my days, so that I may see how feeble I am.
5. You have made my days no longer than a hand's measure; and my years are nothing in your eyes; truly, every man is but a breath. (Selah.)
6. Truly, every man goes on his way like an image; he is troubled for no purpose: he makes a great store of wealth, and has no knowledge of who will get it.
7. And now, Lord, what am I waiting for? my hope is in you.
8. Make me free from all my sins; do not let me be shamed by the man of evil behaviour.
9. I was quiet, and kept my mouth shut; because you had done it.
10. No longer let your hand be hard on me; I am wasted by the blows of your hand.
11. By the weight of your wrath against man's sin, the glory of his form is wasted away; truly every man is but a breath. (Selah.)
12. Let my prayer come to your ears, O Lord, and give attention to my cry, make an answer to my weeping: for my time here is short before you, and in a little time I will be gone, like all my fathers.
13. Let your wrath be turned away from me, so that I may be comforted, before I go away from here, and become nothing.

Psalms 40 / Basic English

1. <To the chief music-maker. Of David. A Psalm.> When I was waiting quietly for the Lord, his heart was turned to me, and he gave ear to my cry.
2. He took me up out of a deep waste place, out of the soft and sticky earth; he put my feet on a rock, and made my steps certain.
3. And he put a new song in my mouth, even praise to our God; numbers have seen it with fear, and put their faith in the Lord.
4. Happy is the man who has faith in the Lord, and does not give honour to the men of pride or to those who are turned away to deceit.
5. O Lord my God, great are the wonders which you have done in your thought for us; it is not possible to put them out in order before you; when I would give an account of them, their number is greater than I may say.
6. You had no desire for offerings of beasts or fruits of the earth; ears you made for me: for burned offerings and sin offerings you made no request.
7. Then I said, See, I come; it is recorded of me in the roll of the book,
8. My delight is to do your pleasure, O my God; truly, your law is in my heart.
9. I have given news of righteousness in the great meeting; O Lord, you have knowledge that I have not kept back my words.
10. Your righteousness has not been folded away in my heart; I have made clear your true word and your salvation; I have not kept secret your mercy or your faith from the great meeting.
11. Take not away your gentle mercies from me, O Lord; let your mercy and your faith keep me safe for ever.
12. For unnumbered evils are round about me; my sins have overtaken me, so that I am bent down with their weight; they are more than the hairs of my head, my strength is gone because of them.
13. Be pleased, O Lord, to take me out of danger; O Lord, come quickly and give me help.
14. Let those who go after my soul for its destruction have shame and trouble together; let them be turned back and made foolish who take pleasure in my trouble.
15. Let those who say to me, Aha, aha! be surprised because of their shame.
16. Let all those who are looking for you be glad and have joy in you; let the lovers of your salvation ever say, May the Lord be great.
17. Though I am poor and in need, the Lord has me in mind; you are my help and my saviour; let there be no waiting, O my God.