Basic English Version : Read the Bible in 1 Year

Numbers 17 / Basic English

1. And the Lord said to Moses,
2. Say to the children of Israel that they are to give you rods, one for every family, for every chief, the head of his father's house, making twelve rods; let every man's name be placed on his rod.
3. And let Aaron's name be placed on the rod of Levi: for there is to be one rod for the head of every family.
4. And let them be stored up in the Tent of meeting, in front of the ark of witness where I come to you.
5. And the rod of that man who is marked out by me for myself will have buds on it; so I will put a stop to the outcries which the children of Israel make to me against you.
6. So Moses gave these orders to the children of Israel, and all their chiefs gave him rods, one for the head of every family, making twelve rods: and Aaron's rod was among them.
7. And Moses put the rods before the Lord in the Tent of witness.
8. Now on the day after, Moses went into the Tent of witness; and he saw that Aaron's rod, the rod of the house of Levi, had put out buds, and was covered with buds and flowers and fruit.
9. Then Moses took out all the rods from before the Lord, and gave them back to the children of Israel: and they saw them, and every man took his rod.
10. And the Lord said to Moses, Put Aaron's rod back in front of the ark of witness, to be kept for a sign against this false-hearted people, so that you may put a stop to their outcries against me, and death may not overtake them.
11. This Moses did: as the Lord gave orders, so he did.
12. And the children of Israel said to Moses, Truly, destruction has come on us; an evil fate has overtaken us all.
13. Death will overtake everyone who comes near, who comes near the House of the Lord: are we all to come to destruction?

Numbers 18 / Basic English

1. And the Lord said to Aaron, You and your sons and your father's family are to be responsible for all wrongdoing in relation to the holy place: and you and your sons are to be responsible for the errors which come about in your work as priests.
2. Let your brothers, the family of Levi, come near with you, so that they may be joined with you and be your servants: but you and your sons with you are to go in before the ark of witness.
3. They are to do your orders and be responsible for the work of the Tent; but they may not come near the vessels of the holy place or the altar, so that death may not overtake them or you.
4. They are to be joined with you in the care of the Tent of meeting, doing whatever is needed for the Tent: and no one of any other family may come near you.
5. You are to be responsible for the holy place and the altar, so that wrath may never again come on the children of Israel.
6. Now, see, I have taken your brothers the Levites from among the children of Israel: they are given to you and to the Lord, to do the work of the Tent of meeting.
7. And you and your sons with you are to be responsible as priests for the altar and everything on it, and everything inside the veil; you are to do the work of priests; I have given you your position as priests; and any other man who comes near will be put to death.
8. And the Lord said to Aaron, See, I have given into your care my lifted offerings; even all the holy things of the children of Israel I have given to you and to your sons as your right for ever, because you have been marked with the holy oil.
9. This is to be yours of the most holy things, out of the fire offerings; every offering of theirs, every meal offering and sin-offering, and every offering which they make on account of error, is to be most holy for you and your sons.
10. As most holy things they are to be your food: let every male have them for food; it is to be holy to you.
11. And this is yours: the lifted offering which they give and all the wave offerings of the children of Israel I have given to you and to your sons and to your daughters as your right for ever: everyone in your house who is clean may have them for food.
12. All the best of the oil and the wine and the grain, the first-fruits of them which they give to the Lord, to you have I given them.
13. The earliest produce from their land which they take to the Lord is to be yours; everyone in your house who is clean may have it for his food.
14. Everything given by oath to the Lord in Israel is to be yours.
15. The first birth of every living thing which is offered to the Lord, of man or beast, is to be yours; but for the first sons of man payment is to be made, and for the first young of unclean beasts.
16. Payment is to be made for these when they are a month old, at the value fixed by you, a price of five shekels by the scale of the holy place, that is, twenty gerahs to the shekel.
17. But no such payment may be made for the first birth of an ox or a sheep or a goat; these are holy: their blood is to be dropped on the altar, and their fat burned for an offering made by fire, a sweet smell to the Lord.
18. Their flesh is to be yours; like the breast of the wave offering and the right leg, it is to be yours.
19. All the lifted offerings of the holy things which the children of Israel give to the Lord, I have given to you and to your sons and to your daughters as a right for ever. This is an agreement made with salt before the Lord, to you and to your seed for ever.
20. And the Lord said to Aaron, You will have no heritage in their land, or any part among them; I am your part and your heritage among the children of Israel.
21. And to the children of Levi I have given as their heritage all the tenths offered in Israel, as payment for the work they do, the work of the Tent of meeting.
22. In future the children of Israel are not to come near the Tent of meeting, so that death may not come to them because of sin.
23. But the Levites are to do the work of the Tent of meeting, and be responsible for errors in connection with it: this is a law for ever through all your generations; and among the children of Israel they will have no heritage.
24. For the tenths which the children of Israel give as a lifted offering to the Lord I have given to the Levites as their heritage. and so I have said to them, Among the children of Israel they will have no heritage.
25. And the Lord said to Moses,
26. Say to the Levites, When you take from the children of Israel the tenth which I have given to you from them as your heritage, a tenth part of that tenth is to be offered as an offering lifted up before the Lord.
27. And this lifted offering is to be put to your credit as if it was grain from the grain-floor and wine from the vines.
28. So you are to make an offering lifted up to the Lord from all the tenths which you get from the children of Israel, giving out of it the Lord's lifted offering to Aaron the priest.
29. From everything given to you, let the best of it, the holy part of it, be offered as a lifted offering to the Lord.
30. Say to them, then, When the best of it is lifted up on high, it is to be put to the account of the Levites as the increase of the grain-floor and of the place where the grapes are crushed.
31. It is to be your food, for you and your families in every place: it is your reward for your work in the Tent of meeting.
32. And no sin will be yours on account of it, when the best of it has been lifted up on high; you are not to make a wrong use of the holy things of the children of Israel, so that death may not overtake you.

Psalms 58 / Basic English

1. <To the chief music-maker; put to Al-tashheth. Michtam. Of David.> Is there righteousness in your mouths, O you gods? are you upright judges, O you sons of men?
2. The purposes of your hearts are evil; your hands are full of cruel doings on the earth.
3. The evil-doers are strange from the first; from the hour of their birth they go out of the true way, saying false words.
4. Their poison is like the poison of a snake; they are like the adder, whose ears are shut;
5. Who will not be moved by the voice of the wonder-worker, however great are his powers.
6. O God, let their teeth be broken in their mouths; let the great teeth of the young lions be pulled out, O Lord.
7. Let them be turned to liquid like the ever-flowing waters; let them be cut off like the grass by the way.
8. Let them be like an after-birth which is turned to water and comes to an end; like the fruit of a woman who gives birth before her time, let them not see the sun.
9. Before they are conscious of it, let them be cut down like thorns; let a strong wind take them away like waste growth.
10. The upright man will be glad when he sees their punishment; his feet will be washed in the blood of the evil-doer.
11. So that men will say, Truly there is a reward for righteousness; truly there is a God who is judge on the earth.

Psalms 59 / Basic English

1. <To the chief music-maker; put to At-tashheth. Michtam. Of David. When Saul sent, and they were watching the house, to put him to death.> Take me out of the hands of the cruel ones, O my God; keep me safe from those who come up against me.
2. Take me out of the power of the workers of evil, and keep me safe from the men of blood.
3. For see, they are watching in secret for my soul; the strong have come together against me? but not because of my sin, or my evil-doing, O Lord.
4. For no sin of mine they go quickly and get themselves ready; be awake and come to my help, and see.
5. You, O Lord God of armies, are the God of Israel; come now and give punishment to the nations; have no mercy on any workers of deceit. (Selah.)
6. They come back in the evening; they make a noise like a dog, and go round the town.
7. See, hate is dropping from their lips; curses are on their tongues: they say, Who gives attention to it?
8. But you are laughing at them, O Lord; you will make sport of all the nations.
9. O my strength, I will put my hope in you; because God is my strong tower.
10. The God of my mercy will go before me: God will let me see my desire effected on my haters.
11. Put them not to death, for so my people will keep the memory of them: let them be sent in all directions by your power; make them low, O Lord our saviour.
12. Because of the sin of their mouths and the word of their lips, let them even be taken in their pride; and for their curses and their deceit,
13. Put an end to them in your wrath, put an end to them, so that they may not be seen again; let them see that God is ruling in Jacob and to the ends of the earth. (Selah.)
14. And in the evening let them come back, and make a noise like a dog, and go round the town.
15. Let them go wandering up and down in search of food, and be there all night if they have not enough.
16. But I will make songs of your power; yes, I will give cries of joy for your mercy in the morning; because you have been my strength and my high tower in the day of my trouble.
17. To you, O my strength, will I make my song: because God is my high tower, even the God of my mercy.