Basic English Version : Read the Bible in 1 Year

Deuteronomy 13 / Basic English

1. If ever you have among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams and he gives you a sign or a wonder,
2. And the sign or the wonder takes place, and he says to you, Let us go after other gods, which are strange to you, and give them worship;
3. Then give no attention to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams: for the Lord your God is testing you, to see if all the love of your heart and soul is given to him.
4. But keep on in the ways of the Lord your God, fearing him and keeping his orders and hearing his voice, worshipping him and being true to him.
5. And that prophet or that dreamer of dreams is to be put to death; for his words were said with the purpose of turning you away from the Lord your God, who took you out of the land of Egypt and made you free from the prison-house; and of forcing you out of the way in which the Lord your God has given you orders to go. So you are to put away the evil from among you.
6. If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son or your daughter or the wife of your heart, or the friend who is as dear to you as your life, working on you secretly says to you, Let us go and give worship to other gods, strange to you and to your fathers;
7. Gods of the peoples round about you, near or far, from one end of the earth to the other;
8. Do not be guided by him or give attention to him; have no pity on him or mercy, and give him no cover;
9. But put him to death without question; let your hand be the first stretched out against him to put him to death, and then the hands of all the people.
10. Let him be stoned with stones till he is dead; because it was his purpose to make you false to the Lord your God, who took you out of the land of Egypt, out of the prison-house.
11. And all Israel, hearing of it, will be full of fear, and no one will again do such evil as this among you.
12. And if word comes to you, in one of the towns which the Lord your God is giving you for your resting-place,
13. That good-for-nothing persons have gone out from among you, turning the people of their town from the right way and saying, Let us go and give worship to other gods, of whom you have no knowledge;
14. Then let a full search be made, and let questions be put with care; and if it is true and certain that such a disgusting thing has been done among you;
15. Then take up arms against the people of that town and give it up to the curse, with all its cattle and everything in it.
16. And take all the goods into the middle of its open space, burning the town and all its property with fire as an offering to the Lord your God; it is to be a waste for ever; there is to be no more building there.
17. Keep not a thing of what is cursed for yourselves: so the Lord may be turned away from the heat of his wrath, and have mercy on you, and give you increase as he said in his oath to your fathers:
18. So long as you give ear to the voice of the Lord your God, and keep all his orders which I give you today, and do what is right in the eyes of the Lord your God.

Deuteronomy 14 / Basic English

1. You are the children of the Lord your God: you are not to make cuts on your bodies or take off the hair on your brows in honour of the dead;
2. For you are a holy people to the Lord your God, and the Lord has taken you to be his special people out of all the nations on the face of the earth.
3. No disgusting thing may be your food.
4. These are the beasts which you may have for food: the ox, the sheep, and the goat;
5. The hart, the gazelle, and the roe, the mountain goat and the pygarg and the antelope and the mountain sheep.
6. Any beast which has a division in the horn of its foot and whose food comes back into its mouth to be crushed again, may be used for food.
7. But even among these, there are some which may not be used for food: such as the camel, the hare, and the coney, which are unclean to you, because, though their food comes back, the horn of their feet is not parted in two.
8. And the pig is unclean to you, because though it has a division in the horn of its foot, its food does not come back; their flesh may not be used for food or their dead bodies touched by you.
9. And of the things living in the waters, you may take all those who have wings for swimming with and skins formed of thin plates.
10. But any which have no skin-plates or wings for swimming, you may not take; they are unclean for you.
11. All clean birds may be used for food.
12. But these birds you may not take: the eagle and the gier-eagle and the ospray;
13. The falcon and the kite, and birds of that sort;
14. Every raven, and all birds of that sort;
15. And the ostrich and the night-hawk and the sea-hawk and birds of that sort;
16. The little owl and the great owl and the water-hen;
17. And the pelican and the vulture and the cormorant;
18. The stork and the heron and birds of that sort, and the hoopoe and the bat.
19. Every winged thing which goes flat on the earth is unclean to you and may not be used as food.
20. But all clean birds you may take.
21. You may not have as food anything which has come to a natural death; the man from another country who is living with you may take it for food, or you may get a price for it from one of another nation; for you are a holy people to the Lord your God. The young goat is not to be cooked in its mother's milk.
22. Put on one side a tenth of all the increase of your seed, produced year by year.
23. And make a feast before the Lord your God, in the place which is to be marked out, where his name will be for ever, of the tenth part of your grain and your wine and your oil, and the first births of your herds and your flocks; so that you may have the fear of the Lord your God in your hearts at all times.
24. And if the way is so long that you are not able to take these things to the place marked out by the Lord your God for his name, when he has given you his blessing, because it is far away from you;
25. Then let these things be exchanged for money, and, taking the money in your hand, go to the place marked out by the Lord your God for himself;
26. And with the money get whatever you have a desire for, oxen or sheep or wine or strong drink, whatever your soul's desire may be: and make a feast there before the Lord your God, and be glad, you and all your house;
27. And give a thought to the Levite who is living among you, for he has no part or heritage in the land.
28. At the end of every three years take a tenth part of all your increase for that year, and put it in store inside your walls:
29. And the Levite, because he has no part or heritage in the land, and the man from a strange country, and the child who has no father, and the widow, who are living among you, will come and take food and have enough; and so the blessing of the Lord your God will be on you in everything you do.

Psalms 86 / Basic English

1. <A Prayer. Of David.> Let your ears be open to my voice, O Lord, and give me an answer; for I am poor and in need.
2. Keep my soul, for I am true to you; O my God, give salvation to your servant, whose hope is in you.
3. Have mercy on me, O Lord; for my cry goes up to you all the day.
4. Make glad the soul of your servant; for it is lifted up to you, O Lord.
5. You are good, O Lord, and full of forgiveness; your mercy is great to all who make their cry to you.
6. O Lord, give ear to my prayer; and take note of the sound of my requests.
7. In the day of my trouble I send up my cry to you; for you will give me an answer.
8. There is no god like you, O Lord; there are no works like your works.
9. Let all the nations whom you have made come and give worship to you, O Lord, giving glory to your name.
10. For you are great, and do great works of wonder; you only are God.
11. Make your way clear to me, O Lord; I will go on my way in your faith: let my heart be glad in the fear of your name.
12. I will give you praise, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will give glory to your name for ever.
13. For your mercy to me is great; you have taken my soul up from the deep places of the underworld.
14. O God, men of pride have come up against me, and the army of violent men would take my life; they have not put you before them.
15. But you, O Lord, are a God full of pity and forgiveness, slow to get angry, great in mercy and wisdom.
16. O be turned to me and have mercy on me: give your strength to your servant, and your salvation to the son of her who is your servant.
17. Give me a sign for good; so that my haters may see it and be shamed; because you, Lord, have been my help and comfort.

Psalms 87 / Basic English

1. <Of the sons of Korah. A Psalm. A Song.> This house is resting on the holy mountain.
2. The Lord has more love for the doors of Zion than for all the tents of Jacob.
3. Noble things are said of you, O town of God. (Selah.)
4. Rahab and Babylon will be named among those who have knowledge of me; see, Philistia and Tyre, with Ethiopia; this man had his birth there.
5. And of Zion it will be said, This or that man had his birth there; and the Most High will make her strong.
6. The Lord will keep in mind, when he is writing the records of the people, that this man had his birth there. (Selah.)
7. The players on instruments will be there, and the dancers will say, All my springs are in you.