Basic English Version : Read the Bible in 1 Year

Deuteronomy 17 / Basic English

1. No ox or sheep which has a mark on it or is damaged in any way may be offered to the Lord your God: for that is disgusting to the Lord your God.
2. If there is any man or woman among you, in any of the towns which the Lord your God gives you, who does evil in the eyes of the Lord your God, sinning against his agreement,
3. By becoming a servant of other gods and worshipping them or the sun or the moon or all the stars of heaven, against my orders;
4. If word of this comes to your ears, then let this thing be looked into with care, and if there is no doubt that it is true, and such evil has been done in Israel;
5. Then you are to take the man or woman who has done the evil to the public place of your town, and they are to be stoned with stones till they are dead.
6. On the word of two or three witnesses, a man may be given the punishment of death; but he is not to be put to death on the word of one witness.
7. The hands of the witnesses will be the first to put him to death, and after them the hands of all the people. So you are to put away the evil from among you.
8. If you are not able to give a decision as to who is responsible for a death, or who is right in a cause, or who gave the first blow in a fight, and there is a division of opinion about it in your town: then go to the place marked out by the Lord your God;
9. And come before the priests, the Levites, or before him who is judge at the time: and they will go into the question and give you a decision:
10. And you are to be guided by the decision they give in the place named by the Lord, and do whatever they say:
11. Acting in agreement with their teaching and the decision they give: not turning to one side or the other from the word they have given you.
12. And any man who, in his pride, will not give ear to the priest whose place is there before the Lord your God, or to the judge, is to be put to death: you are to put away the evil from Israel.
13. And all the people, hearing of it, will be full of fear and put away their pride.
14. When you have come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, and have taken it for a heritage and are living in it, if it is your desire to have a king over you, like the other nations round about you;
15. Then see that you take as your king the man named by the Lord your God: let your king be one of your countrymen, not a man of another nation who is not one of yourselves.
16. And he is not to get together a great army of horses for himself, or make the people go back to Egypt to get horses for him: because the Lord has said, You will never again go back that way.
17. And he is not to have a great number of wives, for fear that his heart may be turned away; or great wealth of silver and gold.
18. And when he has taken his place on the seat of his kingdom, he is to make in a book a copy of this law, from that which the priests, the Levites, have in their care:
19. And it is to be with him for his reading all the days of his life, so that he may be trained in the fear of the Lord his God to keep and do all the words of this teaching and these laws:
20. So that his heart may not be lifted up over his countrymen, and he may not be turned away from the orders, to one side or the other: but that his life and the lives of his children may be long in his kingdom in Israel.

Deuteronomy 18 / Basic English

1. The priests, the Levites, that is, all the tribe of Levi, will have no part or heritage with Israel: their food and their heritage will be the offerings of the Lord made by fire.
2. And they will have no heritage among their countrymen: the Lord is their heritage, as he has said to them.
3. And this is to be the priests' right: those who make an offering of a sheep or an ox are to give to the priest the top part of the leg and the two sides of the head and the stomach.
4. And in addition you are to give him the first of your grain and wine and oil, and the first wool cut from your sheep.
5. For he, and his sons after him for ever, have been marked out by the Lord your God from all your tribes, to do the work of priests in the name of the Lord.
6. And if a Levite, moved by a strong desire, comes from any town in all Israel where he is living to the place marked out by the Lord;
7. Then he will do the work of a priest in the name of the Lord his God, with all his brothers the Levites who are there before the Lord.
8. His food will be the same as theirs, in addition to what has come to him as the price of his property.
9. When you have come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, do not take as your example the disgusting ways of those nations.
10. Let there not be seen among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter go through the fire, or anyone using secret arts, or a maker of strange sounds, or a reader of signs, or any wonder-worker,
11. Or anyone using secret force on people, or putting questions to a spirit, or having secret knowledge, or going to the dead for directions.
12. For all who do such things are disgusting to the Lord; and because of these disgusting things the Lord your God is driving them out before you.
13. You are to be upright in heart before the Lord your God.
14. For these nations, whose land you are taking, give attention to readers of signs and to those using secret arts: but the Lord your God will not let you do so.
15. The Lord your God will give you a prophet from among your people, like me; you will give ear to him;
16. In answer to the request you made to the Lord your God in Horeb on the day of the great meeting, when you said, Let not the voice of the Lord my God come to my ears again, and let me not see this great fire any more, or death will overtake me.
17. Then the Lord said to me, What they have said is well said.
18. I will give them a prophet from among themselves, like you, and I will put my words in his mouth, and he will say to them whatever I give him orders to say.
19. And whoever does not give ear to my words which he will say in my name, will be responsible to me.
20. But the prophet who takes it on himself to say words in my name which I have not given him orders to say, or who says anything in the name of other gods, will come to his death.
21. And if you say in your hearts, How are we to be certain that the word does not come from the Lord?
22. When a prophet makes a statement in the name of the Lord, if what he says does not take place and his words do not come true, then his word is not the word of the Lord: the words of the prophet were said in the pride of his heart, and you are to have no fear of him.

Psalms 89 / Basic English

1. <Maschil. Of Ethan the Ezrahite.> My song will be of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make his faith clear to all generations.
2. For you have said, Mercy will be made strong for ever; my faith will be unchanging in the heavens.
3. I have made an agreement with the man of my selection, I have made an oath to David my servant;
4. I will make your seed go on for ever, your kingdom will be strong through all generations. (Selah.)
5. In heaven let them give praise for your wonders, O Lord; and your unchanging faith among the saints.
6. For who is there in the heavens in comparison with the Lord? who is like the Lord among the sons of the gods?
7. God is greatly to be feared among the saints, and to be honoured over all those who are about him.
8. O Lord God of armies, who is strong like you, O Jah? and your unchanging faith is round about you.
9. You have rule over the sea in storm; when its waves are troubled, you make them calm.
10. Rahab was crushed by you like one wounded to death; with your strong arm you put to flight all your haters.
11. Yours are the heavens, and the earth is yours; you have made the world, and everything which is in it.
12. You have made the north and the south; Tabor and Hermon are sounding with joy at your name.
13. Yours is an arm of power; strong is your hand and high your right hand.
14. The seat of your kingdom is resting on righteousness and right judging: mercy and good faith come before your face.
15. Happy are the people who have knowledge of the holy cry: the light of your face, O Lord, will be shining on their way.
16. In your name will they have joy all the day: in your righteousness will they be lifted up.
17. For you are the glory of their strength; in your pleasure will our horn be lifted up.
18. For our breastplate is the Lord; and our king is the Holy One of Israel's.
19. Then your voice came to your holy one in a vision, saying, I have put the crown on a strong one, lifting up one taken from among the people.
20. I have made discovery of David my servant; I have put my holy oil on his head.
21. My hand will be his support; my arm will give him strength.
22. The deceit of those who are against him will not overcome him; he will not be troubled by the sons of evil.
23. I will have those who are against him broken before his face, and his haters will be crushed under my blows.
24. But my faith and my mercy will be with him; and in my name will his horn be lifted up.
25. I will put his hand in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers.
26. He will say to me, You are my father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation.
27. And I will make him the first of my sons, most high over the kings of the earth.
28. I will keep my mercy for him for ever; my agreement with him will not be changed.
29. His seed will keep their place for ever; his kingdom will be eternal, like the heavens.
30. If his children give up my law, and are not ruled by my decisions;
31. If my rules are broken, and my orders are not kept;
32. Then I will send punishment on them for their sin; my rod will be the reward of their evil-doing.
33. But I will not take away my mercy from him, and will not be false to my faith.
34. I will be true to my agreement; the things which have gone out of my lips will not be changed.
35. I have made an oath once by my holy name, that I will not be false to David.
36. His seed will not come to an end for ever; the seat of his kingdom will be like the sun before me.
37. It will be fixed for ever like the moon; and the witness in heaven is true. (Selah.)
38. But you have put him away in disgust; you have been angry with the king of your selection.
39. You have made your agreement with your servant of no effect: you have had no respect for his crown, it has come down even to the earth.
40. All his walls are broken down; you have given his strong towers to destruction.
41. All those who come by take away his goods; he is laughed at by his neighbours.
42. You have given power to the right hand of his haters; you have made glad all those who are against him.
43. His sword is turned back; you have not been his support in the fight.
44. You have put an end to his glory: the seat of his kingdom has been levelled to the earth.
45. You have made him old before his time; he is covered with shame. (Selah.)
46. How long, O Lord, will you Keep yourself for ever from our eyes? how long will your wrath be burning like fire?
47. See how short my time is; why have you made all men for no purpose?
48. What man now living will not see death? will he be able to keep back his soul from the underworld? (Selah.)
49. Lord, where are your earlier mercies? where is the oath which you made to David in unchanging faith?
50. Keep in mind, O Lord, the shame of your servants, and how the bitter words of all the people have come into my heart;
51. The bitter words of your haters, O Lord, shaming the footsteps of your king.
52. Let the Lord be praised for ever. So be it, So be it.