Bible in Basic English
My teaching is dropping like rain, coming down like dew on the fields; like rain on the young grass and showers on the garden plants:
For I will give honour to the name of the Lord: let our God be named great.
He is the Rock, complete is his work; for all his ways are righteousness: a God without evil who keeps faith, true and upright is he.
They have become false, they are not his children, the mark of sin is on them; they are an evil and hard-hearted generation.
Is this your answer to the Lord, O foolish people and unwise? Is he not your father who has given you life? He has made you and given you your place.
Keep in mind the days of the past, give thought to the years of generations gone by: go to your father and he will make it clear to you, to the old men and they will give you the story.
When the Most High gave the nations their heritage, separating into groups the children of men, he had the limits of the peoples marked out, keeping in mind the number of the children of Israel.
For the Lord's wealth is his people; Jacob is the land of his heritage.
He came to him in the waste land, in the unpeopled waste of sand: putting his arms round him and caring for him, he kept him as the light of his eye.
As an eagle, teaching her young to make their flight, with her wings outstretched over them, takes them up on her strong feathers:
So the Lord only was his guide, no other god was with him.
He put him on the high places of the earth, his food was the increase of the field; honey he gave him out of the rock and oil out of the hard rock;
Butter from his cows and milk from his sheep, with fat of lambs and sheep of Bashan, and goats, and the heart of the grain; and for your drink, wine from the blood of the grape.
But Jeshurun became fat and would not be controlled: you have become fat, you are thick and full of food: then he was untrue to the God who made him, giving no honour to the Rock of his salvation.
The honour which was his they gave to strange gods; by their disgusting ways he was moved to wrath.
They made offerings to evil spirits which were not God, to gods who were strange to them, which had newly come up, not feared by your fathers.
You have no thought for the Rock, your father, you have no memory of the God who gave you birth.
And the Lord saw with disgust the evil-doing of his sons and daughters.
And he said, My face will be veiled from them, I will see what their end will be: for they are an uncontrolled generation, children in whom is no faith.
They have given my honour to that which is not God, moving me to wrath with their false worship: I will give their honour to those who are not a people, moving them to wrath by a foolish nation,
For my wrath is a flaming fire, burning to the deep parts of the underworld, burning up the earth with her increase, and firing the deep roots of the mountains.
I will send a rain of troubles on them, my arrows will be showered on them.
They will be wasted from need of food, and overcome by burning heat and bitter destruction; and the teeth of beasts I will send on them, with the poison of the worms of the dust.
Outside they will be cut off by the sword, and in the inner rooms by fear; death will take the young man and the virgin, the baby at the breast and the grey-haired man.
I said I would send them wandering far away, I would make all memory of them go from the minds of men:
But for the fear that their haters, uplifted in their pride, might say, Our hand is strong, the Lord has not done all this.
For they are a nation without wisdom; there is no sense in them.
If only they were wise, if only this was clear to them, and they would give thought to their future!
How would it be possible for one to overcome a thousand, and two to send ten thousand in flight, if their rock had not let them go, if the Lord had not given them up?
For their rock is not like our Rock, even our haters themselves being judges.
For their vine is the vine of Sodom, from the fields of Gomorrah: their grapes are the grapes of evil, and the berries are bitter:
Their wine is the poison of dragons, the cruel poison of snakes.
Is not this among my secrets, kept safe in my store-house?
Punishment is mine and reward, at the time of the slipping of their feet: for the day of their downfall is near, sudden will be their fate.
For the Lord will be judge of his people, he will have pity for his servants; when he sees that their power is gone, there is no one, shut up or free.
And he will say, Where are their gods, the rock in which they put their faith?
Who took the fat of their offerings, and the wine of their drink offering? Let them now come to your help, let them be your salvation.
See now, I myself am he; there is no other god but me: giver of death and life, wounding and making well: and no one has power to make you free from my hand.
For lifting up my hand to heaven I say, By my unending life,
If I make sharp my shining sword, and my hand is outstretched for judging, I will give punishment to those who are against me, and their right reward to my haters.
I will make my arrows red with blood, my sword will be feasting on flesh, with the blood of the dead and the prisoners, of the long-haired heads of my haters.
Be glad, O you his people, over the nations; for he will take payment for the blood of his servants, and will give punishment to his haters, and take away the sin of his land, for his people.
So Moses said all the words of this song in the hearing of the people, he and Hoshea, the son of Nun.
And after saying all this to the people,
Moses said to them, Let the words which I have said to you today go deep into your hearts, and give orders to your children to do every word of this law.
And this is no small thing for you, but it is your life, and through this you may make your days long in the land which you are going over Jordan to take for your heritage.
That same day the Lord said to Moses,
Go up into this mountain of Abarim, to Mount Nebo in the land of Moab opposite Jericho; there you may see the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel for their heritage:
And let death come to you on the mountain where you are going, and be put to rest with your people; as death came to Aaron, your brother, on Mount Hor, where he was put to rest with his people:
Because of your sin against me before the children of Israel at the waters of Meribath Kadesh in the waste land of Zin; because you did not keep my name holy among the children of Israel.
So you will see the land before you, but you will not go into the land which I am giving to the children of Israel.
— Deuteronomy 32:2-1964, Bible in Basic English
“My teaching will drop like the rain, my sayings will drip like the dew, as rain drops upon the grass, and showers upon new growth. For I will proclaim the name of the LORD; you must acknowledge the greatness of our God. As for the Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are just. He is a reliable God who is never unjust, he is fair and upright. His people have been unfaithful to him; they have not acted like his children– this is their sin. They are a perverse and deceitful generation. Is this how you repay the LORD, you foolish, unwise people? Is he not your father, your Creator? He has made you and established you. Remember the ancient days; bear in mind the years of past generations. Ask your father and he will inform you, your elders, and they will tell you. When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when he divided up humankind, he set the boundaries of the peoples, according to the number of the heavenly assembly. For the LORD’s allotment is his people, Jacob is his special possession. The LORD found him in a desolate land, in an empty wasteland where animals howl. He continually guarded him and taught him; he continually protected him like the pupil of his eye. Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, that hovers over its young, so the LORD spread out his wings and took him, he lifted him up on his pinions. The LORD alone was guiding him, no foreign god was with him. He enabled him to travel over the high terrain of the land, and he ate of the produce of the fields. He provided honey for him from the cliffs, and olive oil from the hardest of rocks, butter from the herd and milk from the flock, along with the fat of lambs, rams and goats of Bashan, along with the best of the kernels of wheat; and from the juice of grapes you drank wine. Israel’s Rebellion But Jeshurun became fat and kicked, you got fat, thick, and stuffed! Then he deserted the God who made him, and treated the Rock who saved him with contempt. They made him jealous with other gods, they enraged him with abhorrent idols. They sacrificed to demons, not God, to gods they had not known; to new gods who had recently come along, gods your ancestors had not known about. You have forgotten the Rock who fathered you, and put out of mind the God who gave you birth. A Word of Judgment But the LORD took note and despised them because his sons and daughters enraged him. He said,“I will reject them, I will see what will happen to them; for they are a perverse generation, children who show no loyalty. They have made me jealous with false gods, enraging me with their worthless gods; so I will make them jealous with a people they do not recognize, with a nation slow to learn I will enrage them. For a fire has been kindled by my anger, and it burns to lowest Sheol; it consumes the earth and its produce, and ignites the foundations of the mountains. I will increase their disasters, I will use up my arrows on them. They will be starved by famine, eaten by plague, and bitterly stung; I will send the teeth of wild animals against them, along with the poison of creatures that crawl in the dust. The sword will make people childless outside, and terror will do so inside; they will destroy both the young man and the virgin, the infant and the gray-haired man. The Weakness of Other Gods“I said,‘I want to cut them in pieces. I want to make people forget they ever existed. But I fear the reaction of their enemies, for their adversaries would misunderstand and say,“Our power is great, and the LORD has not done all this!”’ They are a nation devoid of wisdom, and there is no understanding among them. I wish that they were wise and could understand this, and that they could comprehend what will happen to them.” How can one man chase a thousand of them, and two pursue ten thousand; unless their Rock had delivered them up, and the LORD had handed them over? For our enemies’ rock is not like our Rock, as even our enemies concede. For their vine is from the stock of Sodom, and from the fields of Gomorrah. Their grapes contain venom, their clusters of grapes are bitter. Their wine is snakes’ poison, the deadly venom of cobras. “Is this not stored up with me?” says the LORD,“Is it not sealed up in my storehouses? I will get revenge and pay them back at the time their foot slips; for the day of their disaster is near, and the impending judgment is rushing upon them!” The LORD will judge his people, and will change his plans concerning his servants; when he sees that their power has disappeared, and that no one is left, whether confined or set free. He will say,“Where are their gods, the rock in whom they sought security, who ate the best of their sacrifices, and drank the wine of their drink offerings? Let them rise and help you; let them be your refuge! The Vindication of the Lord“See now that I, indeed I, am he!” says the LORD,“and there is no other god besides me. I kill and give life, I smash and I heal, and none can resist my power. For I raise up my hand to heaven, and say,‘As surely as I live forever, I will sharpen my lightning-like sword, and my hand will grasp hold of the weapon of judgment; I will execute vengeance on my foes, and repay those who hate me! I will make my arrows drunk with blood, and my sword will devour flesh– the blood of the slaughtered and captured, the chief of the enemy’s leaders!’” Cry out, O nations, with his people, for he will avenge his servants’ blood; he will take vengeance against his enemies, and make atonement for his land and people. Narrative Interlude Then Moses went with Joshua son of Nun and recited all the words of this song to the people. When Moses finished reciting all these words to all Israel he said to them,“Keep in mind all the words I am solemnly proclaiming to you today; you must command your children to observe carefully all the words of this law. For this is no idle word for you– it is your life! By this word you will live a long time in the land you are about to cross the Jordan to possess.” Instructions about Moses’ Death Then the LORD said to Moses that same day, “Go up to this Abarim hill country, to Mount Nebo(which is in the land of Moab opposite Jericho) and look at the land of Canaan that I am giving to the Israelites as a possession. You will die on the mountain that you ascend and join your deceased ancestors, just as Aaron your brother died on Mount Hor and joined his deceased ancestors, for both of you rebelled against me among the Israelites at the waters of Meribah Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin when you did not show me proper respect among the Israelites. You will see the land before you, but you will not enter the land that I am giving to the Israelites.””
Give ear, O heavens, to my voice; let the earth take note of the words of my mouth:
My teaching is dropping like rain, coming down like dew on the fields; like rain on the young grass and showers on the garden plants:
For I will give honour to the name of the Lord: let our God be named great.
He is the Rock, complete is his work; for all his ways are righteousness: a God without evil who keeps faith, true and upright is he.
They have become false, they are not his children, the mark of sin is on them; they are an evil and hard-hearted generation.
Is this your answer to the Lord, O foolish people and unwise? Is he not your father who has given you life? He has made you and given you your place.
Keep in mind the days of the past, give thought to the years of generations gone by: go to your father and he will make it clear to you, to the old men and they will give you the story.
When the Most High gave the nations their heritage, separating into groups the children of men, he had the limits of the peoples marked out, keeping in mind the number of the children of Israel.
For the Lord's wealth is his people; Jacob is the land of his heritage.
He came to him in the waste land, in the unpeopled waste of sand: putting his arms round him and caring for him, he kept him as the light of his eye.
As an eagle, teaching her young to make their flight, with her wings outstretched over them, takes them up on her strong feathers:
So the Lord only was his guide, no other god was with him.
He put him on the high places of the earth, his food was the increase of the field; honey he gave him out of the rock and oil out of the hard rock;
Butter from his cows and milk from his sheep, with fat of lambs and sheep of Bashan, and goats, and the heart of the grain; and for your drink, wine from the blood of the grape.
But Jeshurun became fat and would not be controlled: you have become fat, you are thick and full of food: then he was untrue to the God who made him, giving no honour to the Rock of his salvation.
The honour which was his they gave to strange gods; by their disgusting ways he was moved to wrath.
They made offerings to evil spirits which were not God, to gods who were strange to them, which had newly come up, not feared by your fathers.
You have no thought for the Rock, your father, you have no memory of the God who gave you birth.
And the Lord saw with disgust the evil-doing of his sons and daughters.
And he said, My face will be veiled from them, I will see what their end will be: for they are an uncontrolled generation, children in whom is no faith.
They have given my honour to that which is not God, moving me to wrath with their false worship: I will give their honour to those who are not a people, moving them to wrath by a foolish nation,
For my wrath is a flaming fire, burning to the deep parts of the underworld, burning up the earth with her increase, and firing the deep roots of the mountains.
I will send a rain of troubles on them, my arrows will be showered on them.
They will be wasted from need of food, and overcome by burning heat and bitter destruction; and the teeth of beasts I will send on them, with the poison of the worms of the dust.
Outside they will be cut off by the sword, and in the inner rooms by fear; death will take the young man and the virgin, the baby at the breast and the grey-haired man.
I said I would send them wandering far away, I would make all memory of them go from the minds of men:
But for the fear that their haters, uplifted in their pride, might say, Our hand is strong, the Lord has not done all this.
For they are a nation without wisdom; there is no sense in them.
If only they were wise, if only this was clear to them, and they would give thought to their future!
How would it be possible for one to overcome a thousand, and two to send ten thousand in flight, if their rock had not let them go, if the Lord had not given them up?
For their rock is not like our Rock, even our haters themselves being judges.
For their vine is the vine of Sodom, from the fields of Gomorrah: their grapes are the grapes of evil, and the berries are bitter:
Their wine is the poison of dragons, the cruel poison of snakes.
Is not this among my secrets, kept safe in my store-house?
Punishment is mine and reward, at the time of the slipping of their feet: for the day of their downfall is near, sudden will be their fate.
For the Lord will be judge of his people, he will have pity for his servants; when he sees that their power is gone, there is no one, shut up or free.
And he will say, Where are their gods, the rock in which they put their faith?
Who took the fat of their offerings, and the wine of their drink offering? Let them now come to your help, let them be your salvation.
See now, I myself am he; there is no other god but me: giver of death and life, wounding and making well: and no one has power to make you free from my hand.
For lifting up my hand to heaven I say, By my unending life,
If I make sharp my shining sword, and my hand is outstretched for judging, I will give punishment to those who are against me, and their right reward to my haters.
I will make my arrows red with blood, my sword will be feasting on flesh, with the blood of the dead and the prisoners, of the long-haired heads of my haters.
Be glad, O you his people, over the nations; for he will take payment for the blood of his servants, and will give punishment to his haters, and take away the sin of his land, for his people.
So Moses said all the words of this song in the hearing of the people, he and Hoshea, the son of Nun.
And after saying all this to the people,
Moses said to them, Let the words which I have said to you today go deep into your hearts, and give orders to your children to do every word of this law.
And this is no small thing for you, but it is your life, and through this you may make your days long in the land which you are going over Jordan to take for your heritage.
That same day the Lord said to Moses,
Go up into this mountain of Abarim, to Mount Nebo in the land of Moab opposite Jericho; there you may see the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel for their heritage:
And let death come to you on the mountain where you are going, and be put to rest with your people; as death came to Aaron, your brother, on Mount Hor, where he was put to rest with his people:
Because of your sin against me before the children of Israel at the waters of Meribath Kadesh in the waste land of Zin; because you did not keep my name holy among the children of Israel.
So you will see the land before you, but you will not go into the land which I am giving to the children of Israel.