Bible in Basic English
Make melody to the Lord, give praise to the Lord: for he has made the soul of the poor man free from the hands of the evil-doers.
A curse on the day of my birth: let there be no blessing on the day when my mother had me.
A curse on the man who gave the news to my father, saying, You have a male child; making him very glad.
May that man be like the towns overturned by the Lord without mercy: let a cry for help come to his ears in the morning, and the sound of war in the middle of the day;
Because he did not put me to death before my birth took place: so my mother's body would have been my last resting-place, and she would have been with child for ever.
Why did I come from my mother's body to see pain and sorrow, so that my days might be wasted with shame?
— Jeremiah 20:13-1964, Bible in Basic English
“Sing unto the Lord, praise ye the Lord: for he hath delivered the soul of the poor from the hand of evildoers. Cursed be the day wherein I was born: let not the day wherein my mother bare me be blessed. Cursed be the man who brought tidings to my father, saying, A man child is born unto thee; making him very glad. And let that man be as the cities which the Lord overthrew, and repented not: and let him hear the cry in the morning, and the shouting at noontide; Because he slew me not from the womb; or that my mother might have been my grave, and her womb to be always great with me. Wherefore came I forth out of the womb to see labour and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame? ”
For numbers of them say evil secretly in my hearing (there is fear on every side): they say, Come, let us give witness against him; all my nearest friends, who are watching for my fall, say, It may be that he will be taken by deceit, and we will get the better of him and give him punishment.
But the Lord is with me as a great one, greatly to be feared: so my attackers will have a fall, and they will not overcome me: they will be greatly shamed, because they have not done wisely, even with an unending shame, kept in memory for ever.
But, O Lord of armies, testing the upright and seeing the thoughts and the heart, let me see your punishment come on them; for I have put my cause before you.
Make melody to the Lord, give praise to the Lord: for he has made the soul of the poor man free from the hands of the evil-doers.
A curse on the day of my birth: let there be no blessing on the day when my mother had me.
A curse on the man who gave the news to my father, saying, You have a male child; making him very glad.
May that man be like the towns overturned by the Lord without mercy: let a cry for help come to his ears in the morning, and the sound of war in the middle of the day;
Because he did not put me to death before my birth took place: so my mother's body would have been my last resting-place, and she would have been with child for ever.
Why did I come from my mother's body to see pain and sorrow, so that my days might be wasted with shame?