Bible in Basic English
For then I might have gone to my rest in quiet, and in sleep have been in peace,
With kings and the wise ones of the earth, who put up great houses for themselves;
Or with rulers who had gold, and whose houses were full of silver;
Or as a child dead at birth I might never have come into existence; like young children who have not seen the light.
There the passions of the evil are over, and those whose strength has come to an end have rest.
There the prisoners are at peace together; the voice of the overseer comes not again to their ears.
The small and the great are there, and the servant is free from his master.
Why does he give light to him who is in trouble, and life to the bitter in soul;
To those whose desire is for death, but it comes not; who are searching for it more than for secret wealth;
Who are glad with great joy, and full of delight when they come to their last resting-place;
To a man whose way is veiled, and who is shut in by God?
In place of my food I have grief, and cries of sorrow come from me like water.
For I have a fear and it comes on me, and my heart is greatly troubled.
I have no peace, no quiet, and no rest; nothing but pain comes on me.
— Job 3:13-1964, Bible in Basic English
“For now should I have lain still and been quiet, I should have slept: then had I been at rest, With kings and counsellors of the earth, which built desolate places for themselves; Or with princes that had gold, who filled their houses with silver: Or as an hidden untimely birth I had not been; as infants which never saw light. There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest. There the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the oppressor. The small and great are there; and the servant is free from his master. Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul; Which long for death, but it cometh not; and dig for it more than for hid treasures; Which rejoice exceedingly, and are glad, when they can find the grave? Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, and whom God hath hedged in? For my sighing cometh before I eat, and my roarings are poured out like the waters. For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me. I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; yet trouble came. ”
Because it did not keep the doors of my mother's body shut, so that trouble might be veiled from my eyes.
Why did death not take me when I came out of my mother's body, why did I not, when I came out, give up my last breath?
Why did the knees take me, or why the breasts that they might give me milk?
For then I might have gone to my rest in quiet, and in sleep have been in peace,
With kings and the wise ones of the earth, who put up great houses for themselves;
Or with rulers who had gold, and whose houses were full of silver;
Or as a child dead at birth I might never have come into existence; like young children who have not seen the light.
There the passions of the evil are over, and those whose strength has come to an end have rest.
There the prisoners are at peace together; the voice of the overseer comes not again to their ears.
The small and the great are there, and the servant is free from his master.
Why does he give light to him who is in trouble, and life to the bitter in soul;
To those whose desire is for death, but it comes not; who are searching for it more than for secret wealth;
Who are glad with great joy, and full of delight when they come to their last resting-place;
To a man whose way is veiled, and who is shut in by God?
In place of my food I have grief, and cries of sorrow come from me like water.
For I have a fear and it comes on me, and my heart is greatly troubled.
I have no peace, no quiet, and no rest; nothing but pain comes on me.