Job 10:19
New International Version
If only I had never come into being, or had been carried straight from the womb to the grave!

New Living Translation
It would be as though I had never existed, going directly from the womb to the grave.

English Standard Version
and were as though I had not been, carried from the womb to the grave.

Berean Standard Bible
If only I had never come to be, but had been carried from the womb to the grave.

King James Bible
I should have been as though I had not been; I should have been carried from the womb to the grave.

New King James Version
I would have been as though I had not been. I would have been carried from the womb to the grave.

New American Standard Bible
‘I should have been as though I had not been, Brought from womb to tomb.’

NASB 1995
‘I should have been as though I had not been, Carried from womb to tomb.’

NASB 1977
‘I should have been as though I had not been, Carried from womb to tomb.’

Legacy Standard Bible
I should have been as though I had not been, Carried from womb to tomb.’

Amplified Bible
‘I should have been as though I had not existed; [I should have been] carried from the womb to the grave.’

Christian Standard Bible
I wish I had never existed but had been carried from the womb to the grave.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
I wish I had never existed but had been carried from the womb to the grave.

American Standard Version
I should have been as though I had not been; I should have been carried from the womb to the grave.

Contemporary English Version
and been carried to the grave without ever breathing.

English Revised Version
I should have been as though I had not been; I should have been carried from the womb to the grave.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Then it would be as if I had never existed, as if I had been carried from the womb to the tomb.

Good News Translation
To go from the womb straight to the grave would have been as good as never existing.

International Standard Version
as if I had never existed; carried from the womb to the grave.

Majority Standard Bible
If only I had never come to be, but had been carried from the womb to the grave.

NET Bible
I should have been as though I had never existed; I should have been carried right from the womb to the grave!

New Heart English Bible
I should have been as though I had not been. I should have been carried from the womb to the grave.

Webster's Bible Translation
I should have been as though I had not been; I should have been carried from the womb to the grave.

World English Bible
I should have been as though I had not been. I should have been carried from the womb to the grave.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
I am as [if] I had not been, "" I am brought from the belly to the grave,

Young's Literal Translation
As I had not been, I am, From the belly to the grave I am brought,

Smith's Literal Translation
I shall be as I was not; I shall be brought from the womb to the grave.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
I should have been as if I had not been, carried from the womb to the grave.

Catholic Public Domain Version
I should have been as if I had not been: transferred from the womb to the tomb.

New American Bible
I should be as though I had never lived; I should have been taken from the womb to the grave.

New Revised Standard Version
and were as though I had not been, carried from the womb to the grave.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
I should have been as though I had not lived; I should have been carried from the womb to the grave.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And I had been as if I had not been, and from the womb to the tomb they would have carried me
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
I should have been as though I had not been; I should have been carried from the womb to the grave.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
and I become as if I had not been? for why was I not carried from the womb to the grave?

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Job's Plea to God
18Why then did You bring me from the womb? Oh, that I had died, and no eye had seen me! 19If only I had never come to be, but had been carried from the womb to the grave. 20Are my days not few? Withdraw from me, that I may have a little comfort,…

Cross References
Psalm 139:13-16
For You formed my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. / I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are Your works, and I know this very well. / My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in secret, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. ...

Jeremiah 20:14-18
Cursed be the day I was born! May the day my mother bore me never be blessed. / Cursed be the man who brought my father the news, saying, “A son is born to you,” bringing him great joy. / May that man be like the cities that the LORD overthrew without compassion. May he hear an outcry in the morning and a battle cry at noon, ...

Ecclesiastes 4:2-3
So I admired the dead, who had already died, above the living, who are still alive. / But better than both is he who has not yet existed, who has not seen the evil that is done under the sun.

Job 3:11-16
Why did I not perish at birth; why did I not die as I came from the womb? / Why were there knees to receive me, and breasts that I should be nursed? / For now I would be lying down in peace; I would be asleep and at rest ...

Job 14:1-2
“Man, who is born of woman, is short of days and full of trouble. / Like a flower, he comes forth, then withers away; like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure.

Isaiah 38:10-12
I said, “In the prime of my life I must go through the gates of Sheol and be deprived of the remainder of my years.” / I said, “I will never again see the LORD, even the LORD, in the land of the living; I will no longer look on mankind with those who dwell in this world. / My dwelling has been picked up and removed from me like a shepherd’s tent. I have rolled up my life like a weaver; He cuts me off from the loom; from day until night You make an end of me.

Psalm 88:3-6
For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws near to Sheol. / I am counted among those descending to the Pit. I am like a man without strength. / I am forsaken among the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom You remember no more, who are cut off from Your care. ...

Psalm 90:5-6
You sweep them away in their sleep; they are like the new grass of the morning— / in the morning it springs up new, but by evening it fades and withers.

Genesis 3:19
By the sweat of your brow you will eat your bread, until you return to the ground—because out of it were you taken. For dust you are, and to dust you shall return.”

1 Corinthians 15:19
If our hope in Christ is for this life alone, we are to be pitied more than all men.

2 Corinthians 5:1-4
For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is dismantled, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. / For in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, / because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. ...

Romans 8:20-22
For the creation was subjected to futility, not by its own will, but because of the One who subjected it, in hope / that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. / We know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until the present time.

Philippians 1:21-23
For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. / But if I go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. So what shall I choose? I do not know. / I am torn between the two. I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better indeed.

1 Peter 1:24
For, “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall,

James 4:14
You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.


Treasury of Scripture

I should have been as though I had not been; I should have been carried from the womb to the grave.

Psalm 58:8
As a snail which melteth, let every one of them pass away: like the untimely birth of a woman, that they may not see the sun.

Jump to Previous
Belly Body Carried Grave Last Mother's Resting-Place Straight Tomb Womb
Jump to Next
Belly Body Carried Grave Last Mother's Resting-Place Straight Tomb Womb
Job 10
1. Job, taking liberty of complaint, expostulates with God about his afflictions
18. He complains of life, and craves a little ease before death














If only I had never come to be
This phrase reflects Job's deep anguish and desire for non-existence. The Hebrew root here is "הָיָה" (hayah), meaning "to be" or "to become." Job is expressing a wish that he had never existed, highlighting the depth of his suffering. In the context of ancient Near Eastern thought, existence was often seen as a blessing, yet Job's lament turns this on its head, showing the extremity of his despair. This sentiment echoes earlier in Job 3:3, where Job curses the day of his birth, emphasizing the intensity of his emotional and physical pain.

but had been carried
The imagery of being "carried" suggests a gentle transition, as if Job wishes for a peaceful passage from the womb directly to the grave. The Hebrew word "נָשָׂא" (nasa) means "to lift" or "to carry," often used in contexts of bearing burdens. Here, it implies a desire for a burden-free existence, bypassing the trials of life. This reflects a longing for divine intervention that would have spared him from his current suffering.

from the womb
The "womb" symbolizes the beginning of life, a place of safety and potential. In Hebrew, "בֶּטֶן" (beten) is used, which can also denote the innermost part of something, suggesting a return to a state of pre-birth innocence and protection. Job's wish to return to the womb underscores his desire to escape the harsh realities of life and suffering, seeking refuge in the idea of never having faced the trials he is enduring.

to the grave
The "grave" represents the end of earthly life, a place of rest and cessation of suffering. The Hebrew term "קֶבֶר" (qeber) is used, which is often associated with burial sites. In the ancient world, the grave was seen as a place of finality but also of peace, free from the struggles of the living. Job's longing to go directly from the womb to the grave indicates his yearning for relief from his afflictions, a desire for the peace that he believes death would bring.

Verse 19. - I should have been as though I had not been; I should have been carried from the womb to the grave. So short an existence would have been the next thing to no existence at all, and would have equally satisfied my wishes.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
If only
כַּאֲשֶׁ֣ר (ka·’ă·šer)
Preposition-k | Pronoun - relative
Strong's 834: Who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that

I had never
לֹא־ (lō-)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

come
הָיִ֣יתִי (hā·yî·ṯî)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - first person common singular
Strong's 1961: To fall out, come to pass, become, be

to be,
אֶהְיֶ֑ה (’eh·yeh)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - first person common singular
Strong's 1961: To fall out, come to pass, become, be

but had been carried
אוּבָֽל׃ (’ū·ḇāl)
Verb - Hofal - Imperfect - first person common singular
Strong's 2986: To conduct, bear along

from the womb
מִ֝בֶּ֗טֶן (mib·be·ṭen)
Preposition-m | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 990: The belly, the womb, the bosom, body of anything

to the grave.
לַקֶּ֥בֶר (laq·qe·ḇer)
Preposition-l, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 6913: A grave, sepulcher


Links
Job 10:19 NIV
Job 10:19 NLT
Job 10:19 ESV
Job 10:19 NASB
Job 10:19 KJV

Job 10:19 BibleApps.com
Job 10:19 Biblia Paralela
Job 10:19 Chinese Bible
Job 10:19 French Bible
Job 10:19 Catholic Bible

OT Poetry: Job 10:19 I should have been as though (Jb)
Job 10:18
Top of Page
Top of Page