If only I had never come to be,
He says it would have been as though he had not existed, carried from womb to grave.
This verse sharpens the longing for unbeing.
1“I loathe my own life; 2I will say to God: 3Does it please You to oppress me, 4Do You have eyes of flesh? 5Are Your days like those of a mortal, 6that You should seek my iniquity 7though You know that I am not guilty, 8Your hands shaped me and altogether formed me. 9Please remember that You molded me like clay. 10Did You not pour me out like milk, 11You clothed me with skin and flesh, 12You have granted me life and loving devotion, 13Yet You concealed these things in Your heart, 14If I sinned, You would take note, 15If I am guilty, woe to me! 16Should I hold my head high, 17You produce new witnesses against me 18Why then did You bring me from the womb? 19If only I had never come to be, 20Are my days not few? 21before I go — never to return — 22to a land of utter darkness,