Job 10:20

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

Key Reflection

In Job 10:20, Job expresses a profound sentiment of wishful thinking—hoping that his life could have ended before it reached its current state of suffering. He suggests that if he had not been born, or if he had died shortly after birth, his existence would have brought him less pain and hardship. This statement reflects the intense emotional distress and existential questioning Job experiences throughout the book, highlighting his deep longing for relief from his trials. Job’s words encapsulate a common human desire for a simpler life free from suffering, even at the cost of never having existed.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

Are not my days few? -My life is short, and hastens to a close. Let not then my afflictions be continued to the last moment of life, but let thine hand be removed, that I may enjoy some rest before I go hence, to return no more. This is an address to God, and the meaning is, that as life was necessarily so short, he asked to be permitted to enjoy some comfort before he should go to the land of darkness and of death; compare the note atJob 7:21. A somewhat similar expression occurs inPsalms 39:13: O spare me, that I may recover strength, Before I go hence, and be no more.

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