I am distressed; sad; grieved.

This occurs in the Bible, Job 10:15 in the form ‘woe unto me’.

Job is one of the oldest books in the Old Testament, early versions of which date from about 1200BC, making the phrase 3,200 years old in its original language. The first occurrence of it in English would have been Wycliffe’s Bible translation in 1382.

Job 10:15: If I be wicked, woe unto me; and if I be righteous, yet will I not lift up my head. I am full of confusion; therefore see thou mine affliction;