When they came to the threshing floor of Atad on the other side of the Jordan, they mourned there with very great and bitter sorrow. There Joseph observed a seven day period of mourning for his father.

They made their lives bitter by hard service with mortar and bricks and by all kinds of service in the fields. Every kind of service the Israelites were required to give was rigorous.

They will eat the meat the same night; they will eat it roasted over the fire with bread made without yeast and with bitter herbs.

Isn't this what we told you in Egypt, 'Leave us alone so that we can serve the Egyptians, because it is better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!'"

Then they came to Marah, but they were not able to drink the waters of Marah, because they were bitter. (That is why its name was Marah.)

He took the calf they had made and burned it in the fire, ground it to powder, poured it out on the water, and made the Israelites drink it.

Then the priest will have the woman stand before the Lord, uncover the woman's head, and put the grain offering for remembering in her hands, which is the grain offering of suspicion. The priest will hold in his hand the bitter water that brings a curse.

Then the priest will put the woman under oath and say to the her, "If no other man has had sexual relations with you, and if you have not gone astray and become defiled while under your husband's authority, may you be free from this bitter water that brings a curse.

"'Then the priest will write these curses on a scroll and then scrape them off into the bitter water.

He will make the woman drink the bitter water that brings a curse, and the water that brings a curse will enter her to produce bitterness.

They may observe it on the fourteenth day of the second month at twilight; they are to eat it with bread made without yeast and with bitter herbs.

Why has the Lord brought us into this land only to be killed by the sword, that our wives and our children should become plunder? Wouldn't it be better for us to return to Egypt?"

The Lord will make the rain of your land powder and dust; it will come down on you from the sky until you are destroyed.

Beware that the heart of no man, woman, clan, or tribe among you turns away from the Lord our God today to pursue and serve the gods of those nations; beware that there is among you no root producing poisonous and bitter fruit.

Then he will bring you to the land your ancestors possessed and you also will possess it; he will do better for you and multiply you more than he did your ancestors.

butter from the herd and milk from the flock, along with the fat of lambs, rams and goats of Bashan, along with the best of the kernels of wheat; and from the juice of grapes you drank wine.

For their vine is from the stock of Sodom, and from the fields of Gomorrah. Their grapes contain venom, their clusters of grapes are bitter.

He said to them, "Now what have I accomplished compared to you? Even Ephraim's leftover grapes are better quality than Abiezer's harvest!

Are you really better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he dare to quarrel with Israel? Did he dare to fight with them?

They said to him, "Shut up! Put your hand over your mouth and come with us! You can be our adviser and priest. Wouldn't it be better to be a priest for a whole Israelite tribe than for just one man's family?"

He will encourage you and provide for you when you are old, for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, has given him birth. She is better to you than seven sons!"

Finally her husband Elkanah said to her, "Hannah, why do you weep and not eat? Why are you so sad? Am I not better to you than ten sons?"

Then Samuel said, "Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as he does in obedience? Certainly, obedience is better than sacrifice; paying attention is better than the fat of rams.

Samuel said to him, "The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to one of your colleagues who is better than you!

Then Samuel said, "Bring me King Agag of the Amalekites." So Agag came to him trembling, thinking to himself, "Surely death is bitter!"

Let our lord instruct his servants who are here before you to look for a man who knows how to play the lyre. Then whenever the evil spirit from God comes upon you, he can play the lyre and you will feel better."

So whenever the spirit from God would come upon Saul, David would take his lyre and play it. This would bring relief to Saul and make him feel better. Then the evil spirit would leave him alone.

David thought to himself, "One of these days I'm going to be swept away by the hand of Saul! There is nothing better for me than to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will despair of searching for me through all the territory of Israel and I will escape from his hand."

But the leaders of the Philistines became angry with him and said to him, "Send the man back! Let him return to the place that you assigned him! Don't let him go down with us into the battle, for he might become our adversary in the battle. What better way to please his lord than with the heads of these men?

Then Abner called out to Joab, "Must the sword devour forever? Don't you realize that this will turn bitter in the end? When will you tell the people to turn aside from pursuing their brothers?"

Absalom said to Joab, "Look, I sent a message to you saying, 'Come here so that I can send you to the king with this message: "Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me if I were still there."' Let me now see the face of the king. If I am at fault, let him put me to death!"

Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, "The advice of Hushai the Arkite sounds better than the advice of Ahithophel." Now the Lord had decided to frustrate the sound advice of Ahithophel, so that the Lord could bring disaster on Absalom.

But the soldiers replied, "You should not do this! For if we should have to make a rapid retreat, they won't be too concerned about us. Even if half of us should die, they won't be too concerned about us. But you are like ten thousand of us! So it is better if you remain in the city for support."

while he went a day's journey into the desert. He went and sat down under a shrub and asked the Lord to take his life: "I've had enough! Now, O Lord, take my life. After all, I'm no better than my ancestors."

The king of Israel went home to Samaria bitter and angry.

Ahab said to Naboth, "Give me your vineyard so I can make a vegetable garden out of it, for it is adjacent to my palace. I will give you an even better vineyard in its place, or if you prefer, I will pay you silver for it."

So Ahab went into his palace, bitter and angry that Naboth the Jezreelite had said, "I will not sell to you my ancestral inheritance." He lay down on his bed, pouted, and would not eat.

Then his wife Jezebel came in and said to him, "Why do you have a bitter attitude and refuse to eat?"

The rivers of Damascus, the Abana and Pharpar, are better than any of the waters of Israel! Could I not wash in them and be healed?" So he turned around and went away angry.

David went out to meet them and said, "If you come to me in peace and want to help me, then I will make an alliance with you. But if you come to betray me to my enemies when I have not harmed you, may the God of our ancestors take notice and judge!"

but have instead followed in the footsteps of the kings of Israel. You encouraged the people of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem to be unfaithful to the Lord, just as the family of Ahab does in Israel. You also killed your brothers, members of your father's family, who were better than you.

Now when Mordecai became aware of all that had been done, he tore his garments and put on sackcloth and ashes. He went out into the city, crying out in a loud and bitter voice.

"Why does God give light to one who is in misery, and life to those whose soul is bitter,

For you write down bitter things against me and cause me to inherit the sins of my youth.

He will not look on the streams, the rivers, which are the torrents of honey and butter.

"Even today my complaint is still bitter; his hand is heavy despite my groaning.

"As surely as God lives, who has denied me justice, the Almighty, who has made my life bitter --

when my steps were bathed with butter and the rock poured out for me streams of olive oil!

You will break them with an iron scepter; you will smash them like a potter's jar!'"

The little bit that a godly man owns is better than the wealth of many evil men,

His words are as smooth as butter, but he harbors animosity in his heart. His words seem softer than oil, but they are really like sharp swords.

Because experiencing your loyal love is better than life itself, my lips will praise you.

They put bitter poison into my food, and to quench my thirst they give me vinegar to drink.

Yes, my spirit was bitter, and my insides felt sharp pain.

Certainly spending just one day in your temple courts is better than spending a thousand elsewhere. I would rather stand at the entrance to the temple of my God than live in the tents of the wicked.

It is better to take shelter in the Lord than to trust in people.

It is better to take shelter in the Lord than to trust in princes.

For her benefit is more profitable than silver, and her gain is better than gold.

but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.

For wisdom is better than rubies, and desirable things cannot be compared to her.

My fruit is better than the purest gold, and what I produce is better than choice silver.

Better is a person of humble standing who nevertheless has a servant, than one who pretends to be somebody important yet has no food.

Better is little with the fear of the Lord than great wealth and turmoil with it.

Better a meal of vegetables where there is love than a fattened ox where there is hatred.

Better to have a little with righteousness than to have abundant income without justice.

How much better it is to acquire wisdom than gold; to acquire understanding is more desirable than silver.

It is better to be lowly in spirit with the afflicted than to share the spoils with the proud.

Better to be slow to anger than to be a mighty warrior, and one who controls his temper is better than one who captures a city.

Better is a dry crust of bread where there is quietness than a house full of feasting with strife.

It is better for a person to meet a mother bear being robbed of her cubs, than to encounter a fool in his folly.

Better is a poor person who walks in his integrity than one who is perverse in his speech and is a fool.

What is desirable for a person is to show loyal love, and a poor person is better than a liar.

It is better to live on a corner of the housetop than in a house in company with a quarrelsome wife.

It is better to live in a desert land than with a quarrelsome and easily-provoked woman.

for it is better for him to say to you, "Come up here," than to put you lower before a prince, whom your eyes have seen.

It is better to live on a corner of the housetop than in a house in company with a quarrelsome wife.

Better is open rebuke than hidden love.

The one whose appetite is satisfied loathes honey, but to the hungry mouth every bitter thing is sweet.

Do not forsake your friend and your father's friend, and do not enter your brother's house in the day of your disaster; a neighbor nearby is better than a brother far away.

A poor person who walks in his integrity is better than one who is perverse in his ways even though he is rich.

For as the churning of milk produces butter and as punching the nose produces blood, so stirring up anger produces strife.

There is nothing better for people than to eat and drink, and to find enjoyment in their work. I also perceived that this ability to find enjoyment comes from God.

I have concluded that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to enjoy themselves as long as they live,

So I perceived there is nothing better than for people to enjoy their work, because that is their reward; for who can show them what the future holds?

But better than both is the one who has not been born and has not seen the evil things that are done on earth.

Better is one handful with some rest than two hands full of toil and chasing the wind.

Two people are better than one, because they can reap more benefit from their labor.

A poor but wise youth is better than an old and foolish king who no longer knows how to receive advice.

It is better for you not to vow than to vow and not pay it.

Even if a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years -- even if he lives a long, long time, but cannot enjoy his prosperity -- even if he were to live forever -- I would say, "A stillborn child is better off than he is!"

It is better to be content with what the eyes can see than for one's heart always to crave more. This continual longing is futile -- like chasing the wind.

A good reputation is better than precious perfume; likewise, the day of one's death is better than the day of one's birth.

It is better to go to a funeral than a feast. For death is the destiny of every person, and the living should take this to heart.

Sorrow is better than laughter, because sober reflection is good for the heart.

It is better for a person to receive a rebuke from those who are wise than to listen to the song of fools.

The end of a matter is better than its beginning; likewise, patience is better than pride.

Do not say, "Why were the old days better than these days?" for it is not wise to ask that.

I discovered this: More bitter than death is the kind of woman who is like a hunter's snare; her heart is like a hunter's net and her hands are like prison chains. The man who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is captured by her.

So I recommend the enjoyment of life, for there is nothing better on earth for a person to do except to eat, drink, and enjoy life. So joy will accompany him in his toil during the days of his life which God gives him on earth.

But whoever is among the living has hope; a live dog is better than a dead lion.