When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me, even me also, O my father!”

Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than to give her to another man; stay with me.”

and they made their lives bitter with hard labor in mortar and bricks and at all kinds of labor in the field, all their labors which they rigorously imposed on them.

They shall eat the flesh that same night, roasted with fire, and they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.

Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”

When they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter; therefore it was named Marah.

He took the calf which they had made and burned it with fire, and ground it to powder, and scattered it over the surface of the water and made the sons of Israel drink it.

In the second month on the fourteenth day at twilight, they shall observe it; they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.

Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become plunder; would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?”

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

‘They will be wasted by famine, and consumed by plague
And bitter destruction;
And the teeth of beasts I will send upon them,
With the venom of crawling things of the dust.

“For their vine is from the vine of Sodom,
And from the fields of Gomorrah;
Their grapes are grapes of poison,
Their clusters, bitter.

But he said to them, “What have I done now in comparison with you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?

“Speak, now, in the hearing of all the leaders of Shechem, ‘Which is better for you, that seventy men, all the sons of Jerubbaal, rule over you, or that one man rule over you?’ Also, remember that I am your bone and your flesh.”

Now are you any better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever strive with Israel, or did he ever fight against them?

They said to him, “Be silent, put your hand over your mouth and come with us, and be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be a priest to the house of one man, or to be priest to a tribe and a family in Israel?”

Then he said, “May you be blessed of the Lord, my daughter. You have shown your last kindness to be better than the first by not going after young men, whether poor or rich.

May he also be to you a restorer of life and a sustainer of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.”

Then Elkanah her husband said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep and why do you not eat and why is your heart sad? Am I not better to you than ten sons?”

Samuel said,
“Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
As in obeying the voice of the Lord?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
And to heed than the fat of rams.

So Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor, who is better than you.

Then David said to himself, “Now I will perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than to escape into the land of the Philistines. Saul then will despair of searching for me anymore in all the territory of Israel, and I will escape from his hand.”

Then Abner called to Joab and said, “Shall the sword devour forever? Do you not know that it will be bitter in the end? How long will you refrain from telling the people to turn back from following their brothers?”

Absalom answered Joab, “Behold, I sent for you, saying, ‘Come here, that I may send you to the king, to say, “Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me still to be there.”’ Now therefore, let me see the king’s face, and if there is iniquity in me, let him put me to death.”

Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel.” For the Lord had ordained to thwart the good counsel of Ahithophel, so that the Lord might bring calamity on Absalom.

But the people said, “You should not go out; for if we indeed flee, they will not care about us; even if half of us die, they will not care about us. But you are worth ten thousand of us; therefore now it is better that you be ready to help us from the city.”

Moreover, the king’s servants came to bless our lord King David, saying, ‘May your God make the name of Solomon better than your name and his throne greater than your throne!’ And the king bowed himself on the bed.

The Lord will return his blood on his own head, because he fell upon two men more righteous and better than he and killed them with the sword, while my father David did not know it: Abner the son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah.

But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree; and he requested for himself that he might die, and said, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take my life, for I am not better than my fathers.”

Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, “Give me your vineyard, that I may have it for a vegetable garden because it is close beside my house, and I will give you a better vineyard than it in its place; if you like, I will give you the price of it in money.”

Are not Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage.

For the Lord saw the affliction of Israel, which was very bitter; for there was neither bond nor free, nor was there any helper for Israel.

David went out to meet them, and said to them, “If you come peacefully to me to help me, my heart shall be united with you; but if to betray me to my adversaries, since there is no wrong in my hands, may the God of our fathers look on it and decide.”

but have walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and have caused Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to play the harlot as the house of Ahab played the harlot, and you have also killed your brothers, your own family, who were better than you,

They tore down the altars of the Baals in his presence, and the incense altars that were high above them he chopped down; also the Asherim, the carved images and the molten images he broke in pieces and ground to powder and scattered it on the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.

he also tore down the altars and beat the Asherim and the carved images into powder, and chopped down all the incense altars throughout the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

“Why is light given to him who suffers,
And life to the bitter of soul,

“For You write bitter things against me
And make me to inherit the iniquities of my youth.

While another dies with a bitter soul,
Never even tasting anything good.

When my steps were bathed in butter,
And the rock poured out for me streams of oil!

Better is the little of the righteous
Than the abundance of many wicked.

His speech was smoother than butter,
But his heart was war;
His words were softer than oil,
Yet they were drawn swords.

Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,
My lips will praise You.

Who have sharpened their tongue like a sword.
They aimed bitter speech as their arrow,

And it will please the Lord better than an ox
Or a young bull with horns and hoofs.

For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside.
I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God
Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

It is better to take refuge in the Lord
Than to trust in man.

It is better to take refuge in the Lord
Than to trust in princes.

The law of Your mouth is better to me
Than thousands of gold and silver pieces.

For her profit is better than the profit of silver
And her gain better than fine gold.

But in the end she is bitter as wormwood,
Sharp as a two-edged sword.

“For wisdom is better than jewels;
And all desirable things cannot compare with her.

“My fruit is better than gold, even pure gold,
And my yield better than choicest silver.

Better is he who is lightly esteemed and has a servant
Than he who honors himself and lacks bread.

Better is a little with the fear of the Lord
Than great treasure and turmoil with it.

Better is a dish of vegetables where love is
Than a fattened ox served with hatred.

Better is a little with righteousness
Than great income with injustice.

How much better it is to get wisdom than gold!
And to get understanding is to be chosen above silver.

It is better to be humble in spirit with the lowly
Than to divide the spoil with the proud.

He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty,
And he who rules his spirit, than he who captures a city.

Better is a dry morsel and quietness with it
Than a house full of feasting with strife.

Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity
Than he who is perverse in speech and is a fool.

What is desirable in a man is his kindness,
And it is better to be a poor man than a liar.

It is better to live in a corner of a roof
Than in a house shared with a contentious woman.

It is better to live in a desert land
Than with a contentious and vexing woman.

A good name is to be more desired than great wealth,
Favor is better than silver and gold.

For it is better that it be said to you, “Come up here,”
Than for you to be placed lower in the presence of the prince,
Whom your eyes have seen.

It is better to live in a corner of the roof
Than in a house shared with a contentious woman.

Better is open rebuke
Than love that is concealed.

A sated man loathes honey,
But to a famished man any bitter thing is sweet.

Do not forsake your own friend or your father’s friend,
And do not go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity;
Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother far away.

Better is the poor who walks in his integrity
Than he who is crooked though he be rich.

For the churning of milk produces butter,
And pressing the nose brings forth blood;
So the churning of anger produces strife.

Give strong drink to him who is perishing,
And wine to him whose life is bitter.

There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and tell himself that his labor is good. This also I have seen that it is from the hand of God.

I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one’s lifetime;

I have seen that nothing is better than that man should be happy in his activities, for that is his lot. For who will bring him to see what will occur after him?

But better off than both of them is the one who has never existed, who has never seen the evil activity that is done under the sun.

One hand full of rest is better than two fists full of labor and striving after wind.

Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor.

A poor yet wise lad is better than an old and foolish king who no longer knows how to receive instruction.

It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay.

If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, however many they be, but his soul is not satisfied with good things and he does not even have a proper burial, then I say, “Better the miscarriage than he,

It never sees the sun and it never knows anything; it is better off than he.

What the eyes see is better than what the soul desires. This too is futility and a striving after wind.

A good name is better than a good ointment,
And the day of one’s death is better than the day of one’s birth.

It is better to go to a house of mourning
Than to go to a house of feasting,
Because that is the end of every man,
And the living takes it to heart.

Sorrow is better than laughter,
For when a face is sad a heart may be happy.

It is better to listen to the rebuke of a wise man
Than for one to listen to the song of fools.

The end of a matter is better than its beginning;
Patience of spirit is better than haughtiness of spirit.

Do not say, “Why is it that the former days were better than these?”
For it is not from wisdom that you ask about this.

And I discovered more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and nets, whose hands are chains. One who is pleasing to God will escape from her, but the sinner will be captured by her.

For whoever is joined with all the living, there is hope; surely a live dog is better than a dead lion.

So I said, “Wisdom is better than strength.” But the wisdom of the poor man is despised and his words are not heeded.

The words of the wise heard in quietness are better than the shouting of a ruler among fools.

Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.

“May he kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!
For your love is better than wine.

“How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride!
How much better is your love than wine,
And the fragrance of your oils
Than all kinds of spices!

Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;
Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness;
Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!

“Give us advice, make a decision;
Cast your shadow like night at high noon;
Hide the outcasts, do not betray the fugitive.