They made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah.

When Esau heard his father’s words, he cried out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me too, my father!”

Laban replied, “Better that I give her to you than to some other man. Stay with me.”

and made their lives bitter with difficult labor in brick and mortar and in all kinds of fieldwork. They ruthlessly imposed all this work on them.

They are to eat the meat that night; they should eat it, roasted over the fire along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.

Isn’t this what we told you in Egypt: Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”

They came to Marah, but they could not drink the water at Marah because it was bitter—that is why it was named Marah.

Grind some of it into a fine powder and put some in front of the testimony in the tent of meeting, where I will meet with you. It must be especially holy to you.

Then he took the calf they had made, burned it up, and ground it to powder. He scattered the powder over the surface of the water and forced the Israelites to drink the water.

After the priest has the woman stand before the Lord, he is to let down her hair and place in her hands the grain offering for remembrance, which is the grain offering of jealousy. The priest is to hold the bitter water that brings a curse.

The priest will require the woman to take an oath and will say to her, ‘If no man has slept with you, if you have not gone astray and become defiled while under your husband’s authority, be unaffected by this bitter water that brings a curse.

“Then the priest is to write these curses on a scroll and wash them off into the bitter water.

He will require the woman to drink the bitter water that brings a curse, and it will enter her and cause bitter suffering.

“When he makes her drink the water, if she has defiled herself and been unfaithful to her husband, the water that brings a curse will enter her and cause bitter suffering; her belly will swell, and her thigh will shrivel. She will become a curse among her people.

Such people are to observe it in the second month, on the fourteenth day at twilight. They are to eat the animal with unleavened bread and bitter herbs;

Why is the Lord bringing us into this land to die by the sword? Our wives and little children will become plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?”

I took the sinful calf you had made, burned it up, and crushed it, thoroughly grinding it to powder as fine as dust. Then I threw it into the stream that came down from the mountain.

Be sure there is no man, woman, clan, or tribe among you today whose heart turns away from the Lord our God to go and worship the gods of those nations. Be sure there is no root among you bearing poisonous and bitter fruit.

They will be weak from hunger,
ravaged by pestilence and bitter plague;
I will unleash on them wild beasts with fangs,
as well as venomous snakes that slither in the dust.

For their vine is from the vine of Sodom
and from the fields of Gomorrah.
Their grapes are poisonous;
their clusters are bitter.

So he said to them, “What have I done now compared to you? Is not the gleaning of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?

“Please speak in the presence of all the lords of Shechem, ‘Is it better for you that 70 men, all the sons of Jerubbaal, rule over you or that one man rule over you?’ Remember that I am your own flesh and blood.”

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

They told him, “Be quiet. Keep your mouth shut. Come with us and be a father and a priest to us. Is it better for you to be a priest for the house of one person or for you to be a priest for a tribe and family in Israel?”

would you be willing to wait for them to grow up? Would you restrain yourselves from remarrying? No, my daughters, my life is much too bitter for you to share, because the Lord’s hand has turned against me.”

“Don’t call me Naomi. Call me Mara,” she answered, “for the Almighty has made me very bitter.

He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. Indeed, your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.”

“Hannah, why are you crying?” her husband Elkanah asked. “Why won’t you eat? Why are you troubled? Am I not better to you than 10 sons?”

How much better if the troops had eaten freely today from the plunder they took from their enemies! Then the slaughter of the Philistines would have been much greater.”

Then Samuel said:

Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obeying the Lord?

Look: to obey is better than sacrifice,
to pay attention is better than the fat of rams.

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

Let our lord command your servants here in your presence to look for someone who knows how to play the lyre. Whenever the evil spirit from God troubles you, that person can play the lyre, and you will feel better.”

Whenever the spirit from God troubled Saul, David would pick up his lyre and play, and Saul would then be relieved, feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.

David said to himself, “One of these days I’ll be swept away by Saul. There is nothing better for me than to escape immediately to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will stop searching for me everywhere in Israel, and I’ll escape from him.”

The Philistine commanders, however, were enraged with Achish and told him, “Send that man back and let him return to the place you assigned him. He must not go down with us into battle only to become our adversary during the battle. What better way could he regain his master’s favor than with the heads of our men?

David was in a difficult position because the troops talked about stoning him, for they were all very bitter over the loss of their sons and daughters. But David found strength in the Lord his God.

“Look,” Absalom explained to Joab, “I sent for you and said, ‘Come here. I want to send you to the king to ask: Why have I come back from Geshur? I’d be better off if I were still there.’ So now, let me see the king. If I am guilty, let him kill me.”

Since the Lord had decreed that Ahithophel’s good advice be undermined in order to bring about Absalom’s ruin, Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The advice of Hushai the Archite is better than Ahithophel’s advice.”

“You must not go!” the people pleaded. “If we have to flee, they will not pay any attention to us. Even if half of us die, they will not pay any attention to us because you are worth 10,000 of us. Therefore, it is better if you support us from the city.”

The Lord will bring back his own blood on his head because he struck down two men more righteous and better than he, without my father David’s knowledge. With his sword, Joab murdered Abner son of Ner, commander of Israel’s army, and Amasa son of Jether, commander of Judah’s army.

but he went on a day’s journey into the wilderness. He sat down under a broom tree and prayed that he might die. He said, “I have had enough! Lord, take my life, for I’m no better than my fathers.”

So Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, “Give me your vineyard so I can have it for a vegetable garden, since it is right next to my palace. I will give you a better vineyard in its place, or if you prefer, I will give you its value in silver.”

Aren’t Abana 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 left in a rage.

For the Lord saw that the affliction of Israel was very bitter. There was no one to help Israel, neither bond nor free.

David went out to meet them and said to them, “If you have come in peace to help me, my heart will be united with you, but if you have come to betray me to my enemies even though my hands have done no wrong, may the God of our ancestors look on it and judge.”

but have walked in the way of the kings of Israel, have caused Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to prostitute themselves like the house of Ahab prostituted itself, and also have killed your brothers, your father’s family, who were better than you,

He tore down the altars, and he smashed the Asherah poles and the carved images to powder. He chopped down all the incense altars throughout the land of Israel and returned to Jerusalem.

Why is light given to one burdened with grief,
and life to those whose existence is bitter,

He doesn’t let me catch my breath
but soaks me with bitter experiences.

For You record bitter accusations against me
and make me inherit the iniquities of my youth.

Yet another person dies with a bitter soul,
having never tasted prosperity.

Today also my complaint is bitter.
His hand is heavy despite my groaning.

As God lives, who has deprived me of justice,
and the Almighty who has made me bitter,

The little that the righteous man has is better
than the abundance of many wicked people.

My lips will glorify You
because Your faithful love is better than life.

who sharpen their tongues like swords
and aim bitter words like arrows,

Better a day in Your courts
than a thousand anywhere else.
I would rather be at the door of the house of my God
than to live in the tents of wicked people.

But I will not withdraw
My faithful love from him
or betray My faithfulness.

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 nobles.

Instruction from Your lips is better for me
than thousands of gold and silver pieces.

for she is more profitable than silver,
and her revenue is better than gold.

in the end she’s as bitter as wormwood
and as sharp as a double-edged sword.

For wisdom is better than jewels,
and nothing desirable can compare with it.

My fruit is better than solid gold,
and my harvest than pure silver.

Better to be dishonored, yet have a servant,
than to act important but have no food.

Better a little with the fear of the Lord
than great treasure with turmoil.

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

Better a little with righteousness
than great income with injustice.

Get wisdom—
how much better it is than gold!
And get understanding—
it is preferable to silver.

Better to be lowly of spirit with the humble
than to divide plunder with the proud.

Patience is better than power,
and controlling one’s temper, than capturing a city.

Better a dry crust with peace
than a house full of feasting with strife.

Better for a man to meet a bear robbed of her cubs
than a fool in his foolishness.

Better a poor man who lives with integrity
than someone who has deceitful lips and is a fool.

What is desirable in a man is his fidelity;
better to be a poor man than a liar.

Better to live on the corner of a roof
than to share a house with a nagging wife.

Better to live in a wilderness
than with a nagging and hot-tempered wife.

A good name is to be chosen over great wealth;
favor is better than silver and gold.

A wise warrior is better than a strong one,
and a man of knowledge than one of strength;

for it is better for him to say to you, “Come up here!”
than to demote you in plain view of a noble.

Better to live on the corner of a roof
than to share a house with a nagging wife.

Better an open reprimand
than concealed love.

A person who is full tramples on a honeycomb,
but to a hungry person, any bitter thing is sweet.

Oil and incense bring joy to the heart,
and the sweetness of a friend is better than self-counsel.

Don’t abandon your friend or your father’s friend,
and don’t go to your brother’s house
in your time of calamity;
better a neighbor nearby than a brother far away.

Better a poor man who lives with integrity
than a rich man who distorts right and wrong.

For the churning of milk produces butter,
and twisting a nose draws blood,
and stirring up anger produces strife.

Give beer to one who is dying
and wine to one whose life is bitter.

There is nothing better for man than to eat, drink, and enjoy his work. I have seen that even this is from God’s hand,

I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and enjoy the good life.

I have seen that there is nothing better than for a person to enjoy his activities because that is his reward. For who can enable him to see what will happen after he dies?

But better than either of them is the one who has not yet existed, who has not seen the evil activity that is done under the sun.

Better one handful with rest
than two handfuls with effort and a pursuit of the wind.

Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their efforts.

Better is a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer pays attention to warnings.

Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Better to draw near in obedience than to offer the sacrifice as fools do, for they ignorantly do wrong.

Better that you do not vow than that you vow and not fulfill it.

A man may father a hundred children and live many years. No matter how long he lives, if he is not satisfied by good things and does not even have a proper burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he.

Better what the eyes see than wandering desire. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.