'Better' in the Bible

Then Laban said, "Better [that] I give her to you than I give her to another man. Stay with me."

Isn't this the word we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, 'Leave us alone [so that] we can serve Egypt!' because serving Egypt is better for us than our dying in the desert."

Why did Yahweh bring us into this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little children will become plunder; would it not be better for us to return [to] Egypt?"

And he said to them, "What I have done now in comparison with you? Are not the gleanings of Ephraim better than the grape harvest of Abiezer?

"{Speak to} the lords of Shechem, 'What [is] better for you, that seventy men all from the sons of Jerub-Baal rule over you, or that one man rules over you?' Remember that I [am] your bone and your flesh."

So then, [are] you any better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever quarrel with Israel, or did he ever make war against them?

And they said to him, "Keep quiet! Put your hand on your mouth and come with us and be for us a father and a priest. Is it better being a priest for a house of one man or being a priest for a tribe and clan in Israel?"

And he said, "You [are] blessed by Yahweh my daughter. You did better [in this] last kindness than the first by not going after young men, whether poor or rich.

He shall be for you a restorer of life and a sustainer in your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who [is] better for you than seven sons, has borne him."

So Elkanah her husband would say to her: "Hannah, why do you weep and why do you not eat? And {why are you heartsick}? Am I not better to you than ten sons?"

Then Samuel said, "Is there [as much] delight for Yahweh in burnt offerings and sacrifices as [there is] in {obeying} Yahweh? Look! {To obey} [is] better than sacrifice; to give heed than the fat of rams.

Then Samuel said to him, "Yahweh has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor {who is better than you}.

Please, let our lord command your servants [who are] before you! Let them seek a man skilled in playing on the lyre. {When} the evil spirit from God [is] upon you, he can play {on it} and {you will feel better}."

So whenever the [evil] spirit from God came to Saul, David would take the stringed instrument and play it with his hand. Then {it would bring relief} for Saul; {he would feel better} and the evil spirit would depart from him.

Then David {thought to himself}, "Now I will perish one day by the hand of Saul! There is nothing better for me but [that] I must certainly escape to the land of [the] Philistines. Then Saul will desist from searching for me further in all of the territories of Israel, and so I will escape from his hand."

Absalom said to Joab, "Look, I have sent to 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 if I [were] still there." ' So then, let me see the face of the king; if there [is] guilt in me, then let him kill me."

Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, "The advice of Hushai the Arkite [is] better than the advice of Ahithophel." (Now Yahweh had ordained to frustrate the good counsel of Ahithophel in order for Yahweh to bring misery upon Absalom).

Then the troops said, "You will not go out, for {if we must flee}, then {they will not care about us}; even if half of us die, {they will not care about us}, but now, you [are] like ten thousand of us. And so then, [it is] better for us that you be in the city to help."

The servants of the king also came to congratulate our lord King David, saying, 'Your God has made the name of Solomon better than your name and his throne greater than your throne!' So the king worshiped on the bed.

Yahweh will return his blood on his head, because he fell upon two men, more righteous and better than he, and he killed them with the sword, even though my father did not know it; [namely] Abner son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and Amasa son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah.

Then he went into the wilderness one day's journey, and he went and sat under a certain broom tree. Then {he asked Yahweh that he might die}, and he said, "It is enough now, Yahweh; take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors."

Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, "Give me your vineyard that it may be mine for a garden of vegetable plants, because it is near, beside my house, and I will give to you a better vineyard in place of it. If it is better in your eyes, I will give you the money of its price."

Are not the Abana and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all of the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them that I may be clean?" Then he turned and left in anger.

He spoke {kindly} to him, and he gave him a better seat than the seat of the kings who [were] with him in Babylon.

but have walked in the way of the kings of Israel and have enticed Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to be unfaithful like the unfaithfulness of the house of Ahab, and have also murdered your brothers of the house of your father who [were] better than you,

{If it pleases} the king, let {a royal edict} go out from him, and let it be written among the laws of Persia and Media so that it will not be altered, that Vashti cannot come before King Ahasuerus; and let the king give her royal position to her neighbor who [is] better than she.

[The] little belonging to the righteous [is] better than [the] wealth of many wicked.

Because your loyal love [is] better than life, my lips will praise you.

For Yahweh it will be better than an ox [or] bull, horned [and] hoofed.

Because better [is] a day in your courtyards than a thousand [elsewhere]. I would rather be at the threshold of the house of my God than to dwell in [the] tents of wickedness.

[It is] better to take refuge in Yahweh than to trust in humans.

[It is] better to take refuge in Yahweh than to trust princes.

The law of your mouth [is] better to me than thousands of gold and silver [coins].

For her income is better than the income of silver, and her revenue than [that of] gold.

For wisdom is better than jewels, and all desires shall not compare with her.

My fruit is better than gold, even refined gold, and my yield than choice silver.

It is better to be lowly and a servant {to someone} than self-glorifying and lacking food.

Better [is] little with the fear of Yahweh than great treasure and trouble with it.

Better [is] a dinner of vegetables when love [is] there than a fattened ox and hatred with it.

Better is little with righteousness than great income with no justice.

Getting wisdom: {how much} better than gold! And getting understanding: it is chosen {over} silver.

Better a lowly spirit with the poor than dividing the spoil with the proud.

He who is slow to anger [is] better than him who is mighty, and he who controls his spirit than him who captures a city.

Better a dry morsel and quiet with it than a house filled [with] feasts of strife.

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

The craving of a man [is] his steadfast loyalty, and [it is] better [to be] poor than a {liar}.

Better to dwell on the corner of a roof than [to] share a house with a woman of contention.

Better to live in a land of wilderness than [with] a wife of quarrels and provocation.

A {reputation} [is] to be chosen {rather than} great riches; {favor is better than silver and gold}.

For [it is] better [that] he say to you, "Ascend here," than he humble you before a noble. What your eyes have seen,

Better to live upon the corner of a roof than [with] a woman of contention and [in a] shared house.

Better a rebuke that is open than a love that is hidden.

As for your friend and a friend of your father, do not forsake [them], and the house of your brother, do not enter on the day of your calamity. Better is a close neighbor than a distant brother.

Better [to be] poor and walking in one's integrity than to be crooked of ways when one [is] rich.

There is nothing better for a person than to eat and drink and {find delight} in his toil. For I also realized that this [is] from the hand of God!

So I realized that there is {nothing better} for them than to {rejoice and enjoy themselves} during their lives.

So I concluded that there is nothing better for a person than to enjoy [the fruit of] his labor, for this is his lot in life. {For no one knows what will happen in the future.}

But better [off] than both of them is the one who has not yet been born and has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun.

Better [is] one handful with peace than two fists full with toil and chasing wind.

Two [are] better than the one, for they enjoy a better reward for their toil.

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

It is better that you not vow than that you vow and not fulfill it.

Even if a man fathers a hundred [children] and lives many years so that the days of his years are many, if his heart is not satisfied with {his prosperity} and {he does not receive a proper burial}, I deem the stillborn better than him.

{Better to be content with what your eyes see than for your soul to constantly crave more}. This also [is] vanity and chasing wind!

A good name [is] better than precious ointment, and the day of death [is better] than the day of one's birth.

Better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for [death is] the end of every person, and the living should take [it] to his heart.

Sorrow [is] better than laughter, for by sadness of countenance the heart is made good.

Better to listen to [the] rebuke of [the] wise than for a man to listen to [the] song of fools.

The end of a matter [is] better than its beginning; {better to be slow to anger than hot-headed}.

Do not say, "Why were the former days better than these?" For [it is] not from wisdom [that] you ask this.

So I recommend enjoyment. For there [is] nothing better for man under the sun than to eat and to drink and to rejoice. This will accompany him in his toil the days of his life that God gives to him under the sun.

Whoever is joined to all the living has hope. After all, even a live dog is better than a dead lion!

So I concluded that wisdom [is] better than might, yet the wisdom of the poor is despised, and his words are not heard.

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

{May you kiss me} {passionately with your lips}, for your love [is] better than wine.

How beautiful is your love, my sister bride! How better is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your oils than any spice!

{How is your beloved better than another lover}, O most beautiful among women? {How is your beloved better than another lover}, that you adjure us thus?

And I will give them a monument and a name in my house and within my walls, better than sons and daughters; I will give him an everlasting name that shall not be cut off.

Yet they did not obey, and they did not incline their ear, but they walked in [their own] plans, in the stubbornness of their evil heart, and {they became worse instead of better}.

"Son of man, how will the wood of the vine be {better than} {any of the wood of} the branch which is among the trees of the forest?

And at the end of ten days their appearances appeared better and [they were] healthier of body than all the young men who were eating the fine food of the king.

And in every matter of wisdom [and] understanding [about] which the king inquired from them, he found them ten times better [than] all [of] the magicians [and] conjurers that {were in his entire kingdom}.

Then she will pursue {her lovers}, but she will not overtake them; she will seek them and not find [them]; and she will say, "I will go and return to my first husband because [it was] better for me then than now."

Cross over [to] Calneh and see, and go from there [to] Hamath Rabbah and go down [to] Gath of the Philistines. [Are] you better than these kingdoms, or is their territory greater than your territory?

And so then, Yahweh, please take my life from me, because [for] me death [is] better than life!"

{And when the sun rose}, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah's head and he grew faint. {And he asked that he could die} and said, "My death [is] better than my life!"

Are you better than Thebes? She who sits at the Nile, surrounded by her waters, her rampart [was the] sea and water [was] her wall.