“And you, son of man, groan with an aching heart ¹  and bitterness; groan before their eyes.

The Lord saw Israel’s intense suffering; ¹  everyone was weak and incapacitated and Israel had no deliverer. ² 

And another man ¹  dies in bitterness of soul, ²  never having tasted ³  anything good.

Yes, ¹  my spirit was bitter, ²  and my insides felt sharp pain. ³ 

Husbands, love your wives and do not be embittered against them.

“‘Then the priest will write these curses on a scroll and then scrape them off into the bitter water. ¹ 

But she replied ¹  to them, ²  “Don’t call me ‘Naomi’! ³  Call me ‘Mara’ ⁴  because the Sovereign One ⁵  has treated me very harshly. ⁶ 

When Esau heard ¹  his father’s words, he wailed loudly and bitterly. ²  He said to his father, “Bless me too, my father!”

They made their lives bitter ¹  by ²  hard service with mortar and bricks and by all kinds of service ³  in the fields. Every kind of service the Israelites were required to give was rigorous. ⁴ 

Now when Mordecai became aware of all that had been done, he ¹  tore his garments and put on sackcloth and ashes. He went out into the city, crying out in a loud ²  and bitter voice.

The Lord says, “A sound is heard in Ramah, ¹  a sound of crying in bitter grief. It is the sound of Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because her children are gone.” ² 

So then, listen to what I, the Lord God of Israel who rules over all, ¹  say. ²  ‘I will make these people eat the bitter food of suffering and drink the poison water of judgment. ³ 

So I said, ¹  “Oh, my dear people, ²  put on sackcloth and roll in ashes. Mourn with painful sobs as though you had lost your only child. For any moment now ³  that destructive army ⁴  will come against us.”

They caused Isaac and Rebekah great anxiety. ¹ 

for they aroused ¹  his temper, ²  and he spoke rashly. ³ 

He has given me my fill of bitter herbs and made me drunk with bitterness. ¹ 

ז (Zayin) Remember ¹  my impoverished and homeless condition, ²  which is a bitter poison. ³ 

I discovered this: ¹  More bitter than death is the kind of ²  woman ³  who is like a hunter’s snare; ⁴  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.

surely you would not want to wait until they were old enough to marry! ¹  Surely you would not remain unmarried all that time! ²  No, ³  my daughters, you must not return with me. ⁴  For my intense suffering ⁵  is too much for you to bear. ⁶  For the Lord is afflicting me!” ⁷ 

David was very upset, for the men ¹  were thinking of stoning him; ²  each man grieved bitterly ³  over his sons and daughters. But David drew strength from the Lord his God.