See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God, that no one be like a bitter root springing up ¹  and causing trouble, and through him many become defiled.

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

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

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?”

ד (Dalet) The roads to Zion ¹  mourn ²  because no one ³  travels to the festivals. ⁴  All her city gates ⁵  are deserted; ⁶  her priests groan. ⁷  Her virgins grieve; ⁸  she is in bitter anguish! ⁹ 

Then they came to Marah, ¹  but they were not able to drink ²  the waters of Marah, because ³  they were bitter. ⁴  (That is ⁵  why its name was ⁶  Marah.)

Indeed, the residents of Maroth ¹  hope for something good to happen, ²  though the Lord has sent disaster against the city of Jerusalem. ³ 

They caused Isaac and Rebekah great anxiety. ¹ 

The archers will attack him, ¹  they will shoot at him and oppose him.

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. ¹ 

Then the priest will put the woman under oath and say to the her, “If no other ¹  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. ² 

“I will pour out on the kingship ¹  of David and the population of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication so that they will look to me, ²  the one they have pierced. They will lament for him as one laments for an only son, and there will be a bitter cry for him like the bitter cry for a firstborn. ³ 

So then I, the Lord who rules over all, ¹  have something to say concerning the prophets of Jerusalem: ²  ‘I will make these prophets eat the bitter food of suffering and drink the poison water of judgment. ³  For the prophets of Jerusalem are the reason ⁴  that ungodliness ⁵  has spread throughout the land.’”

Can horses run on rocky cliffs? Can one plow the sea with oxen? ¹  Yet you have turned justice into a poisonous plant, and the fruit of righteous actions into a bitter plant. ² 

“As surely as God lives, ¹  who has denied me justice, ²  the Almighty, who has made my life bitter ³  –

When he has made her drink the water, then, if she has defiled herself and behaved unfaithfully toward her husband, the water that brings a curse will enter her to produce bitterness – her abdomen will swell, her thigh will fall away, and the woman will become a curse among her people.

For their vine is from the stock ¹  of Sodom, and from the fields of Gomorrah. ²  Their grapes contain venom, their clusters of grapes are bitter.

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 

(Now ¹  the name of the star is ²  Wormwood.) ³  So ⁴  a third of the waters became wormwood, ⁵  and many people died from these waters because they were poisoned. ⁶ 

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