Word study
Bitterly
7 Hebrew and 2 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with “bitterly”. English often uses one word where Hebrew or Greek has several, each with its own shade of meaning. Under each word are verses where it is translated this way; choose the word itself for its full study: every verse, how else it is translated, the forms it takes and what the dictionaries say.
At a glance
How often each original word is translated “bitterly” or one of its forms.
Compare the Hebrew words side by side Compare the Greek words side by side
Hebrew and Aramaic words (Old Testament)
- גָּדוֹל gâdôlgreattranslated this way 4 times of its 501 uses · Strong’s H1419Adjective · Translated: great 262, large 33, high 20, loud 14Full study and all 477 verses →
Judges 21:2 So the people came to Bethel and sat there before God until evening, lifting up their voices and weeping bitterly.
2 Samuel 13:36 And as he finished speaking, the sons of the king came in, wailing loudly. Then the king and all his servants also wept very bitterly.
- מָרַר mârarbe bittertranslated this way 3 times of its 14 uses · Strong’s H4843Verb · Translated: bitter 2, rage 2Full study and all 13 verses →
Ruth 1:20 “Do not call me Naomi,” she replied. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has dealt quite bitterly with me.
Isaiah 22:4 Therefore I said, “Turn away from me, let me weep bitterly! Do not try to console me over the destruction of the daughter of my people.”
- מַר marbitter, bitternesstranslated this way 3 times of its 39 uses · Strong’s H4751Adjective · Translated: bitter 16, bitterness 6, bitterly 3, anguish 2Full study and all 36 verses →
Esther 4:1 When Mordecai learned of all that had happened, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the middle of the city, wailing loudly and bitterly.
Isaiah 33:7 Behold, their valiant ones cry aloud in the streets; the envoys of peace weep bitterly.
- בָּכָה bâkâhweep, bewailtranslated this way 2 times of its 110 uses · Strong’s H1058Verb · Translated: wept 44, weep 22, weeping 21, mourned 4Full study and all 100 verses →
Ezra 10:1 While Ezra prayed and made this confession, weeping and falling facedown before the house of God, a very large assembly of Israelites — men, women, and children — gathered around him, and the people wept bitterly as well.
Jeremiah 22:10 Do not weep for him who is dead; do not mourn his loss. Weep bitterly for him who is exiled, for he will never return to see his native land.
- מְאֹד meôdmuchness, force, abundance, exceedinglytranslated this way 1 time of its 195 uses · Strong’s H3966Adverb · Translated: greatly 28, very 12, was very 8, exceedingly 8Full study and all 186 verses →
Numbers 14:39 And when Moses relayed these words to all the Israelites, the people mourned bitterly.
- אָרַר ârarcursetranslated this way 1 time of its 62 uses · Strong’s H779Verb · Translated: Cursed 42, curse 9, brings a curse 5, put a curse 2Full study and all 52 verses →
Judges 5:23 ‘Curse Meroz,’ says the angel of the LORD. ‘Bitterly curse her inhabitants; for they did not come to help the LORD, to help the LORD against the mighty.’
- בְּכִי Bekîweepingtranslated this way 1 time of its 25 uses · Strong’s H1065Noun · Translated: weeping 16, weep 3, wept 2Full study and all 24 verses →
Jeremiah 48:5 For on the ascent to Luhith they weep bitterly as they go, and on the descent to Horonaim cries of distress resound over the destruction:
Greek words (New Testament)
- πικρῶς pikrōsbitterlytranslated this way 2 times of its 2 uses · Strong’s G4090Adverb · Translated: bitterly 2Full study and all 2 verses →
Matthew 26:75 Then Peter remembered the word that Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.
Luke 22:62 And he went outside and wept bitterly.
- πολύς polýsmuch, many, oftentranslated this way 1 time of its 338 uses · Strong’s G4183Adjective · Translated: many 172, great 37, large 32, much 31Full study and all 307 verses →
How to study a word well
- Start from the verse, not the dictionary. Find which Hebrew or Greek word stands in the verse you are studying. One English word often translates several different original words.
- Read every place the word is used. A word means what its writers used it to mean. The list of verses and the count by book show its range, and who uses it most.
- Look at how it is translated. A word rendered five different ways has a wider meaning than any one English word can carry.
- Notice the form. A command is not a statement, and a passive verb is something done to the subject. The form in your verse is part of the meaning.
- See what it keeps company with. The words that appear beside it again and again show how the Bible itself connects ideas.
- Then read the dictionaries. They give the considered view of scholars, with their evidence.
- Come back to the verse. Context decides. A word does not carry every one of its meanings into every verse, and where a word came from does not settle what it means in a sentence written centuries later.
Scripture text and translation counts: Berean Standard Bible. Full entry: Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906, public domain), in the digital edition Brown-Driver-Briggs Enhanced by unfoldingWord (Joel Ruark, J. de Joode), based on data by Eliran Wong and Stephen Ku; its additions are used under CC BY 4.0. Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary: Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project, CC BY 4.0. Hebrew-to-English verse numbering: original work of the Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible available at https://github.com/openscriptures/morphhb, CC BY 4.0. We reformatted the data, linked the references to this site’s Bible text and left out words in other scripts that the source holds only as images. These are historical reference works; an entry gives its authors’ view, and a word’s meaning in any verse depends on how it is used there.