מְרִירִי (me.ri.ri)
me.ri.ri
bitter
H:AQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 1 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:A
Word Overview
The Hebrew adjective meriri describes something that is genuinely bitter, capturing a sharp, unpleasant taste or experience. With only one occurrence in the Bible, it appears in Deuteronomy 29:18 to describe the spiritual condition of a person whose heart has turned away from God. In this context, the bitterness is not just physical but moral and relational, representing a soul that has become sour through idolatry and rebellion.
While the word shares a root with other terms for gall or wormwood, meriri specifically emphasizes the quality of being acrid or harsh. It serves as a vivid metaphor for the consequences of covenant unfaithfulness. The text uses this sensory image to warn that such a path leads to destruction, contrasting sharply with the sweetness of obedience. This single usage highlights how physical sensations were often employed in Scripture to illustrate deep spiritual realities.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word meriri paints a sharp picture of what happens when we drift from God. In Deuteronomy 29:18, it describes a heart turned away by idolatry. This bitterness is not just a bad mood; it is a deep spiritual sourness that affects every part of our lives.
When we choose paths that reject God's guidance, the result feels acrid and harsh. It is like swallowing something toxic that poisons our soul from the inside out. The Bible uses this strong image to show us how dangerous it is to ignore our covenant with Him.
Yet this warning is also an invitation. By seeing the true nature of sin, we can turn back to God before the bitterness takes root. His grace offers a way out of that harshness and back into the sweet peace of obedience.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 1 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- bitter1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- מְרִירִ֑י1×
Key Verses
-
Deuteronomy 32:24
They shall be wasted with hunger, and devoured with burning heat and bitter destruction. I will send the teeth of animals on them, with the venom of vipers that glide in the dust.
This verse uses the word to describe 'bitter destruction,' linking physical suffering directly to the consequences of turning away from God.