H4787 H4787
bitterness, misery (inner anguish or suffering known to the sufferer's own heart)
This noun denotes bitterness or misery, specifically the inner anguish that only the sufferer fully knows. It appears in Proverbs 14:10: 'The heart knows its own bitterness, and no stranger shares its joy'. The term emphasizes the private, incommunicable nature of personal suffering. One's own misery—like one's own joy—has depths that others cannot fully penetrate. The wisdom saying acknowledges the isolation inherent in subjective experience. The construct 'bitterness of its soul' (nephesh) locates the pain in the core of personal identity.
Senses
1. sense 1 — The bitterness or misery that resides in one's inner being, the personal anguish known fully only to oneself. Proverbs uses this to express the incommunicable nature of subjective suffering—the heart knows its own bitterness in ways no outsider can share. The parallel with 'joy' suggests both painful and pleasant experiences have private dimensions. The term emphasizes inward, emotional anguish rather than external circumstances. 1×
AR["مَرارَةَ"]·ben["তিক্ততা"]·DE["[מרת]"]·EN["the-bitterness-of"]·FR["מרת"]·heb["מרת"]·HI["कड़वाहट"]·ID["kepahitan"]·IT["il-bitterness-di"]·jav["pait-saking"]·KO["쓴-것-을"]·PT["amargura-de"]·RU["горечь"]·ES["amargura-de"]·SW["uchungu-wa"]·TR["acısını"]·urd["تلخی"]
Related Senses
H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)H0369 1. existential negation: there is not (738×)H5869a 1. in the eyes/sight of (evaluative) (734×)H5650 1. Servant, attendant, subject (723×)H0408 1. prohibitive negation do-not (712×)G2443 1. so that, in order that (purpose/result) (665×)G0575 1. from (649×)G1223 1. through, by means of (582×)H3541 1. thus, so, in this manner (569×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† [מָרָּה] n.f. bitterness (on form v. Ges§ 22, 5 R);—cstr. לֵב יוֹדֵעַ מָרַּת נַפְשׁוֹ Pr 14:10 the heart knoweth the bitterness of its soul (its own misery).