Greek word · G4087

πικραίνω

pikrainō

to embitter

Active: to make bitter. It is used of taste (Rev 10:9–10, the scroll that turns the stomach bitter) and, figuratively, of making someone angry or resentful. Passive or middle: to become bitter, be embittered, become exasperated or angry, turn harsh toward someone.

Appears 4 times in 4 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

πικραίνω

(πικρός), [in LXX for מָרַד, קָצַף, etc. ;]

to make bitter: Revelation 10:9; pass., Revelation 8:11 10:10; metaphorically, to embitter (LXX) : pass., before πρός, Colossians 3:19.†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Colossians 3:19

Range of meaning

Active: to make bitter. It is used of taste (Rev 10:9–10, the scroll that turns the stomach bitter) and, figuratively, of making someone angry or resentful. Passive or middle: to become bitter, be embittered, become exasperated or angry, turn harsh toward someone.

Against the English

KJV/WEB 'be not bitter against' keeps the inner side but sounds to modern ears like a long-held grudge. BSB/ESV 'harsh' keeps the outward side, how she is treated, but loses the inner souring. NASB 'embittered against' is the closest to the Greek form.

How it drifted

Modern English 'bitter' usually means resentment that lingers after disappointment. The Greek word more often means getting sharp, angry and irritable with someone, the temper that flares up in daily life.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Greek Old Testament, Moses 'was angry' with the people who hoarded manna (Exod 16:20, ἐπικράνθη, translating Hebrew qatsaph, 'be angry'). The officials 'were angry' with Jeremiah and had him beaten (Jer 37:15 = LXX 44:15). Commentators (e.g. Lohse, O'Brien) point to Plutarch's essay On Controlling Anger, which speaks of men who become bitter and angry toward women in the home.

From the study of Revelation 10:9

Range of meaning

To make bitter (of taste). Figuratively, to embitter, cause grief, provoke anger. In the passive, to be bitter or harsh (Colossians 3:19).

Against the English

'Make bitter' (BSB, ESV, KJV) is literal. The NIV's 'turn sour' brings in the image of an upset stomach and loses the link to bitterness as a recognised biblical image of grief and judgment.

Used elsewhere in the period

In Revelation only here, in 10:10, and in 8:11, where Wormwood makes a third of the waters bitter and many die. In the LXX, πικρία/πικρός describes grief and judgment: Ezekiel 3:14 (the prophet goes 'bitter' in spirit after receiving the scroll), Ruth 1:20, Exodus 15:23 (Marah). Numbers 5:18–27 has 'water of bitterness' that enters the belly (κοιλία) of a woman accused of adultery. That ordeal also involves washing written curse-words into a drink. The echo is possible but not certain.

From the study of Revelation 8:11

Range of meaning

To make bitter, literally (taste) or figuratively (to embitter, to make resentful or harsh). In the passive, to be made bitter or to become bitter.

Against the English

"Were made bitter" (KJV, WEB, YLT) keeps the passive and the causal clause. The BSB folds it into "the bitter waters" and loses the explicit "because".

Used elsewhere in the period

Elsewhere in Revelation at 10:9–10, where the scroll is sweet in the mouth but makes the stomach bitter. Col 3:19 uses it figuratively for being harsh. In the Greek Old Testament the related word πικρός describes the bitter waters of Marah (Exod 15:23), which God made sweet. Hebrew mar ("bitter") and its idioms ("bitter water" in Num 5, "poisoned water" in Jer 8:14) link bitterness with curse and death.

Where it appears

Colossians · 1

  1. Colossians 3:19 πικραίνεσθε do be harsh

    Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.

    Here: A passive or middle present command: 'do not become embittered' or 'do not let yourselves turn sour and angry.' The word covers both the inner souring and the sharp, irritable treatment that comes out of it.

Revelation · 3

  1. Revelation 8:11 ἐπικράνθησαν.¶ they were made bitter.

    The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter like wormwood oil, and many people died from the bitter waters.

    Here: Passive, past tense: "they were made bitter". No agent is named, but in context the trumpet judgments come from God. In biblical idiom, "bitter" water can also mean poisoned water.

  2. Revelation 10:9 πικρανεῖ it will make bitter

    And I went to the angel and said, “Give me the small scroll.” “Take it and eat it,” he said. “It will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.”

    Here: A future tense, 'it will make bitter'. This is a warning given beforehand. Elsewhere in Revelation the verb appears only in 8:11, where the star Wormwood makes the waters bitter and they kill people. Bitterness in this book goes with judgment and death.

  3. Revelation 10:10 ἐπικράνθη was made bitter

    So I took the small scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. But when I had eaten it, my stomach turned bitter.

    Here: 'Was made bitter.' This is passive: the scroll does it to him. It fulfils the angel's warning, 'it will make your stomach bitter' (10:9). The same verb describes the waters turned bitter by Wormwood in 8:11.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.