equivalent to wormwood and gall, it should be made clear that these are used in a figurative sense. Therefore it is often better to shift to a simile; for example, “When I think of my suffering and living away from home, it is like the taste of bitter liquid.” This verse has two related textual problems. The first is the word soul in My soul continually thinks of it. This is said to be one of the so-called “scribal corrections.” According to Jewish tradition, some words in the Old