טוֹבִ֤ים הָיוּ֙ חַלְלֵי־חֶ֔רֶב מֵֽחַלְלֵ֖י רָעָ֑ב שֶׁ֣הֵ֤ם יָז֙וּבוּ֙ מְדֻקָּרִ֔ים מִתְּנוּבֹ֖ת שָׂדָֽי׃ (ס)
Убитые мечом лучше, чем убитые голодом; Из-за этих сосен, пронизанных, За недостатком плодов полевых.
Bava Batra
"Famine is worse than the sword": If you want to say that it is from logical reasoning: This one, he suffers, that one, he does not suffer. If you want to say that it is from a verse: (Lamentations 4, 9) "They that are slain with the sword are better Than they that are slain with hunger" Captivity is the worst of all, for it contains all of them.