Draw a random verse about anger, patience and reconciliation and see how the Bible handles temper, wrath and a soft answer.
What the Bible Says About Anger
Scripture does not treat anger as a single thing. God is described again and again as slow to anger and abounding in mercy, yet the prophets also speak of his anger against injustice and idolatry. Jesus overturns tables in the temple and looks around in anger at hard hearts, so anger itself is not always portrayed as sin. What the Bible warns about is anger that is quick, proud or stored up. Paul puts it in a short phrase: be angry, and do not sin.
The wisdom writers are practical. Proverbs says a soft answer turns away wrath, that a person who rules their spirit is stronger than a conqueror, and that stepping back from a quarrel is honorable. James adds that human anger does not produce the righteousness God wants, so listening comes before speaking.
Where Anger Appears
Stories give the clearest pictures. Cain's resentment ends in murder, Moses loses his temper at the rock and pays for it, and Jonah sulks because God was merciful to Nineveh. On the other side, Abigail talks David out of revenge, and Gideon calms the men of Ephraim with a humble reply. Proverbs holds the largest cluster of sayings, and the Psalms and prophets repeat the line about God being slow to anger. In the New Testament, the Sermon on the Mount ties anger to reconciliation, while the letters of Paul, Peter and James give direct instructions for daily life.
Notice who is angry and why. Some of these people are protecting the poor or the worship of God, and others are simply wounded in pride. Reading the surrounding passage helps you tell the difference.
Ways to Use These Verses
- Draw a verse when you feel irritated, and ask whether the passage describes anger that helped or harmed.
- Pair a proverb on a soft answer with a conversation you expect to be tense.
- Read the story behind a verse, such as Cain, Naaman or Jonah, before deciding what it means.
- Use the reconciliation verses from Matthew 5 as a prompt to contact someone you have been avoiding.
- Copy a verse onto a card as a reminder to pause before replying.
If your anger feels heavy, frequent or hard to control, it can help to talk with a trusted person, a pastor or a counselor rather than carrying it alone.
When you are ready for more, try the Bible verse randomizer for a verse from anywhere in Scripture, the random encouraging Bible verse page for a gentler pick, or browse the Bible books to read a whole passage in context.
Verses in This Collection
- Genesis 4:5-7 – But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
Cain is furious that his offering was not accepted, and God warns him that sin is waiting at the door and must be mastered. - Genesis 27:41-43 – And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob. And these words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah: and she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said unto him, Behold, thy brother Esau, as touching thee, doth comfort himself, purposing to kill thee. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran;
Esau plans to kill Jacob over the stolen blessing, so Rebekah sends Jacob away until his brother's fury cools. - Genesis 45:5 – Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.
Joseph meets the brothers who sold him and urges them not to be consumed by guilt and self-reproach, since God used it. - Genesis 49:5-7 – Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations. O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.
Near death, Jacob rebukes Simeon and Levi for the violent rage they unleashed at Shechem, and refuses to share in it. - Exodus 32:19-20 – And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses’ anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount. And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it .
Coming down the mountain, Moses sees the golden calf, breaks the stone tablets in anger, and destroys the idol. - Exodus 34:6 – And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD , The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
After the calf, God passes before Moses and describes himself as merciful, gracious, long-suffering and abounding in goodness and truth. - Numbers 14:18 – The LORD is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty , visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation .
Moses pleads for a rebellious people by reminding God of his own self-description as patient and full of mercy. - Numbers 20:10-12 – And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock? And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also . And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.
Worn down by complaining, Moses strikes the rock in frustration instead of speaking to it, and this costs him entry to the land. - Deuteronomy 9:7-8 – Remember, and forget not, how thou provokedst the LORD thy God to wrath in the wilderness: from the day that thou didst depart out of the land of Egypt, until ye came unto this place, ye have been rebellious against the LORD . Also in Horeb ye provoked the LORD to wrath, so that the LORD was angry with you to have destroyed you.
Moses reminds Israel how often they provoked the Lord in the wilderness, even at Horeb, where God was angry enough to destroy them. - Judges 8:1-3 – And the men of Ephraim said unto him, Why hast thou served us thus, that thou calledst us not, when thou wentest to fight with the Midianites? And they did chide with him sharply. And he said unto them, What have I done now in comparison of you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abi-ezer? God hath delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb: and what was I able to do in comparison of you? Then their anger was abated toward him, when he had said that.
Ephraim's leaders angrily accuse Gideon of leaving them out; he answers humbly, praising their part, and their anger subsides. - 1 Samuel 17:28 – And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle.
David's oldest brother Eliab lashes out at him on the battlefield, accusing him of pride and neglecting the sheep. - 1 Samuel 20:30-33 – Then Saul’s anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said unto him, Thou son of the perverse rebellious woman , do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine own confusion, and unto the confusion of thy mother’s nakedness? For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom. Wherefore now send and fetch him unto me, for he shall surely die. And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said unto him, Wherefore shall he be slain? what hath he done? And Saul cast a javelin at him to smite him: whereby Jonathan knew that it was determined of his father to slay David.
Saul rages at Jonathan for befriending David and even hurls a spear at him; Jonathan leaves the table grieved and angry. - 1 Samuel 25:32-33 – And David said to Abigail, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, which sent thee this day to meet me: And blessed be thy advice, and blessed be thou, which hast kept me this day from coming to shed blood, and from avenging myself with mine own hand.
David, on his way to kill Nabal's household, thanks Abigail for keeping him from bloodshed he would have regretted. - 2 Samuel 6:6-8 – And when they came to Nachon’s threshingfloor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen shook it . And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God. And David was displeased, because the LORD had made a breach upon Uzzah: and he called the name of the place Perez-uzzah to this day.
After Uzzah dies touching the ark, David is angry and afraid; he pauses the procession and leaves the ark at Obed-edom's house. - 2 Samuel 13:21-22 – But when king David heard of all these things, he was very wroth. And Absalom spake unto his brother Amnon neither good nor bad: for Absalom hated Amnon, because he had forced his sister Tamar.
David is furious about Amnon's assault on Tamar but does nothing, while Absalom silently nurses hatred that later turns to murder. - 2 Kings 5:11-14 – But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper. Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage. And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it ? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean? Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
Naaman storms off angry that Elisha's cure seems too simple; his servants calmly persuade him, and he is healed. - 2 Chronicles 16:10 – Then Asa was wroth with the seer, and put him in a prison house; for he was in a rage with him because of this thing . And Asa oppressed some of the people the same time.
King Asa is so angry at the prophet Hanani's rebuke that he jails him, showing how anger can silence needed correction. - 2 Chronicles 26:19 – Then Uzziah was wroth, and had a censer in his hand to burn incense: and while he was wroth with the priests, the leprosy even rose up in his forehead before the priests in the house of the LORD , from beside the incense altar.
Uzziah, enraged when priests object to his offering incense, is struck with a skin disease on his forehead. - Nehemiah 5:6-7 – And I was very angry when I heard their cry and these words. Then I consulted with myself, and I rebuked the nobles, and the rulers, and said unto them, Ye exact usury, every one of his brother. And I set a great assembly against them.
Nehemiah hears the poor being exploited by their own countrymen, grows very angry, then thinks it over before confronting the nobles. - Nehemiah 9:17 – And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not.
In a national prayer of confession, the Levites recall that God stayed ready to forgive and slow to anger despite Israel's stubbornness. - Esther 1:12 – But the queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s commandment by his chamberlains: therefore was the king very wroth, and his anger burned in him.
King Ahasuerus burns with anger when Queen Vashti refuses his summons, a rash reaction that sets the whole story in motion. - Esther 3:5 – And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence, then was Haman full of wrath.
Haman is filled with rage when Mordecai will not bow, and his wounded pride escalates into a plan against all the Jews. - Esther 7:7-10 – And the king arising from the banquet of wine in his wrath went into the palace garden: and Haman stood up to make request for his life to Esther the queen; for he saw that there was evil determined against him by the king. Then the king returned out of the palace garden into the place of the banquet of wine; and Haman was fallen upon the bed whereon Esther was . Then said the king, Will he force the queen also before me in the house? As the word went out of the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face. And Harbonah, one of the chamberlains, said before the king, Behold also, the gallows fifty cubits high, which Haman had made for Mordecai, who had spoken good for the king, standeth in the house of Haman. Then the king said, Hang him thereon. So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then was the king’s wrath pacified.
The king's wrath turns on Haman when Esther exposes his plot, and the gallows built for Mordecai becomes Haman's own end. - Job 5:2 – For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one.
Eliphaz, one of Job's friends, says resentment destroys the foolish; a general saying, though he misapplies it to Job's own suffering. - Job 18:4 – He teareth himself in his anger: shall the earth be forsaken for thee? and shall the rock be removed out of his place?
Bildad accuses Job of tearing himself apart in anger, a reminder that fury often damages the person who holds it. - Psalm 4:4 – Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.
David tells restless people to tremble and not sin, and to reflect quietly on their beds; anger can be felt without being acted on. - Psalm 7:11 – God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.
A psalm of David asking for justice; it pictures God as a righteous judge who responds to wickedness rather than ignoring it. - Psalm 30:5 – For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.
A psalm of thanksgiving for being healed: God's displeasure is brief, his favor lasts, and a night of weeping gives way to joy. - Psalm 37:8 – Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.
David advises those troubled by prosperous wrongdoers to drop their anger and worry, since both tend to push people toward evil. - Psalm 76:10 – Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain.
This victory psalm says even human fury ends up serving God's purposes, and that he limits what remains of it. - Psalm 78:38 – But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath.
Asaph recounts Israel's history of rebellion and notes that God repeatedly held back his anger and forgave instead of destroying them. - Psalm 85:3 – Thou hast taken away all thy wrath: thou hast turned thyself from the fierceness of thine anger.
A prayer from a restored community, remembering that God withdrew his wrath and turned from his fierce anger toward them. - Psalm 86:15 – But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.
David, in a prayer for help, falls back on God's character: compassionate, gracious, patient, and rich in steadfast love and truth. - Psalm 90:7-9 – For we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath are we troubled. Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance. For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told .
This prayer, traditionally attributed to Moses, sees human life as short and lived under God's displeasure over sin, ending like a sigh. - Psalm 103:8-9 – The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever.
David praises God as merciful and patient, one who does not keep on accusing or hold a grudge forever. - Psalm 145:8 – The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.
A psalm of praise repeats the old description of God as gracious, full of compassion, slow to anger and great in mercy. - Proverbs 10:12 – Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins.
Hatred keeps conflict alive, while love covers offenses; the proverb contrasts stirring up old wrongs with letting them go. - Proverbs 12:16 – A fool’s wrath is presently known: but a prudent man covereth shame.
A fool's irritation shows immediately, whereas a sensible person quietly absorbs an insult instead of answering in the moment. - Proverbs 14:17 – He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly: and a man of wicked devices is hated.
The proverb links quick temper with foolish choices, and notes that people who plot evil end up hated. - Proverbs 14:29 – He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly.
Patience is tied to understanding, while a hasty temper displays folly for everyone to see. - Proverbs 15:1 – A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.
A gentle answer takes the heat out of a conversation, while harsh words provoke more anger; a well-known piece of practical wisdom. - Proverbs 15:18 – A wrathful man stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife.
A hot-tempered person stirs up conflict, but someone patient calms a quarrel before it grows. - Proverbs 16:32 – He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.
Self-command is valued above military strength; ruling your own spirit is described as better than capturing a city. - Proverbs 17:14 – The beginning of strife is as when one letteth out water: therefore leave off contention, before it be meddled with.
Starting a quarrel is compared to releasing water through a crack, so the advice is to drop the dispute before it spreads. - Proverbs 19:11 – The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression.
Good sense slows a person's anger, and overlooking an offense is called an honor rather than a weakness. - Proverbs 19:19 – A man of great wrath shall suffer punishment: for if thou deliver him , yet thou must do it again.
Someone with a fierce temper will bear the penalty, and rescuing him only means doing it again. - Proverbs 20:3 – It is an honour for a man to cease from strife: but every fool will be meddling.
Stepping back from a fight is honorable, while only fools are quick to quarrel. - Proverbs 21:14 – A gift in secret pacifieth anger: and a reward in the bosom strong wrath.
A quiet gift can ease a person's anger, a practical observation about how generosity can defuse tension. - Proverbs 22:24-25 – Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go: Lest thou learn his ways, and get a snare to thy soul.
The writer warns against befriending a hot-tempered person, since you may pick up their ways and be trapped by them. - Proverbs 25:15 – By long forbearing is a prince persuaded, and a soft tongue breaketh the bone.
Patience and a gentle tongue can win over a ruler, and soft speech can overcome stubborn resistance. - Proverbs 25:21-22 – If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink: For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the LORD shall reward thee.
Feeding and giving drink to an enemy is advised; Paul later quotes this in Romans as a way of answering hostility with kindness. - Proverbs 26:21 – As coals are to burning coals, and wood to fire; so is a contentious man to kindle strife.
Fuel keeps a fire burning, and a quarrelsome person keeps conflict burning in the same way. - Proverbs 27:3-4 – A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; but a fool’s wrath is heavier than them both. Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy?
Anger is described as cruel and overwhelming, but jealousy is called even harder to stand against. - Proverbs 29:8 – Scornful men bring a city into a snare: but wise men turn away wrath.
Scornful people agitate a city, while wise people calm things down and turn anger away. - Proverbs 29:11 – A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards.
A fool pours out everything he feels, but a wise person holds it back and calms it later. - Proverbs 29:22 – An angry man stirreth up strife, and a furious man aboundeth in transgression.
An angry person provokes fights, and a person given to rage commits many offenses. - Ecclesiastes 7:9 – Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.
The Teacher advises against being quick to take offense, since resentment settles in the hearts of fools. - Isaiah 12:1 – And in that day thou shalt say, O LORD , I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me.
A song of the redeemed: though God was angry, his anger has turned away and he now comforts his people. - Isaiah 48:9 – For my name’s sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off.
God says that for the sake of his own name he delays his anger toward Israel rather than cutting them off. - Isaiah 54:7-8 – For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer.
God says he abandoned Israel only briefly and in overflowing anger hid his face, but will show them lasting compassion. - Jeremiah 3:12 – Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD ; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the LORD , and I will not keep anger for ever.
God calls faithless Israel to return and promises not to look on them in anger forever, because he is merciful. - Daniel 3:19 – Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated.
Nebuchadnezzar becomes furious when three Hebrew officials refuse to worship his statue, and he orders the furnace heated far beyond normal. - Jonah 4:1-4 – But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry. And he prayed unto the LORD , and said, I pray thee, O LORD , was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil. Therefore now, O LORD , take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live. Then said the LORD , Doest thou well to be angry?
Jonah is furious that God spared Nineveh, and God gently asks whether he has any right to be so angry. - Jonah 4:9-11 – And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death. Then said the LORD , Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night: And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?
God repeats his question after the vine withers, using Jonah's own anger to show that he cares about Nineveh's people. - Joel 2:13 – And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.
The prophet calls people to tear their hearts, not just their clothes, and return to a God who is gracious and slow to anger. - Micah 7:18 – Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.
Near the end of the book, the prophet praises a God who forgives and does not hold on to anger, but delights in showing mercy. - Nahum 1:3 – The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.
Nahum, speaking about Nineveh, says the Lord is slow to anger and great in power but will not simply clear the guilty. - Habakkuk 3:2 – O LORD , I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O LORD , revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.
The prophet prays that, even as God acts in judgment, he will remember mercy. - Zephaniah 2:3 – Seek ye the LORD , all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD’s anger.
The prophet urges the humble to seek the Lord and righteousness; they may be sheltered when God's anger comes. - Matthew 5:21-22 – Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus links the commandment against murder to anger and contempt in the heart. - Matthew 5:23-24 – Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.
Jesus tells a worshiper who remembers a grievance a brother holds to go and be reconciled first, then return to offer the gift. - Matthew 5:25-26 – Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.
Jesus advises settling a dispute quickly with an opponent on the way to court, before it becomes more costly. - Matthew 5:38-39 – Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
Jesus answers the old rule of equal retaliation by telling his hearers not to resist an evildoer and to turn the other cheek. - Matthew 5:43-45 – Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
Jesus asks his listeners to love and pray for enemies, because God gives sun and rain to everyone. - Matthew 6:14-15 – For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Right after the Lord's Prayer, Jesus ties receiving forgiveness from God to being willing to forgive other people. - Matthew 18:21-22 – Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
Peter asks how often to forgive, and Jesus answers with a number meant to suggest forgiveness without a counted limit. - Matthew 21:12-13 – And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.
Jesus drives merchants and money changers out of the temple courts, an instance of righteous anger aimed at exploitation in a place of prayer. - Mark 3:5 – And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.
In a synagogue Jesus looks around with anger at those watching to accuse him, grieved at their hard hearts, then heals a man's hand. - Luke 4:28-29 – And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong.
The Nazareth synagogue crowd, enraged by Jesus' sermon, drives him out of town and tries to throw him off a cliff. - Luke 15:28 – And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him.
In the parable of the lost son, the older brother is angry and refuses to join the party; the father goes out to plead with him. - Luke 17:3-4 – Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.
Jesus teaches that a brother who sins should be rebuked, and forgiven when he repents, even repeatedly in a single day. - John 2:15-16 – And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables; And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise.
Jesus makes a whip of cords and drives animals and traders out of the temple, saying his Father's house is not a marketplace. - Acts 15:39 – And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other: and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus;
Paul and Barnabas disagree sharply over taking John Mark along and part ways, though both continue their work separately. - Romans 12:17-19 – Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
Paul tells Roman believers not to repay evil for evil or take revenge, but to leave room for God's justice. - Romans 12:20-21 – Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
Paul finishes the thought by quoting Proverbs about feeding an enemy, and urges believers to overcome evil with good. - 1 Corinthians 13:4-5 – Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
Paul's description of love says it is patient and kind and is not easily provoked, nor does it keep a list of wrongs. - Galatians 5:19-21 – Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these ; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
Paul lists the works of the flesh, and these include hatred, fits of rage, rivalry and similar behavior. - Galatians 5:22-23 – But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Paul names the fruit of the Spirit, including patience, gentleness and self-control, as the opposite of the flesh's outbursts. - Ephesians 4:26-27 – Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil.
Paul admits anger can arise but warns against letting it fester overnight, since it gives the devil an opening. - Ephesians 4:31-32 – Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
Paul asks believers to drop bitterness, wrath, shouting and malice, and to be kind and forgiving as God forgave them in Christ. - Colossians 3:8 – But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.
Paul tells new believers to put off anger, rage, malice and abusive talk, like removing old clothing. - Colossians 3:12-13 – Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
Paul urges the Colossians to put on compassion, humility and patience, bearing with each other and forgiving as Christ forgave. - 1 Timothy 2:8 – I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.
Paul wants men to pray in every place with clean hands, free from anger and arguing. - 2 Timothy 2:24-25 – And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men , apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;
Paul tells Timothy that the Lord's servant must not quarrel but be kind and patient, and correct opponents gently. - Titus 1:7 – For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre;
Among the qualifications for church overseers, Paul lists that they must not be quick-tempered or violent. - Hebrews 12:14-15 – Follow peace with all men , and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you , and thereby many be defiled;
The writer urges believers to pursue peace and watch that no root of bitterness grows up to trouble and defile many. - James 1:19-20 – Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
James says to be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger, since human anger does not produce God's righteousness. - James 4:1-2 – From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
James asks where fights among believers come from and traces them to selfish desires battling within. - 1 Peter 2:23 – Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:
Peter points to Jesus under abuse: he did not retaliate or threaten, but trusted himself to the one who judges fairly. - 1 Peter 3:9 – Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.
Peter tells believers not to return evil for evil or insult for insult, but to bless, since they were called to inherit a blessing.
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