Job 5:2

5:2 For ¹  wrath kills the foolish person, ² 

and anger ³  slays the silly one.

Proverbs 14:29

14:29 The one who is slow to anger has great understanding,

but the one who has a quick temper ⁴  exalts ⁵  folly.

Proverbs 19:12

19:12 A king’s wrath is like ⁶  the roar of a lion, ⁷ 

but his favor is like dew on the grass. ⁸ 

Proverbs 19:19

19:19 A person with great anger bears the penalty, ⁹ 

but if you deliver him from it once, you will have to do it again. ¹⁰ 

Proverbs 21:24

21:24 A proud ¹¹  and arrogant ¹²  person, whose name is “Scoffer,” ¹³ 

acts ¹⁴  with overbearing pride. ¹⁵ 

Proverbs 25:28

25:28 Like a city that is broken down and without a wall,

so is a person who cannot control his temper. ¹⁶ 

Proverbs 27:3

27:3 A stone is heavy and sand is weighty,

but vexation ¹⁷  by a fool is more burdensome ¹⁸  than the two of them.

James 1:19-20

Living Out the Message

1:19 Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters! ¹⁹  Let every person be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger. 1:20 For human ²⁰  anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness. ²¹ 

[5:2]  ¹ tn One of the reasons that commentators transpose v. 1 is that the כִּי (ki, “for”) here seems to follow 4:21 better. If people die without wisdom, it is folly that kills them. But the verse also makes sense after 5:1. He is saying that complaining against God will not bring deliverance (v. 1), but rather, by such impatience the fool will bring greater calamity on himself.

[5:2]  ² tn The two words for “foolish person” are common in wisdom literature. The first, אֱוִיל (’evil), is the fool who is a senseless person; the פֹּתֶה (poteh) is the naive and silly person, the simpleton, the one who is easily led astray. The direct object is introduced with the preposition ל (lamed) in this verse (see GKC 366 §117.n).

[5:2]  ³ tn The two parallel nouns are similar; their related verbs are also paralleled in Deut 32:16 with the idea of “vex” and “irritate.” The first word כַּעַשׂ (ka’as) refers to the inner irritation and anger one feels, whereas the second word קִנְאָה (qin’ah) refers to the outward expression of the anger. In Job 6:2, Job will respond “O that my impatience [ka’as] were weighed….”

[14:29]  ⁴ tn Heb “hasty of spirit” (so KJV, ASV); NRSV, NLT “a hasty temper.” One who has a quick temper or a short fuse will be evident to everyone, due to his rash actions.

[14:29]  ⁵ sn The participle “exalts” (מֵרִים, merim) means that this person brings folly to a full measure, lifts it up, brings it to the full notice of everybody.

[19:12]  ⁶ sn The verse contrasts the “rage” of the king with his “favor” by using two similes. The first simile presents the king at his most dangerous – his anger (e.g., 20:2; Amos 3:4). The second simile presents his favor as beneficial for life (e.g., 16:14-15; 28:15).

[19:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “is a roaring like a lion.”

[19:12]  ⁸ sn The proverb makes an observation about a king’s power to terrify or to refresh. It advises people to use tact with a king.

[19:19]  ⁹ sn The Hebrew word means “indemnity, fine”; this suggests that the trouble could be legal, and the angry person has to pay for it.

[19:19]  ¹⁰ tn The second colon of the verse is very difficult, and there have been many proposals as to its meaning: (1) “If you save [your enemy], you will add [good to yourself]”; (2) “If you save [your son by chastening], you may continue [chastisement and so educate him]”; (3) “If you deliver [him by paying the fine for him once], you will have to do it again”; (4) “If you save [him this time], you will have to increase [the punishment later on].” All interpretations have to supply a considerable amount of material (indicated by brackets). Many English versions are similar to (3).

[21:24]  ¹¹ tn The word זֵד (zed, “proud”) comes from the verb זִיד (zid, “to boil up; to seethe; to act proudly [or, presumptuously].” Just as water boiling up in a pot will boil over, so the presumptuous person “oversteps” the boundaries.

[21:24]  ¹² tn The word יָהִיר (yahir) means “haughty,” that is, to be or show oneself to be presumptuous or arrogant.

[21:24]  ¹³ tn Heb “proud haughty scorner his name” (KJV similar). There are several ways that the line could be translated: (1) “Proud, arrogant – his name is scoffer” or (2) “A proud person, an arrogant person – ‘Scoffer’ is his name.” BDB 267 s.v. זֵד suggests, “A presumptuous man, [who is] haughty, scoffer is his name.”

[21:24]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “does.” The Qal active participle “does” serves as the main verb, and the subject is “proud person” in the first line.

[21:24]  ¹⁵ tn The expression בְּעֶבְרַת זָדוֹן (be’evrat zadon) means “in the overflow of insolence.” The genitive specifies what the overflow is; the proud deal in an overflow of pride. Cf. NIV “overweening pride”; NLT “boundless arrogance.”

[25:28]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “whose spirit lacks restraint” (ASV similar). A person whose spirit (רוּחַ, ruakh) “lacks restraint” is one who is given to outbursts of passion, who lacks self-control (cf. NIV, NRSV, CEV, NLT). This person has no natural defenses but reveals his true nature all the time. The proverb is stating that without self-control a person is vulnerable, like a city without defenses.

[27:3]  ¹⁷ tn The subject matter is the vexation produced by a fool. The term כַּעַס (ca’as) means “vexation” (ASV); provocation” (NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); “anger” (KJV “wrath”) and usually refers to undeserved treatment. Cf. NLT “the resentment caused by a fool.”

[27:3]  ¹⁸ sn The contrast is made between dealing with the vexation of a fool and physical labor (moving stones and sand). More tiring is the vexation of a fool, for the mental and emotional effort it takes to deal with it is more draining than physical labor. It is, in the sense of this passage, almost unbearable.

[1:19]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

[1:20]  ²⁰ tn The word translated “human” here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which often means “male” or “man (as opposed to woman).” But it sometimes is used generically to mean “anyone,” “a person” (cf. BDAG 79 s.v. 2), and in this context, contrasted with “God’s righteousness,” the point is “human” anger (not exclusively “male” anger).

[1:20]  ²¹ sn God’s righteousness could refer to (1) God’s righteous standard, (2) the righteousness God gives, (3) righteousness before God, or (4) God’s eschatological righteousness (see P. H. Davids, James [NIGTC], 93, for discussion).