Proverbs 14:29

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

but the one who has a quick temper ¹  exalts ²  folly.

Proverbs 15:18

15:18 A quick-tempered person ³  stirs up dissension,

but one who is slow to anger ⁴  calms ⁵  a quarrel. ⁶ 

Proverbs 19:11

19:11 A person’s wisdom ⁷  makes him slow to anger, ⁸ 

and it is his glory ⁹  to overlook ¹⁰  an offense.

Psalms 103:8

103:8 The Lord is compassionate and merciful;

he is patient ¹¹  and demonstrates great loyal love. ¹² 

Ephesians 5:1

Live in Love

5:1 Therefore, be ¹³  imitators of God as dearly loved children

James 1:19

Living Out the Message

1:19 Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters! ¹⁴  Let every person be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger.

[14:29]  ¹ 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]  ² 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.

[15:18]  ³ tn Heb “a man of wrath”; KJV, ASV “a wrathful man.” The term “wrath” functions as an attributive genitive: “an angry person.” He is contrasted with the “slow of anger,” so he is a “quick-tempered person” (cf. NLT “a hothead”).

[15:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “slow of anger.” The noun “anger” functions as a genitive of specification: slow in reference to anger, that is, slow to get angry, patient.

[15:18]  ⁵ tn The Hiphil verb יַשְׁקִיט (yashqit) means “to cause quietness; to pacify; to allay” the strife or quarrel (cf. NAB “allays discord”). This type of person goes out of his way to keep things calm and minimize contention; his opposite thrives on disagreement and dispute.

[15:18]  ⁶ sn The fact that רִיב (riv) is used for “quarrel; strife” strongly implies that the setting is the courtroom or other legal setting (the gates of the city). The hot-headed person is eager to turn every disagreement into a legal case.

[19:11]  ⁷ tn Or “prudence,” the successful use of wisdom in discretion. Cf. NAB, NRSV, NLT “good sense.”

[19:11]  ⁸ tn The Hiphil perfect of אָרַךְ (’arakh, “to be long”) means “to make long; to prolong.” Patience and slowness to anger lead to forgiveness of sins.

[19:11]  ⁹ sn “Glory” signifies the idea of beauty or adornment. D. Kidner explains that such patience “brings out here the glowing colours of a virtue which in practice may look drably unassertive” (Proverbs [TOTC], 133).

[19:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “to pass over” (so KJV, ASV); NCV, TEV “ignore.” The infinitive construct עֲבֹר (’avor) functions as the formal subject of the sentence. This clause provides the cause, whereas the former gave the effect – if one can pass over an offense there will be no anger.

[103:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “slow to anger” (see Ps 86:15).

[103:8]  ¹² tn Heb “and great of loyal love” (see Ps 86:15).

[5:1]  ¹³ tn Or “become.”

[1:19]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.