Anger is a subject that touches every life at some point. We all experience it sooner or later. We all are affected by the anger of others. The real question is, “How do we deal with anger in our lives?” YAHWEH’s Word has much to say about anger in its many forms. There we can find teachings about what to do when we are angry, or how to handle things when someone else is angry.
If this is an area you struggle with why not look at what YAHWEH's Word has to say on the subject. Perhaps you’ll discover a new and more effective way to deal with the anger you encounter – either in yourself or in others.
There are several different words used to express this concept. Not all of them carry the same meaning. Anger can range from a mild irritation, a sense of frustration, or all the way to full-blown rage, or wrath – where someone is angry enough to want to injure or kill someone. And there are several levels in between.
Typically, one of the first things we might think about that we’ve often heard quoted from Scripture is, “Be angry and offend not.” Ephesians 4.26. We know anger can be sinful, but it's not always so. There is a place for “righteous anger”. The struggle is to discern when it’s appropriate and when it’s really sinful.
The very first occurrence of the term "angry" occurs in Genesis 18. Within three verses it occurs twice. Abraham is pleading with YAHWEH to spare the city of Sedom from destruction because of its sin. Abraham is questioning YAHWEH about the basis for the destruction that’s been foretold. In the midst of that questioning we find him asking Him not to be angry (actually, furious) with him for being so bold as to wonder what it would take for Him to spare the city.
What this reveals to us is Abraham’s awareness that YAHWEH is also capable of being angry. We must consider that anger is not always sinful in light of this, for YAHWEH is not capable of sin. This could be very reassuring for us when we become angry. But we need to understand that it’s the reason behind the anger – the motivation of the heart – that really determines whether or not our own anger is an act of sin.
Below, in chronological order as they occur in Scripture, are some of the verses that deal with anger. Please study these verses carefully and prayerfully. Look up the rest of the passage where each verse is found. Try to understand the context of the usage. The context will help you understand what's really being said about the anger involved.
Gen. 18:30: And he said, "Behold now!
Do not be furious with me, my Sovereign,
and I will speak.
Perhaps thirty are found there.”
And He said,
“I will not do it if I find thirty there.” (Re; Sedom & Amorah)
Gen. 45:5: And now, do not be grieved
and do not be angry with yourselves
because you sold me myself את here,
because The Elohim has sent me before you to preserve life,
(Re: Yoseph with his brothers in Egypt.)
Ex. 4:14: And YAHWEH's anger flared up against Moshe.
And He said, “Is not Aharon, the Levite, your brother?
I know that speaking, he himself speaks.
And also behold!
He himself is coming out to meet you.
And he will see you, and he will be glad in his
heart.
Ex. 11:8: And all these servants of yours
will come down to me and bow down to me saying,
‘Get out, you and all the people at your feet!’
And after that I will go out.”
And he went out from Pharaoh in fierce anger.
Deuteronomy 4:25: When you
bring forth children
and grandchildren
and grow
old in the land,
and you do
corruptly,
and you make
an idol in the likeness
of anything,
and you
do what is hurtful
in the
eyes of YAHWEH, your
Elohim, to
provoke Him,
(Provoking YAHWEH to anger.)
Deut. 9:8: And at
Horeb you caused
to burst out in rage
YAHWEH Himself! את
And
YAHWEH was
enraged against you
enough to destroy you yourselves את.
(Yisra’el about to enter the Promised Land.)
Deut. 9:27-28: Take note
of Your servants,
Abraham, Yitzhak, and Ya'akob!
Do not
turn toward
the obstinacy of this
people,
or toward
their wrongness, or toward
their offense
9.28 lest
they say, the land from
which You have brought
us out,
“Indeed, YAHWEH was not able to bring
them to the land
of which
He spoke to them.
And He
hated they themselves את.
He has
brought them out to kill
them in the
wilderness.”
(YAHWEH’s response to worshipping other gods.)
Josh. 23.15 And just as every good
word has come upon you
which YAHWEH, your Elohim, has spoken to you,
so also will YAHWEH bring upon
you
all the hurtful words themselves את
until He has destroyed you yourselves את
from upon this good land which YAHWEH, your Elohim,
has given to you,
23.16 as you pass over The Covenant itself את
of YAHWEH, your Elohim, by which He has directed
you
yourselves, את and you go and you serve other elohim
and you bow down to them!
And the anger of YAHWEH will blaze up against you!
And you will perish quickly from upon the good land
which He has given to you!”
1 Sam. 17:28: And Eli’ab, his oldest brother, listened attentively
as he spoke to the men.
And Eli'ab’s anger flared up against David.
And he said, “Why did you come down here?
And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness?
I myself know your arrogance itself את
and the hurtfulness itself את of your heart.
Indeed you have come down to see the battle.” (Man’s jealous anger.)
1 Kings 8:46: When they offend against You,
because there is no one who does not offend,
and You are enraged with them,
and You give them to the adversary,
and they take them captive
to the land of the adversary, far or near,
(Shelomoh’s prayer for the people of Yisra’el.)
1 Kings 11:9: And YAHWEH was enraged at Shelomoh
because his heart had turned away from YAHWEH, The Elohim of Yisra’el,
Who had been seen by him twice,
(Shelomoh turned away from following YAHWEH.)
2 Kings 17:17-18: And they caused their sons themselves את
and their daughters themselves את
to pass over in fire.
And they practiced divination and magic.
And they sold themselves for the sake of doing bad
in the eyes of YAHWEH to provoke Him to anger.
18 And YAHWEH was exceedingly enraged at Yisra’el.
And He removed them from before His face.
None remained except the
tribe of Yahudah alone.
Neh. 5:6: And I was very angry when I heard their cry and these words.
(Nehemiah’s “righteous anger”.)
Psalms 6:1: YAHWEH, do not rebuke me in Your anger,
and do not chastise me in
Your wrath.
Psalms 7:11 The Elohim is judging with justice.
And The El is enraged on every day.
Psalms 30:5: Indeed His
anger is past in a moment.
In His
pleasure there is life.
At dusk
weeping tarries overnight.
But at dawn
there is a shout of joy.
Psalms 37:8: Cease from anger
and abandon wrath.
Do not fret
yourself only to do what is bad.
Psalms 38:3: There is no
soundness in my flesh
from before
the face of Your intense anger.
There is no
well being in my bones
from before
the face of my offense.
Psalms 76:7: You Yourself את are being feared,
You Yourself את!
And who can
stand before Your face
when You
are angry?
Psalms 78:38: But He
Himself, The Compassionate One,
atones for
moral perversity.
And He does
not cause one to be destroyed.
And frequently
He caused His anger to turn back.
And He did
not cause all His wrath to be stirred up.
Psalms 78:49-50: He sent against
them
the fierceness
of His anger,
wrath, and
fury, and distress,
an
entourage of messengers of harm.
78:50 He leveled
a path for the sake of His anger.
He did not
spare their lives from death.
And He caused
their lives to be delivered to pestilence.
Psalms 103:8-9: YAHWEH is
compassionate and shows favor,
slow to
anger, and abundant of kindness.
103:9 He will
not contend forever.
And He will not hold a grudge to eternity.
Prov. 14:17: One short of temper acts foolishly.
And a man planning mischief will be hated.
Prov. 15:1: A gentle answer causes wrath to turn away.
But a painful word causes anger to rise up.
Prov. 15:18: A man of wrath stirs up strife.
But one slow to anger quiets strife.
Prov. 16:32: Better is one slow to anger
than the powerful,
and one ruling with his breath
than one capturing a city.
Prov. 19:11: The good sense of a human being
causes him to be slow to anger.
And his honor is to pass over a rebellion.
Prov. 21:19: It is better to dwell in a wilderness
than with a contentious and angry
woman.
Prov. 22:24-25: You are not to be a friend
with a master of anger himself את
and you are not to go
with a man of rage himself את
Prov. 22:25 lest you learn his
ways
and you are captured with a snare
for the sake of your life.
Prov. 29:22: A man of anger stirs up strife.
And a possessor of rage abounds
with rebellion.
Isaiah 12:1: And in that day you will say, “I thank You,
YAHWEH,
because You were enraged with me!
You turn back Your anger and You comfort me.
Isaiah 13:9: Behold! The Day of YAHWEH is coming,
cruel, and furious, and burning with anger
to establish the earth devastated,
and its offenders destroyed from it.
Isaiah 13:13: On account of this I will agitate the skies.
And the earth will be shaken from her place
by the fury of YAHWEH of Assemblies,
even in the day of His burning anger.
Jer. 10:24: YAHWEH,
correct me,
only with right judgment,
not in Your anger
lest You bring me to nothing.
Jer. 21:5: And I myself will fight against you
with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm,
even in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath.
Ezekiel 16:42: And I will cause My wrath to settle down upon you!
And My zeal I will turn away from you!
And I will be appeased.
And no I will longer be enraged!
(There is a time for anger to cease.)
Hosea 14:4: I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely
for My anger is turned away from him.
Joel 2:13: And tear your heart,
and not your garments!
And return to YAHWEH, your Elohim,
because He shows favor and is compassionate!
He is slow to anger and abundant with kindness!
And He will relent concerning the harm!
Jonah 4:9: And YAHWEH said to Jonah,
Do you do well to be angry for the gourd?
And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death. (Jonah’s selfish anger.)
Micah 7:18: Who is an Elohim like You,
that pardons iniquity, and passes over the violation of the remnant of His heritage?
He does not retain His anger for ever, because He delights in kindness.
Nahum 1:3: YAHWEH is slow to anger, and great in power,
and will not at all acquit the wicked.
YAHWEH has His way in the whirlwind and in the storm,
and the clouds are the dust of His feet.
John 7:23: If a human being receives circumcision on The Sabbath Day
n order that The Torah of Moshe might not be broken,
are you angry at Me
because I have made a human being completely healthy on The Sabbath Day?
(The anger of the scribes and Pharisees toward The Messiah.)
Matt. 5:22: But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a reason
will be liable to the judgment.
And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ will be in liable to The Sanhedrin.
But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.
(YAHUSHUA to the religious leaders.)
Mark 3:5: And having looked all around at them with wrath,
being grieved because of the hardness of their hearts,
He said to the man, “Extend your hand!”
And he extended it.
And his hand was restored healthy, like the other one.
Luke 15:28: “But he was enraged and would not enter.
Therefore his father came out and encouraged him.
(The brother to the "prodigal son".)
Romans 12.19: Beloved, do not vindicate yourselves,
but instead give place to wrath, because it is written,
“Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” (Deut 32.35) says YAHWEH.
Eph. 4:26: Be angry, yet do not offend.
Do not let the sun go down on your wrath. (Ps. 4.4)
Eph. 4:31: Put away from you
all bitterness, and rage, and anger, and outcries, and blaspheming,
along with all depravity.
Col. 3:8: But now put away also
all wrath, indignation, evil, blasphemy,
vile conversation from your mouth!
Col. 3:21: Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger lest they become discouraged.
Titus 1:7: Indeed, a superintendent must be blameless as a steward of YAHWEH,
not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy,
(Characteristics of religious leaders.)
Rev. 11:18: And the nations have become enraged.
And Your wrath has come also for the dead to be judged,
and compensation to be given to Your servants, the prophets,
and to the set apart ones,
and to those who revere Your Name, small and great,
and to destroy those who destroy the earth.”
Anger can be used for a good purpose at times.
However, more often than not we use it incorrectly.
Such use brings with it serious consequences if we fail to correct our actions.
We also see that YAHWEH becomes angry with His people
when they disregard or ignore Him.
The potential consequences of that situation are horrendous.
We need to be careful how we handle our anger.
There is a place for it,
but we need to do our best to avoid creating anger in others,
especially in YAHWEH Himself.
We put ourselves at risk when we stir it up in others.
YAHWEH teaches us to be very patient and slow to anger.
We would do well to follow that wisdom.
When we do get angry we certainly need to try to keep it from turning
into an opportunity for sin.
NOTE: These pages are a "work in progress". They're updated fairly often as new information or insights are provided that require a change in what's presented. Please check back regularly to see what may have changed since your last visit. Scripture verses used on the site are from The Aleph-Tav Bible. They're not always presented on these pages in exactly the same format as they occur in the text due to space considerations but the text is the same. Download or print your own copy today.
Personal use is free, but these are not to be used for any commercial purpose. Please contact the site owner if you have an interest in commercial usage.