"Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him. Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself"  (Leviticus 19:17-18).

"For wrath killeth the foolish man"  (Job 5:2a).

"But the hypocrites in heart heap up wrath: they cry not when he bindeth them. They die in youth, and their life is among the unclean"  (Job 36:13-14).

"Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil"  (Psalm 37:8).

"A fool's wrath is presently known: but a prudent man covereth shame"  (Proverbs 12:16).

"There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health"  (Proverbs 12:18).

"Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom"  (Proverbs 13:10).

"A wise man feareth, and departeth from evil: but the fool rageth, and is confident"  (Proverbs 14:16).

"He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly: and a man of wicked devices is hated"  (Proverbs 14:17).

"He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly"  (Proverbs 14:29).

"A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger"  (Proverbs 15:1).

"A wrathful man stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife"  (Proverbs 15:18).

"He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city"  (Proverbs 16:32).

"The foolishness of man perverteth his way: and his heart fretteth [is angry] against the LORD"  (Proverbs 19:3).

"The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression"  (Proverbs 19:11).

"A man of great wrath shall suffer punishment: for if thou deliver him, yet thou must do it again"  (Proverbs 19:19).

"The fear of a king is as the roaring of a lion: whoso provoketh him to anger sinneth against his own soul"  (Proverbs 20:2).

"It is an honour for a man to cease from strife"  (Proverbs 20:3a).

"Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the LORD, and he shall save thee"  (Proverbs 20:22).

"It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman"  (Proverbs 21:19).

"Proud and haughty scorner is his name, who dealeth in proud wrath"  (Proverbs 21:24).

"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"  (Proverbs 22:24-25).

"The north wind driveth away rain: so doth an angry countenance a backbiting tongue"  (Proverbs 25:23).

"He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls"  (Proverbs 25:23).

"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"  (Proverbs 27:3-4a).

"Scornful men bring a city into a snare: but wise men turn away wrath"  (Proverbs 29:8).

"If a wise man contendeth with a foolish man, whether he rage or laugh, there is no rest"  (Proverbs 29:9).

"A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards"  (Proverbs 29:11).

"An angry man stirreth up strife, and a furious man aboundeth in transgression"  (Proverbs 29:22).

"Surely the churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood: so the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife"  (Proverbs 30:33).

"Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools"  (Ecclesiastes 7:9). 

The New Testament

"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"  (Matthew 5:22).

"Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord ... Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good"  (Romans 12:19,21).

"Charity suffereth long, and is kind; ... Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; ... Beareth all things ... endureth all things"  (1 Corinthians 13:4a,5,6).

"Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these ... hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife ... 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"  (Galatians 5:19-21).

"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. Be ye therefore followers of God"  (Ephesians 4:31-5:1a).

"And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath; but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord"  (Ephesians 6:4).

"But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth"  (Colossians 3:8).

"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. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts"  (Colossians 3:12-15).

"Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged"  (Colossians 3:21).

"I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath"  (1 Timothy 2:8).

"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"  (2 Timothy 2:24-25).

"For men shall be lovers of their own selves ... proud, blasphemers, ... false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, ... heady, highminded, ... from such turn away"  (2 Timothy 3:2-5).

"For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker"  (Titus 1:7).

"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 1:19-20).

"Having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing"  (1 Peter 3:8b-9).

Righteous Anger, Righteous Indignation

Noah's Flood:  (6:1-22; 7:1-24).

God's Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah:  (Genesis 18:16-33; 19:1-29).

"God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day"  (Psalm 7:11).

"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"  (Psalm 103:8-9)

"Horror [hot wind, raging heat] hath taken hold upon me because of the wicked that forsake thy law"  (Psalm 119:53).

"And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the LORD liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die: And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity"  (2 Samuel 12:5-6).

"And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the LORD God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice, And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the LORD commanded"  (1 Kings 11:9-10).

Jesus Condemns the Scribes and the Pharisees:  (Matthew 23:1-39 / Mark 12:38-40 / Luke 11:37-54; 20:45-47).

"And when [Jesus] 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"  (Mark3:5).

"And [Jesus] found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and changers of money sitting: 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 a house of merchandise. And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up"  (John 2:13-17).

"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him"  (John 3:36).

"Abhor that which is evil"  (Romans 12:9b).

"Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the LORD"  (Romans 12:19).

"Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down on your wrath: Neither give place to the devil"  (Ephesians 4:26-27).

"I know thy works, that thou are neither cold nor hot: I would thou wast cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth"  (Revelation 3:15-16).

The Sixth Seal: (Revelation 6:12-17).

The Righteous Judge:  "treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God" (Revelation 19:11-21).

Descriptions and Examples of Unrighteous Anger in the Bible 

Jealous anger leading to hatred resulting in murder:

"And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: 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 Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his bother, and slew him"  (Genesis 4:4b-8).

Anger leading to murder:

"[F]or 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"  (Genesis 49:6b-7a).

Anger due to thwarted self-interest:

"And when the ass saw the angel of the LORD, she fell down under Balaam: and Balaam's anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with a staff"  (Numbers 22:27).

Jealous anger leading to attempted murder resulting in loss of God’s anointing:

"And Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him; and he said, They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands: and what can he have more but the kingdom? And Saul eyed David from that day and forward ... and there was a javelin in Saul's hand. And Saul cast the javelin; for he said, I will smite David even to the wall with it. And David avoided out of his presence twice. And Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with him, and was departed from Saul"  (1 Samuel 18:8-12).

Jealous anger leading to evil doings:

"If he say thus, It is well; thy servant shall have peace: but if he be very wroth, then be sure that evil is determined by him"  (1 Samuel 20:7).

Jealous anger:

"Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said unto him, Thou son of the perverse rebellious woman"  (1 Samuel 20:30a).

Prideful anger:

"And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean. 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"  (2 Kings 5:11).

Disobedience leading to rebellious anger leading to bondage resulting in ill health and death:

"And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said unto him, Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria, and not relied on the LORD thy God, therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thine hand. Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubims a huge host, with very many chariots and horsemen? yet, because thou didst rely on the LORD, he delivered them into thine hand. For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars. 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 ... And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not to the LORD"  (2 Chronicles 16:7-12).

Prideful anger leading to disobedience resulting in ill health and loss of God’s anointing:

"But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the LORD his God, and went into the temple of the LORD to burn incense upon the altar of incense. And Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him fourscore priests of the LORD, that were valiant men: And they withstood Uzziah the king, and said unto him, It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the LORD, but to the priests the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense: go out of the sanctuary; for thou hast trespassed; neither shall it be for thine honour from the LORD God. 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. And Azariah the chief priest, and all the priests, looked upon him, and, behold, he was leprous in his forehead, and they thrust him out from thence; yea, himself hasted also to go out, because the LORD had smitten him. And Uzziah the king was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a several house, being a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the LORD"  (2 Chronicles 26:16-21).

Anger due to thwarted expectation:

"And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not. But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry ... Then said the LORD, Doest thou well to be angry?"  (Jonah 3:10, 41,4). 

Fearful anger leading to denial of the Lord:

"But he began to curse and to swear, saying, I know not this man of whom ye speak"  (Mark 14:66-72).

Jealous anger:

"And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and entreated him"  (Luke 15:28).

Hypocritical anger:

"If a man on the sabbath day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken; are ye angry at me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the sabbath day?"  (John 7:23). 

Thus saith the LORD,
Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way,
and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls
(Jeremiah 6:16)

© Bayith Ministries     http://www.bayith.org     bayith@blueyonder.co.uk