20 Bible Verses About Anger

Anger is one of the most spiritually dangerous emotions because it can be righteously felt, but is often sinfully expressed. The emotion of anger is not sinful in and of itself, and there are legitimate reasons for anger to be our natural response. We should be angry when God’s glory is dishonored, injustice and oppression abound, and the vulnerable are exploited. It’s right to feel holy anger over sin—when disease, death, abuse, corruption, and unbelief wreck people’s lives. We feel anger over these things because we know fundamentally they’re wrong—a reflection of our sinful, fallen world. The question is not whether we will be angry; the question is whether we can be angry without sinning.

Paul commands the Ephesians, “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger” (Eph. 4:26). It seems Paul is saying there is a time and place for righteous anger, but it comes with a warning. “Be angry and do not sin” is sandwiched between verse 25, which warns about the misuse of our tongue, and verse 27, which warns that anger left to simmer overnight can give the devil a foothold. It’s all too easy to say sinful things when we’re angry, and Satan will be swift to take advantage of our emotions.

So how do we think and respond when we’re angry? How can we control ourselves when anger seems to boil beneath the surface like a kettle on the stove of our lives, ready to blow? We need to consider what God’s Word says about how we control the emotion of anger. Consider these verses as a starting point for your study. Print them off, commit them to memory, and learn by his grace how not to sin in your anger.

20 Bible Verses About Anger

Leviticus 19:17–18 (ESV)
“You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.”
Job 5:2 (ESV)
“Surely vexation kills the fool, and jealousy slays the simple.”
Psalm 4:4 (ESV)
“Be angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent.”
Psalm 37:8 (ESV)
“Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.”
Proverbs 12:16 (ESV)
“The vexation of a fool is known at once, but the prudent ignores an insult.”
Proverbs 14:17 (ESV)
“A man of quick temper acts foolishly, and a man of evil devices is hated.”
Proverbs 14:29 (ESV)
“Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly.”
Proverbs 15:1 (ESV)
“A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”
Proverbs 15:18 (ESV)
“A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention.”
Proverbs 16:32 (ESV)
“Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.”
Proverbs 19:11 (ESV)
“Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.”
Proverbs 29:22 (ESV)
“A man of wrath stirs up strife, and one given to anger causes much transgression.”
Proverbs 30:33 (ESV)
“For pressing milk produces curds, pressing the nose produces blood, and pressing anger produces strife.”
Ecclesiastes 7:9 (ESV)
“Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the heart of fools.”
Matthew 5:21–22 (ESV)
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.”
Ephesians 4:26–27 (ESV)
“Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.”
Ephesians 4:31–32 (ESV)
“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
Colossians 3:8 (ESV)
“But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.”
1 Timothy 2:8 (ESV)
“I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling.”
James 1:19–20 (ESV)
“Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”

How to Be Angry and Not Sin

When you feel that familiar heat of anger rising in your heart, you should stop and ask yourself why. Are you reacting to an injury to your pride, preferences, or plans—or are you grieved by something that dishonors God? Once you can honestly answer that question, the next step is to pray.

Ask God to help you respond in self-control instead of retaliation and vengeance. Don’t avenge yourself, but leave it to God for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord” (Rom 12:19). We can’t do this on our own. William Hendriksen observed, “To love the sinner while one hates his sin requires a goodly supply of grace.”

That goodly supply of grace is found in Christ. At the cross, his righteous anger against sin was fully poured out, so that our anger (and our whole lives) might be transformed. So when anger arises, don’t unleash it. Surrender it. Let it lead you to the One who bore the wrath you and I deserved, and who alone can teach us how to “be angry and not sin.”