Bible Verses About Anger
The short answer
Ephesians 4:26-27, James 1:19-20, Proverbs 29:11, Psalm 4:4 and Psalm 37:8 are the anger passages. Ephesians 4:26 is the key one: be angry and sin not. Scripture does not forbid anger, it warns about what anger does when it is kept, fed, and left overnight.
Scripture distinguishes between anger and what anger becomes. The first is human; the second is the thing to watch.
Where to begin
Three passages for anger you are still holding.
Ephesians 4:26-27
“Be angry, and don’t sin.” Don’t let the sun go down on your wrath, and don’t give place to the devil.
Biblical context
Part of a passage on honest speech and conduct within a church community.
Selah’s reflection
Anger is permitted and time-limited in the same instruction. The warning is about what it turns into when it is kept.
James 1:19-20
So, then, my beloved brothers, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger; for the anger of man doesn’t produce the righteousness of God.
Biblical context
James writes bluntly about speech and self-control throughout his letter.
Selah’s reflection
Slow to wrath is not the same as never angry. The concern is speed.
Psalm 4:4
Stand in awe, and don’t sin. Search your own heart on your bed, and be still. Selah.
Biblical context
An evening psalm written under provocation. Paul quotes the first part in Ephesians 4.
Selah’s reflection
The instruction is to take it somewhere quiet and examine it rather than to discharge it.
Further passages
Proverbs 29:11
A fool vents all of his anger, but a wise man brings himself under control.
Biblical context
Wisdom literature on speech and restraint.
Selah’s reflection
Till afterwards implies it does get said. Restraint here is about timing, not suppression.
Psalm 37:8
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath. Don’t fret, it leads only to evildoing.
Biblical context
From a psalm about not envying those who prosper by wrongdoing.
Selah’s reflection
The anger addressed here is the kind fed by watching other people get away with things.
Mark 11:15
They came to Jerusalem, and Jesus entered into the temple, and began to throw out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and overthrew the money changers’ tables, and the seats of those who sold the doves.
Biblical context
Jesus disrupts the temple trade, which exploited worshippers who had travelled to make offerings.
Selah’s reflection
Anger at exploitation is not treated as a failure. What it targets matters.
A short prayer
God, I am angry and some of it is fair and some of it is not. Help me tell the difference. Keep me from saying the thing I cannot take back.
A question to sit with
What is underneath this anger — hurt, fear, or injustice? The right response depends on the answer.
Try Selah
Tell Selah what tonight actually feels like, and it will help you find relevant passages for this moment.
Open the Selah verse finder