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Read the Bible

Complete Jewish Bible

Proverbs 15:1

A gentle response deflects fury, but a harsh word makes tempers rise.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Anger;   Meekness;   Speaking;   Tact;   Thompson Chain Reference - Evil;   Kind Words;   Silence-Speech;   Social Duties;   Words;   The Topic Concordance - Anger;   Speech/communication;   Wrath;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Anger;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Poetry of the Hebrews;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Tongue;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Gentleness;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Pardon;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Gideon;   Jephthah;   Rehoboam;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Proverbs, Book of;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Agrapha;   Anger;   Meekness;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
A gentle answer turns away anger,
Hebrew Names Version
A gentle answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.
King James Version
A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.
English Standard Version
A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
New American Standard Bible
A gentle answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.
New Century Version
A gentle answer will calm a person's anger, but an unkind answer will cause more anger.
Amplified Bible
A soft and gentle and thoughtful answer turns away wrath, But harsh and painful and careless words stir up anger.
World English Bible
A gentle answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.
Geneva Bible (1587)
A soft answere putteth away wrath: but grieuous wordes stirre vp anger.
Legacy Standard Bible
A gentle answer turns away wrath,But a harsh word stirs up anger.
Berean Standard Bible
A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
Contemporary English Version
A kind answer soothes angry feelings, but harsh words stir them up.
Darby Translation
A soft answer turneth away fury; but a grievous word stirreth up anger.
Easy-to-Read Version
A gentle answer makes anger disappear, but a rough answer makes it grow.
George Lamsa Translation
A SOFT word turns away wrath; but a harsh word stirs up anger.
Good News Translation
A gentle answer quiets anger, but a harsh one stirs it up.
Lexham English Bible
A soft answer will turn away wrath, but a word of trouble will stir anger.
Literal Translation
A soft answer turns back wrath, but a hurtful word stirs up anger.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
A softe aswere putteth downe displeasure, but frowarde wordes prouoke vnto anger.
American Standard Version
A soft answer turneth away wrath; But a grievous word stirreth up anger.
Bible in Basic English
By a soft answer wrath is turned away, but a bitter word is a cause of angry feelings.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
A soft answer turneth away wrath; but a grievous word stirreth up anger.
King James Version (1611)
A soft answere turneth away wrath: but grieuous words stirre vp anger.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
A soft aunswere appeaseth wrath: but rough wordes stirre vp anger.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Anger slays even wise men; yet a submissive answer turns away wrath: but a grievous word stirs up anger.
English Revised Version
A SOFT answer turneth away wrath: but a grievous word stirreth up anger.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
A soft answere brekith ire; an hard word reisith woodnesse.
Update Bible Version
A soft answer turns away wrath; But a grievous word stirs up anger.
Webster's Bible Translation
A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.
New English Translation
A gentle response turns away anger, but a harsh word stirs up wrath.
New King James Version
A soft answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.
New Living Translation
A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare.
New Life Bible
A gentle answer turns away anger, but a sharp word causes anger.
New Revised Standard
A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
A soft answer, turneth away wrath, but a cutting word raiseth anger.
Douay-Rheims Bible
A mild answer breaketh wrath: but a harsh word stirreth up fury.
Revised Standard Version
A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
Young's Literal Translation
A soft answer turneth back fury, And a grievous word raiseth up anger.
THE MESSAGE
A gentle response defuses anger, but a sharp tongue kindles a temper-fire.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
A gentle answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.

Contextual Overview

1 A gentle response deflects fury, but a harsh word makes tempers rise.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

soft: Proverbs 25:15, Judges 8:1-3, 1 Samuel 25:21-33

grievous: Proverbs 15:18, Proverbs 10:12, Proverbs 28:25, Proverbs 29:22, Judges 12:3-6, 1 Samuel 25:10, 1 Samuel 25:11, 1 Samuel 25:21, 1 Samuel 25:22, 2 Samuel 19:43, 1 Kings 12:13-16

Reciprocal: Genesis 13:8 - Let Genesis 16:6 - Abram Genesis 32:4 - my lord Joshua 22:21 - answered Joshua 22:30 - it pleased them Judges 8:3 - Then Judges 12:4 - fugitives 1 Samuel 1:15 - my Lord 1 Samuel 17:29 - General 1 Samuel 24:11 - my father 1 Samuel 24:16 - Is this 2 Samuel 2:27 - unless 1 Kings 12:7 - If thou wilt 2 Chronicles 10:7 - If thou be kind 2 Chronicles 10:13 - answered Job 41:3 - General Proverbs 17:14 - leave Acts 6:5 - the saying Acts 11:4 - General Acts 19:41 - when Hebrews 12:14 - Follow James 3:6 - the tongue

Cross-References

Genesis 15:1
Some time later the word of Adonai came to Avram in a vision: "Don't be afraid, Avram. I am your protector; your reward will be very great."
Genesis 15:2
Avram replied, " Adonai , God, what good will your gifts be to me if I continue childless; and Eli‘ezer from Dammesek inherits my possessions?
Genesis 15:3
You haven't given me a child," Avram continued, "so someone born in my house will be my heir."
Genesis 15:4
But the word of Adonai came to him: "This man will not be your heir. No, your heir will be a child from your own body."
Genesis 15:5
Then he brought him outside and said, "Look up at the sky, and count the stars — if you can count them! Your descendants will be that many!"
Genesis 15:6
He believed in Adonai , and he credited it to him as righteousness.
Genesis 15:10
He brought him all these, cut the animals in two and placed the pieces opposite each other; but he didn't cut the birds in half.
Genesis 15:14
But I will also judge that nation, the one that makes them slaves. Afterwards, they will leave with many possessions.
Genesis 15:16
Only in the fourth generation will your descendants come back here, because only then will the Emori be ripe for punishment."
Genesis 15:17
After the sun had set and there was thick darkness, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch appeared, which passed between these animal parts.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

A soft answer turneth away wrath,.... Mild words, gentle expressions, delivered with kindness and tenderness, humility and submission; these will work upon a man's passions, weaken his resentments, and break and scatter the storm of wrath raised in his breast, just breaking forth in a very boisterous and blustering manner; so high winds are sometimes laid by soft showers. Thus the Ephraimites were pacified by Gideon's mild answer; and David by Abigail's very submissive and respectful address, Judges 8:1;

but grievous words stir up anger; such as are rough and menacing, scornful and sneering, reproachful and reviling, proud, haughty, and overbearing; like those of Jephthah to the Ephraimites; and of the Ephraimites to the Gileadites; and of Nabal to David's servants, concerning him; and of Rehoboam, who answered the people roughly: in all which instances anger was stirred up, and either were or like to have been attended with bad consequences, Judges 12:1. Or a "word" causing, or rather expressing, "grief" r; upbraiding others with being the cause of grief to them.

r דבר עצב "verbum vel sermo doloris", Montanus, Vatablus, Michaelis; vid. Gussetius, p. 177.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

CHAPTER XV

The soft answer. Useful correction. Stability of the righteous.

The contented mind. The slothful man. The fool. The covetous.

The impious. The wicked opposed to the righteous; to the

diligent; and to the man who fears the Lord.

NOTES ON CHAP. XV

Verse Proverbs 15:1. A soft answer — Gentleness will often disarm the most furious, where positive derangement has not taken place; one angry word will always beget another, for the disposition of one spirit always begets its own likeness in another: thus kindness produces kindness, and rage produces rage. Universal experience confirms this proverb.


 
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