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Wednesday, August 27th, 2025
the Week of Proper 16 / Ordinary 21
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Read the Bible

Young's Literal Translation

Psalms 37:8

Desist from anger, and forsake fury, Fret not thyself only to do evil.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Anger;   Patience;   Thompson Chain Reference - Anger;   Wrath-Anger;   The Topic Concordance - Anger;   Forsaking;   Wrath;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Anger;   Resignation;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Letters;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Anger;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Acrostic;   English Versions;   Estate;   Ethics;   Greek Versions of Ot;   Psalms;   Sin;   Wealth;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Nunc Dimittis ;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Lamentations of jeremiah;   Psalms the book of;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Cease;   Fret, Fretting;   Wrath (Anger);  

Devotionals:

- Every Day Light - Devotion for May 7;   My Utmost for His Highest - Devotion for July 4;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Refrain from anger and give up your rage;do not be agitated—it can only bring harm.
Hebrew Names Version
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath. Don't fret, it leads only to evildoing.
King James Version
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.
English Standard Version
Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.
New Century Version
Don't get angry. Don't be upset; it only leads to trouble.
New English Translation
Do not be angry and frustrated! Do not fret! That only leads to trouble!
Amplified Bible
Cease from anger and abandon wrath; Do not fret; it leads only to evil.
New American Standard Bible
Cease from anger and abandon wrath; Do not get upset; it leads only to evildoing.
World English Bible
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath. Don't fret, it leads only to evildoing.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Cease from anger, and leaue off wrath: fret not thy selfe also to doe euill.
Legacy Standard Bible
Cease from anger and forsake wrath;Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing.
Berean Standard Bible
Refrain from anger and abandon wrath; do not fret-it can only bring harm.
Contemporary English Version
Don't be angry or furious. Anger can lead to sin.
Complete Jewish Bible
Stop being angry, put aside rage, and don't be upset — it leads to evil.
Darby Translation
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; fret not thyself: it [would be] only to do evil.
Easy-to-Read Version
Don't become so angry and upset that you, too, want to do evil.
George Lamsa Translation
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; fret not yourself in any wise to do evil.
Good News Translation
Don't give in to worry or anger; it only leads to trouble.
Lexham English Bible
Refrain from anger and forsake wrath. Do not fret; it only brings evil.
Literal Translation
Abstain from anger and cease from fury; also do not inflame yourself to do evil.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Leaue of from wrath, let go displeasure, let not thy gelousy moue the also to do euell.
American Standard Version
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: Fret not thyself, it tendeth only to evil-doing.
Bible in Basic English
Put an end to your wrath and be no longer bitter; do not give way to angry feeling which is a cause of sin.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; fret not thyself, it tendeth only to evil-doing.
King James Version (1611)
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thy selfe in any wise to doe euill.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Leaue of from wrath, and let go displeasure: fret not thy selfe, lest thou be moued to do euill.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
ease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself so as to do evil.
English Revised Version
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself, it tendeth only to evil-doing.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Ceese thou of ire, and forsake woodnesse; nyle thou sue, that thou do wickidli.
Update Bible Version
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: Don't fret yourself, [it tends] only to evil-doing.
Webster's Bible Translation
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.
New King James Version
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret--it only causes harm.
New Living Translation
Stop being angry! Turn from your rage! Do not lose your temper— it only leads to harm.
New Life Bible
Stop being angry. Turn away from fighting. Do not trouble yourself. It leads only to wrong-doing.
New Revised Standard
Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath. Do not fret—it leads only to evil.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath, Burn not with vexation - it would be only to do evil;
Douay-Rheims Bible
(36-8) Cease from anger, and leave rage; have no emulation to do evil.
Revised Standard Version
Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.
THE MESSAGE
Bridle your anger, trash your wrath, cool your pipes—it only makes things worse. Before long the crooks will be bankrupt; God -investors will soon own the store.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Cease from anger and forsake wrath; Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing.

Contextual Overview

7 Be silent for Jehovah, and stay thyself for Him, Do not fret because of him Who is making prosperous his way, Because of a man doing wicked devices. 8 Desist from anger, and forsake fury, Fret not thyself only to do evil. 9 For evil doers are cut off, As to those waiting on Jehovah, they possess the land. 10 And yet a little, and the wicked is not, And thou hast considered his place, and it is not. 11 And the humble do possess the land, And they have delighted themselves In the abundance of peace. 12 The wicked is devising against the righteous, And gnashing against him his teeth. 13 The Lord doth laugh at him, For He hath seen that his day cometh. 14 A sword have the wicked opened, And they have trodden their bow, To cause to fall the poor and needy, To slaughter the upright of the way. 15 Their sword doth enter into their own heart, And their bows are shivered. 16 Better [is] the little of the righteous, Than the store of many wicked.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Cease: Job 5:2, Job 18:4, Proverbs 14:29, Proverbs 16:32, Ephesians 4:26, Ephesians 4:31, James 1:19, James 1:20, James 3:14-18

fret: Psalms 31:22, Psalms 73:15, Psalms 116:11, 1 Samuel 25:21-23, Jeremiah 20:14, Jeremiah 20:15, Jonah 4:1, Jonah 4:9, Luke 9:54, Luke 9:55

Reciprocal: 1 Kings 11:22 - let me go Matthew 5:22 - That Colossians 3:8 - anger

Cross-References

Genesis 37:3
And Israel hath loved Joseph more than any of his sons, for he [is] a son of his old age, and hath made for him a long coat;
Genesis 37:4
and his brethren see that their father hath loved him more than any of his brethren, and they hate him, and have not been able to speak [to] him peaceably.
Genesis 37:6
And he saith unto them, `Hear ye, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed:
Genesis 37:27
Come, and we sell him to the Ishmaelites, and our hands are not on him, for he [is] our brother -- our flesh;' and his brethren hearken.
Genesis 37:28
And Midianite merchantmen pass by and they draw out and bring up Joseph out of the pit, and sell Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty silverlings, and they bring Joseph into Egypt.
Genesis 49:26
Thy father's blessings have been mighty Above the blessings of my progenitors, Unto the limit of the heights age-during They are for the head of Joseph, And for the crown of the one Separate [from] his brethren.
Exodus 2:14
and he saith, `Who set thee for a head and a judge over us? to slay me art thou saying [it], as thou hast slain the Egyptian?' and Moses feareth, and saith, `Surely the thing hath been known.'
1 Samuel 10:27
and the sons of worthlessness have said, `What! this one doth save us!' and they despise him, and have not brought to him a present; and he is as one deaf.
1 Samuel 17:28
And Eliab, his eldest brother, heareth when he speaketh unto the men, and the anger of Eliab burneth against David, and he saith, `Why [is] this -- thou hast come down! and to whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I have known thy pride, and the evil of thy heart -- for, to see the battle thou hast come down.'
Psalms 118:22
A stone the builders refused Hath become head of a corner.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Cease from anger,.... Either at these wicked men who are so prosperous, or at God, who for the present suffers it; see Jonah 4:9

Proverbs 19:3;

and forsake wrath; which is anger wrought up to a greater degree; and the rather to be shunned and avoided, as being very disagreeable to the character of a good man;

fret not thyself in any wise to do evil; evil may be done by fretting at the prosperity of wicked men, or by imitating them, doing as they do, in hope of being prosperous as they are; from which the psalmist dissuades by reasons following.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Cease from anger - That is, in reference to the fact that there are wicked people, and that they are permitted to carry out their plans. Do not allow your mind to be excited with envious, fretful, wrathful, or murmuring feelings against God because he bears patiently with them, and because they are allowed a temporary prosperity and triumph. Be calm, whatever may be the wickedness of the world. The supreme direction belongs to God, and he will dispose of it in the best way.

And forsake wrath - That is, as above, in regard to the existence of evil, and to the conduct of wicked men.

Fret not thyself in any wise - See Psalms 37:1. Let the mind be entirely calm and composed.

To do evil - So as to lead you to do evil. Do not allow your mind to become so excited that you will indulge in harsh or malignant remarks; or so as to lead you to do wrong to any man, however wicked he may be. See always that you are right, whatever others may be, and do not allow their conduct to be the means of leading you into sin in any form. Look to your own character and conduct first.


 
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