Don’t befriend a hot-tempered man, and don’t associate with one who harbors anger:
Parallel Translations
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Don’t befriend a hot-tempered man, and don’t associate with one who harbors anger:
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Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go:
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Make no friendship with a man that is given to anger; and with a wrathful man thou shalt not go;
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (3)
Passages linked to Proverbs 22:24 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Proverbs 29:22 An angry man stirs up strife, and a wrathful man abounds in sin.
- 2 Corinthians 6:14-17 Don’t be unequally yoked with unbelievers, for what fellowship do righteousness and iniquity have? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness? What agreement does Christ have with Belial? Or what portion does a believer have with an unbeliever? What agreement does a temple of God have with idols? For you are a temple of the living God. Even as God said, “I will dwell in them and walk in them. I will be their God and they will be my people.” Therefore “ ‘Come out from among them, and be separate,’ says the Lord. ‘Touch no unclean thing. I will receive you.
- Proverbs 21:24 The proud and arrogant man—“Scoffer” is his name— he works in the arrogance of pride.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (16 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Have not to do with him that is not…
Have not to do with him that is not able to rule his affections: for he would hurt thee by his evil conversation.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Pro 22:24 Make no friendship with an angry man;…
Pro 22:24 Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go:
Ver. 24. Make no friendship with an angry man.] Anger is a short madness; it is a leprosy breaking out of a burning, {Lev 13:25} and renders a man unfit for civil society; for his unruly passions cause the climate where he lives to be like the torrid zone, too hot for any to live near him. The dog days continue with him all the year long; he rageth, and eateth firebrands, so that every man that will provide for his own safety must flee from him, as from a nettling, dangerous and unsociable creature, fit to live alone as dragons and wild beasts, or to be looked on only through a grate, as they; where, if they will do mischief, they may do it to themselves only: as Bajazet the great Turk, who, being taken by Tamerlane, and carried up and down in an iron cage, beat out his own brains against the bars thereof. {a}
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{a} Turkish Hist.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Into his company; not converse frequently and familiarly with…
Into his company; not converse frequently and familiarly with him, as friends use to do.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain Here is, 1. A good caution against being intimate…
Here is, 1. A good caution against being intimate with a passionate man. It is the law of friendship that we accommodate ourselves to our friends and be ready to serve them, and therefore we ought to be wise and wary in the choice of a friend, that we come not under the sacred tie to any one whom it would be our folly to accommodate ourselves to. Thought we must be civil to all, yet we must be careful whom we lay in our bosoms and contract a familiarity with. And, among others, a man who is easily provoked, touchy, and apt to resent affronts, who, when he is in a passion, cares not what he says or does, but grows outrageous, such a one is not fit to be made a friend or companion, for he will be ever and anon angry with us and that will be our trouble, and he will expect that we should, like him, be angry with others, and that will be our sin. 2. Good cause given for this caution: Lest thou learn his way. Those we go with we are apt to grow like. Our corrupt hearts have so much tinder in them that it is dangerous conversing with those that throw about the sparks of their passion. We shall thereby get a snare to our souls, for a disposition to anger is a great snare to any man, and an occasion of much sin. He does not say, "Lest thou have ill language given thee or get a broken head," but, which is must worse, "Lest thou imitate him, to humour him, and so contract an ill habit."
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Make no friendship with an angry man,.... Do not…
Make no friendship with an angry man,.... Do not associate with him; contract not a familiarity with him; make him not a companion; take him not into an intimacy, or use him as a particular friend and acquaintance: a man should be courteous, and carry it civilly to all men; but he should take care whom he admits as his bosom friend; he should be cautious in his choice of a familiar friend, and not receive any; and, among the rest, avoid an angry and passionate man, one who is much given to passion himself, and stirs it up in others; for there can be no lasting peace and pleasure in such a man's company and conversation;
and with a furious man thou shall not go: not take a walk with him, much less a journey; or shall not be frequently together. It may be rendered, "unto a man of wraths", or of great wrath and "fury, thou shall not come"; not enter into his house, nor seek his company, and court his conversation, which rather should be shunned.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 24. Make no friendship with an angry man]…
Verse 24. Make no friendship with an angry man] Spirit has a wonderful and unaccountable influence upon spirit. From those with whom we associate we acquire habits, and learn their ways, imbibe their spirit, show their tempers and walk in their steps. We cannot be too choice of our company, for we may soon learn ways that will be a snare to our soul.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Pro 22:24-25. Make no friendship with an angry man…
Pro 22:24-25. Make no friendship with an angry man — “As there is nothing more necessary than a friend, so a principal point of wisdom consists in the choice of him; concerning which, observe this rule among others, not to enter into any familiarity with a man prone to anger;” and with a furious man thou shalt not go — Shalt not associate, or be intimate; lest thou learn his ways — Lest thou be infected by his example, or provoked by his wrath to return the like to him; and get a snare to thy soul — Some mischief, which is often the effect of unbridled rage; or an occasion of, or temptation to sin, being led either to imitate him, or to neglect performing that great and important duty of a friend, the giving faithful and seasonable admonition and reproof, which thou mayest be induced to omit because of his furious temper.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles Bridges 1846 · Public Domain Sin is contagious. Alas! our corrupt constitution predisposes us…
Sin is contagious. Alas! our corrupt constitution predisposes us to receive it in any form, in which it may be presented to us. The unlovely passions of a furious man rather repel than attract.†1 But sin never loses its infectious character. Friendship blinds the eye; and where there is no light in the mind, no true tenderness in the conscience, we can see hateful things done by those we love, with blunted sensibilities. Common intercourse with a furious man is like living in a house that is on fire. His unreasonable conduct stirs our own tempers. One fire kindles another. Occasional bursts of passion soon form the habit. The habit becomes the nature. Thus we learn his ways, and get a snare to our soul. (Psa 106:35-36 .) How soon does a young person, living with a proud man, get the mold of his society, and become imperious and overbearing! (Sir 13:1 .) Evil ways, especially when they fall in with our natural temperament, are much sooner learnt than good, and are much more powerful to "corrupt good manners" (1Co 15:33 ), than good manners to amend the evil. We learn anger easier than meekness. We convey disease, not health. Hence it is the rule of self-preservation, no less than the rule of God — Make no friendship with an angry man.
Footnotes:
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†1 Pro 21:24; Pro 25:28 ; Pro 27:4 .
Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs (1846) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain (Compare Pro 2:12-15; Pro 4:14).
(Compare Pro 2:12-15; Pro 4:14).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 24. Make no friendship (have no companionship) with an…
24. Make no friendship (have no companionship) with an angry man — One of violent temper — a passionate man.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 24. an angry man] Better, a man that is…
24. an angry man] Better, a man that is given to anger, R.V. Lit a lord of anger. ἀνδρὶ θυμώδει, LXX.; homini iracundo, Vulg.
furious] Rather, wrathful, R.V.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Vers. 24, 25. Another tetrastich. Make no friendship with…
Vers. 24, 25. Another tetrastich. Make no friendship with an angry (irascible) man. Have no close intercourse with a man given to fits of passion. And with a furious man thou shalt not go. Avoid the society of such a one. The reason follows: Lest thou learn his ways; his manner of life and conduct. as Pro_1:15 (where see note). Anger breeds anger; impotence, impatience. St. Basil ("De Ira"), quoted by Corn. a Lapide, enjoins, "Take not your adversary as your teacher, and be not a mirror to reflect the angry man, showing his figure in thyself." And get a snare to thy soul; bring destruction on thyself. Anger unsubdued not only mars the kindliness of social life, but leads to all sorts of dangerous complications which may bring ruin and death in their train. (comp. Pro_15:18)
Vers. 24, 25. See homily on Pro_16:32. C.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain MAIN HOMILETICS OF Pro_22:24-25
MAIN HOMILETICS OF Pro_22:24-25
AN INFECTIOUS AND DANGEROUS DISEASE
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I. Friendship influences habit and thus moulds character. The reason given here for avoiding the companionship of an angry man is, “lest thou learn his ways.” This subject has been treated at length in chap. Pro_13:20, page 326. There is great need when pestilence is abroad to avoid needless contact with infected persons and things. In every man there is more or less liability to disease which sometimes only needs a slight exposure to unhealthy influences to develop into a fatal activity. We are always living and moving amidst unhealthy and infectious moral influences which are hurtful to us, because of the tendency there is within us to go wrong; and it is therefore the mark of a wise man to avoid as much as possible all intimate contact with those who are manifestly under the dominion of sin. This proverb does not of course forbid such intercourse as is sought for the purpose of benefiting the vicious man.
II. A man’s anger hurts himself more than those whom it leads him to injure. We should have expected that Solomon would advise us to avoid the angry man because of the injury he might do us when under the dominion of his passion, but instead of that he commands us to shun him because of the injury we shall do ourselves if we become like him. The wise man loses sight of the lesser danger in looking at the greater, and counts as nothing the harm an angry man can do to the body of a fellow-creature, in comparison with the grievous hurt he inflicts upon his own soul. And this is manifestly a correct view, whether we look at the present influence of passion or its remoter consequences. The man who receives an unmerited insult or injury may sustain no loss of dignity, nor suffer in any way in his spirit. But he who inflicts the injury becomes a meaner man in the very act, and creates a tempest of unrest within his own breast. And a blow which deals even death to an innocent man does not necessarily deprive him of any real good, but it creates a very hell of remorse for him whose anger prompted the deed. While Abel exchanged a blighted home here for an Eden in a brighter world, Cain wandered a fugitive and a vagabond upon the earth.
OUTLINES AND SUGGSTIVE COMMENTS
Lest thou be infected by his example, or provoked by his passion to return the like to him. Either
(1) a mischief which is often the effect of unbridled rage, or
(2) an occasion of sin, either by drawing thee to an imitation or requital of his rage, or by tempting thee to unfaithfulness in performing the great office of a friend—to wit, admonition or reproof, which, by reason of his furious temper, thou either canst not or wilt not do.—Matthew Poole.
It may seem strange that we should be supposed in danger of learning what we feel to be so very disagreeable. And yet we may. As already hinted, a passionate man may have interesting and attractive qualities otherwise. Now, in proportion as we either admire or love him for these, will be the hazard of our thinking the less evil of his one defect, and trying to palliate and to smile at it. And there is no little truth in the saying, that we either are like our friends and intimates, or will soon be. But more than this. The sudden and often unreasonable heats of the passionate man are ever apt to fret and irritate our spirits, and thus to form a habit of resemblance by the very reaction upon ourselves of his hot and hasty temper.—Wardlaw.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain v. 24. Make no friendship with an angry man,…
v. 24. Make no friendship with an angry man, a man of violent temper, and with a furious man thou shalt not go, one who cannot control himself.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 General Information:
General Information:
These verses continue the "thirty sayings" (Proverbs 22:20).
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someone who is ruled by anger
someone who is unable to control his anger (See: Metaphor)
rages
shows violent anger
you will take bait for your soul
A person who wants to be like an angry person is like an animal taking the bait in a trap. AT: "you will be like an animal that eats the bait that closes a trap and is unable to escape" (See: Metaphor)
bait for your soul
The soul is a metonym for the person's life. AT: "bait that someone has put out so he can kill you" (See: Metonymy)
translationWords
anger
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 22:24-25 Saying 2: An angry . . . hot-tempered…
22:24-25 Saying 2: An angry . . . hot-tempered person is unable to control his emotions and expresses his anger at inappropriate times.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.