Verse 1

A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

Other Translations

Referenced Verses

  • Prov 25:15 : 15 With patience a ruler may be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone.
  • Prov 29:22 : 22 An angry man stirs up strife, and a hot-tempered man commits many transgressions.
  • Prov 15:18 : 18 A hot-tempered person stirs up conflict, but one who is patient calms a quarrel.
  • 1 Sam 25:21-33 : 21 David had just been saying, "It’s been for nothing that I guarded everything belonging to this man in the wilderness. Nothing was missing, yet he has repaid me evil for good. 22 May God punish David’s enemies severely if by morning I leave even one male of all who belong to him alive." 23 When Abigail saw David, she hurriedly dismounted from her donkey, fell facedown at David’s feet, and bowed to the ground with deep respect. 24 She fell at his feet and said, "My lord, let the blame be on me alone. Please let your servant speak to you, and hear the words of your servant. 25 Please, my lord, pay no attention to this worthless man Nabal. He is exactly what his name suggests—his name means ‘fool,’ and folly goes with him. But I, your servant, did not see the men my lord sent. 26 Now, my lord, as surely as the Lord lives and as you live, the Lord has kept you from shedding blood and avenging yourself with your own hand. May your enemies and those intent on harming my lord be as foolish as Nabal. 27 Now let this gift that your servant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who follow my lord. 28 Please forgive the offense of your servant, for the Lord will certainly make a lasting dynasty for my lord, because my lord fights the Lord’s battles, and no wrongdoing will be found in you as long as you live. 29 Even though someone pursues you to take your life, the life of my lord will be securely bound in the bundle of the living by the Lord your God. But the lives of your enemies he will hurl away as from the pocket of a sling. 30 When the Lord has fulfilled for my lord all the good things he promised and has appointed you ruler over Israel, 31 my lord will not have on his conscience the staggering burden of needless bloodshed or of having avenged himself. And when the Lord has brought my lord success, remember your servant. 32 David said to Abigail, 'Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me. 33 Blessed be your discernment, and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from bloodshed and from avenging myself with my own hand.
  • 1 Kgs 12:13-16 : 13 But the king answered the people harshly, rejecting the advice given to him by the elders. 14 He said to them, "My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father disciplined you with whips; I will discipline you with scorpions." 15 So the king refused to listen to the people, for this turn of events was from the LORD, to fulfill the word spoken by the LORD through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of Nebat. 16 When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, they answered the king: "What share do we have in David, what part in Jesse's son? To your tents, Israel! Look after your own house, David!" So the Israelites went home.
  • Prov 10:12 : 12 Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers all offenses.
  • Judg 8:1-3 : 1 The men of Ephraim said to Gideon, 'What is this thing you have done to us by not calling us when you went to fight against Midian?' And they argued with him forcefully. 2 But Gideon replied to them, 'What have I accomplished compared to you? Aren’t the gleanings of Ephraim’s harvest better than the full harvest of Abiezer?' 3 God gave the leaders of Midian—Oreb and Zeeb—into your hands. What was I able to do compared to you?' At this, their anger toward him subsided when he said this.
  • Prov 28:25 : 25 A greedy person stirs up conflict, but the one who trusts in the LORD will prosper.
  • Judg 12:3-6 : 3 "When I saw that you would not help, I risked my own life and crossed over to fight against the Ammonites, and the Lord gave them into my hand. Why have you come to fight against me today?" 4 Then Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead and fought against Ephraim. And the men of Gilead defeated Ephraim because they had said, "You Gileadites are deserters from Ephraim and Manasseh." 5 The Gileadites seized the fords of the Jordan opposite Ephraim, and whenever a fugitive from Ephraim tried to cross over, they would say, "Let me cross over." The men of Gilead would respond, "Are you an Ephraimite?" If he said, "No," 6 they would say, "Say 'Shibboleth.'" And if he said 'Sibboleth,' because he could not pronounce it correctly, they seized him and killed him at the fords of the Jordan. At that time, forty-two thousand from Ephraim were killed.
  • 1 Sam 25:10-13 : 10 But Nabal answered David’s servants, "Who is David? Who is this son of Jesse? Nowadays many servants are breaking away from their masters. 11 Should I take my bread, my water, and the meat I’ve slaughtered for my shearers and give it to men from who knows where?" 12 David’s men turned and went back. When they arrived, they reported every word. 13 David said to his men, "Each of you, strap on your sword!" So they did, and David also strapped on his sword. About four hundred men went with David, while two hundred stayed with the supplies.