A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
Parallel translations
- WEB A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
- KJV A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.
- ESV A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
- NKJV A soft answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.
- NASB A gentle answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.
- NLT A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
A gentle answer defuses wrath, but a harsh word inflames it. Our words can either calm or kindle conflict.
Overview
This beloved proverb teaches the power of speech to shape outcomes: soft, gracious words turn away anger, while harsh ones provoke it. It commends gentleness as a means of peacemaking and self-control. Believers are called to let their speech be gracious, seasoned with salt (Colossians 4:6), reflecting the gentleness of Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Prov 10:12Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers all transgressions.
- Prov 25:15Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone.
- Prov 15:18A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger calms dispute.
- Prov 29:22An angry man stirs up dissension, and a hot-tempered man abounds in transgression.
- Prov 28:25A greedy man stirs up strife, but he who trusts in the LORD will prosper.
- Judg 8:1–3Then the men of Ephraim said to Gideon, “Why have you done this to us? Why did you fail to call us when you went to fight against Midian?” And they contended with him violently.
- 1 Sam 25:10–13But Nabal asked them, “Who is David? Who is this son of Jesse? Many servants these days are breaking away from their masters.
- 1 Kgs 12:13–16And the king answered the people harshly. He rejected the advice of the elders
- Judg 12:3–6When I saw that you would not save me, I risked my life and crossed over to the Ammonites, and the LORD delivered them into my hand. Why then have you come today to fight against me?”
- 1 Sam 25:21–33Now David had just finished saying, “In vain I have protected all that belonged to this man in the wilderness. Nothing that belongs to him has gone missing, yet he has paid me back evil for good.
- 2 Sam 19:43“We have ten shares in the king,” answered the men of Israel, “so we have more claim to David than you. Why then do you despise us? Were we not the first to speak of restoring our king?” But the men of Judah pressed even harder than the men of Israel.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Wisdom personified, with God before creation and the agent of all things, anticipates Christ 'in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom' — the wisdom of God made flesh.
How Proverbs 15:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.