God’s Word Translation
Psalms 37:8
8Let go of anger, and leave rage behind. Do not be preoccupied. It only leads to evil.
Psalms 37:8 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.
- New International Version (NIV)Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret—it only causes harm.
Context of Psalms 37:8
6He will make your righteousness shine like a light, your just cause like the noonday sun. 7Surrender yourself to the Lord, and wait patiently for him. Do not be preoccupied with ⌞an evildoer⌟ who succeeds in his way when he carries out his schemes. Let go of anger, and leave rage behind. Do not be preoccupied. It only leads to evil. 9Evildoers will be cut off ⌞from their inheritance⌟, but those who wait with hope for the Lord will inherit the land. 10In a little while a wicked person will vanish. Then you can carefully examine where he was, but there will be no trace of him.
Read all of Psalms 37Psalms 37:8 word by word
הֶ֣רֶף מֵ֭אַף וַעֲזֹ֣ב חֵמָ֑ה אַל־תִּ֝תְחַ֗ר אַךְ־לְהָרֵֽעַ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Psalms 37:8
- Job 5:2Certainly, anger kills a stubborn fool, and jealousy murders a gullible person.
- Job 18:4Why do you rip yourself apart in anger? Should the earth be abandoned for your sake or a boulder be dislodged?
- Proverbs 14:29A person of great understanding is patient, but a short temper is the height of stupidity.
- Proverbs 16:32Better to get angry slowly than to be a hero. Better to be even-tempered than to capture a city.
- Ephesians 4:26Be angry without sinning. Don’t go to bed angry.
- James 1:19Remember this, my dear brothers and sisters: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and should not get angry easily.
- James 3:14But if you are bitterly jealous and filled with self-centered ambition, don’t brag. Don’t say that you are wise when it isn’t true.
- Psalms 31:22When I was panic-stricken, I said, “I have been cut off from your sight.” But you heard my pleas for mercy when I cried out to you for help.
- Psalms 73:15If I had said, “I will continue to talk like that,” I would have betrayed God’s people.
- Psalms 116:11I also said when I was panic-stricken, “Everyone is undependable.”
- 1 Samuel 25:21David had thought, “I guarded this man’s stuff in the desert for nothing! Not one of his possessions was missing. Yet, he has paid me back with evil when I was good to him.
- Jeremiah 20:14Cursed is the day that I was born, the day that my mother gave birth to me. May it not be blessed.
- Jonah 4:1Jonah was very upset about this, and he became angry.
- Luke 9:54James and John, his disciples, saw this. They asked, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to burn them up?”
Commentaries on Psalms 37:8
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8Cease 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…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-20Verses 7-20 Let us be satisfied that God will make all to work for good to us. Let us not discompose ourselves at what we see in this world. A fretful, discontented spirit is open to many temptations. For, in all respects, the little which is allotted to the righteous, is more comfortable and more profitable than the ill-gotten and abused riches of ungodly men. It comes from a hand of special love. God provides plentifully and well, not only for his…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8Irritability and anger can quickly damage a person’s character. When someone becomes easily upset or angry, it affects the way that person thinks and acts. Over time, this can weaken good habits and harm relationships. Learning patience and self-control helps protect and strengthen character.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 7-87-8. Rest in--literally, "Be silent to the Lord." and wait--Be submissive--avoid petulance and murmurings, anger and rash doing.Read the comment
Topics related to Psalms 37:8
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Psalms 37
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- The Treasury of David
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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