Bible Strands
Ephesians 4:31
Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, outcry and slander, along with every form of malice.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Paul writing to the Ephesian assembly, in a block (4:25–32) that moves from dropping old speech to adopting new conduct, framed by the warning not to grieve the Spirit (v. 30) and the command to forgive (v. 32).
The words — θυμός (thumos) and ὀργή (orgē) are listed separately: thumos is a sudden flare-up, orgē is the sustained, settled anger that follows if the first is not checked.
The thread — Colossians 3:8 repeats the same cluster (anger, rage, malice, slander) in a parallel "put aside" command; Ecclesiastes 7:9 warns that anger "settles in the lap of a fool"; Titus 3:2 names the positive opposite — peaceable and gentle.
Why it lands — The imperative "get rid of" (ἀπόθεσθε) is a single, decisive act, not a gradual process, and the scope is total: "all," "every form." The verse sits between grieving the Spirit and being kind, making the removal of these dispositions the necessary bridge between the two.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
Cross-references
- Colossians 3:8 But now you must put aside all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.
- Ecclesiastes 7:9 Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger settles in the lap of a fool.
- Titus 3:2 to malign no one, and to be peaceable and gentle, showing full consideration to everyone.
- 1 Peter 2:1 Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander.
- James 1:19 My beloved brothers, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger,
- Colossians 3:19 Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.
- James 3:14 But if you harbor bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast in it or deny the truth.
- Ephesians 4:26 “Be angry, yet do not sin.” Do not let the sun set upon your anger,
- 1 John 3:12 Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did Cain slay him? Because his own deeds were evil, while those of his brother were righteous.
- Leviticus 19:16 You must not go about spreading slander among your people. You must not endanger the life of your neighbor. I am the LORD.