Bible Strands
Psalms 37:8
Refrain from anger and abandon wrath; do not fret—it can only bring harm.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — David addresses a believer watching the wicked prosper and carry out their schemes (v. 7). The moment is one of provoked resentment toward the ungodly.
The words — חֵמָה (khemah, "burning rage") is paired with אַף ('af, "anger") to escalate the emotion being commanded away. The verse closes with לְהָרֵעַ (leha'rea', "to do evil"), asserting that fretting produces evil rather than merely feeling it.
The thread — Proverbs 14:29 and 16:32 both prize slowness to anger over quick-temperedness, and James 1:19 repeats the same counsel to a New Testament audience.
Why it lands — It tells the reader that the act of fretting over the wicked is itself the source of harm, not their success. The demand is to stop, not to feel better.
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 Hebrew words
King James Version
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.
Cross-references
- Proverbs 14:29 A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man promotes folly.
- Proverbs 16:32 He who is slow to anger is better than a warrior, and he who controls his temper is greater than one who captures a city.
- James 1:19 My beloved brothers, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger,
- Ephesians 4:31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, outcry and slander, along with every form of malice.
- Job 5:2 For resentment kills a fool, and envy slays the simple.
- Ephesians 4:26 “Be angry, yet do not sin.” Do not let the sun set upon your anger,
- James 3:14 But if you harbor bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast in it or deny the truth.
- Colossians 3:8 But now you must put aside all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.
- Job 18:4 You who tear yourself in anger—should the earth be forsaken on your account, or the rocks be moved from their place?
- Jonah 4:1 Jonah, however, was greatly displeased, and he became angry.