Anger controls you more than you want to admit. It erupts over small things that shouldn’t matter. It simmers beneath the surface, poisoning your thoughts and relationships. You say things you regret, do things you can’t take back, and watch people pull away because they never know which version of you they’ll get. You’ve apologized a hundred times, promised to change, but the anger keeps coming back. It’s costing you relationships, opportunities, peace of mind, and the person you actually want to be.
Overcoming anger isn’t about never feeling it. Anger itself isn’t sin, but what you do with it often is. The goal isn’t to stuff it down and pretend everything’s fine. It’s learning to feel anger without being controlled by it, to address what’s wrong without destroying what’s right, and to respond instead of react. These verses show that God understands your anger, offers power to control it, and provides wisdom for dealing with it in ways that don’t leave destruction in your wake. Freedom from explosive anger is possible.
Bible Verses For Overcoming Anger
1. James 1:19-20 – Everyone Should Be Slow to Become Angry
My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.
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2. Proverbs 29:11 – The Wise Bring Calm in the End
Fools give full vent to their rage, but the wise bring calm in the end.
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3. Ephesians 4:26-27 – In Your Anger Do Not Sin
In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.
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4. Proverbs 15:1 – A Gentle Answer Turns Away Wrath
A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
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5. Proverbs 14:29 – A Quick-Tempered Person Does Foolish Things
Whoever is patient has great understanding, but one who is quick-tempered displays folly.
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6. Colossians 3:8 – Rid Yourselves of Anger and Rage
But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.
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7. Proverbs 19:11 – It Is to One’s Glory to Overlook an Offense
A person’s wisdom yields patience; it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense.
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8. Psalm 37:8 – Refrain From Anger and Turn From Wrath
Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil.
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9. Proverbs 16:32 – Better to Be Slow to Anger Than a Mighty Warrior
Better a patient person than a warrior, one with self-control than one who takes a city.
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10. Proverbs 22:24-25 – Do Not Make Friends With a Hot-Tempered Person
Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person, do not associate with one easily angered, or you may learn their ways and get yourself ensnared.
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11. Ecclesiastes 7:9 – Do Not Be Quickly Provoked
Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools.
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12. Romans 12:19 – Do Not Take Revenge
Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.
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13. Proverbs 15:18 – A Hot-Tempered Person Stirs Up Conflict
A hot-tempered person stirs up conflict, but the one who is patient calms a quarrel.
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14. Matthew 5:22 – Anyone Who Is Angry With a Brother or Sister
But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, “Raca,” is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, “You fool!” will be in danger of the fire of hell.
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15. Galatians 5:19-21 – The Acts of the Flesh Are Obvious
The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
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16. Proverbs 29:22 – An Angry Person Stirs Up Conflict
An angry person stirs up conflict, and a hot-tempered person commits many sins.
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17. 1 Peter 3:9 – Do Not Repay Evil With Evil
Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.
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18. Proverbs 12:16 – Fools Show Their Annoyance at Once
Fools show their annoyance at once, but the prudent overlook an insult.
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19. Proverbs 25:28 – Like a City Whose Walls Are Broken Through
Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control.
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20. Romans 12:17-18 – Live at Peace With Everyone
Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
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21. Titus 1:7 – Not Quick-Tempered
Since an overseer manages God’s household, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain.
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22. Psalm 4:4 – In Your Anger Do Not Sin
Tremble and do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent.
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23. Proverbs 30:33 – Stirring Up Anger Produces Strife
For as churning cream produces butter, and as twisting the nose produces blood, so stirring up anger produces strife.
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24. James 3:5-6 – The Tongue Is a Small Part
Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
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25. Proverbs 21:19 – Better to Live in a Desert
Better to live in a desert than with a quarrelsome and nagging wife.
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26. Matthew 5:9 – Blessed Are the Peacemakers
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
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27. Proverbs 17:14 – Starting a Quarrel Is Like Breaching a Dam
Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam; so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out.
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28. Hebrews 12:15 – See to It That No Bitter Root Grows Up
See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.
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29. Proverbs 27:4 – Anger Is Cruel and Fury Overwhelming
Anger is cruel and fury overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy?
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30. Leviticus 19:18 – Do Not Seek Revenge
Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.
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31. Proverbs 20:3 – It Is to One’s Honor to Avoid Strife
It is to one’s honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel.
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32. Colossians 3:13 – Bear With Each Other and Forgive
Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
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33. 2 Timothy 2:23-24 – Don’t Have Anything to Do With Foolish Arguments
Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.
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34. Proverbs 10:12 – Hatred Stirs Up Conflict
Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs.
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35. Numbers 14:18 – The Lord Is Slow to Anger
The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.
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Our Thoughts On What the Bible Says About Overcoming Anger
God isn’t asking you to never feel anger. He’s asking you to control it instead of letting it control you. Righteous anger exists. Jesus overturned tables in the temple. But most of our anger isn’t righteous. It’s selfish, reactive, and destructive. We’re angry because we didn’t get our way, someone disrespected us, or life isn’t going according to our plan. That kind of anger doesn’t produce the righteousness God desires.
What stands out across these verses is the consistent warning about quick tempers and uncontrolled rage. Fools give full vent to their anger. Wise people bring calm. The person who can’t control their temper is like a city with broken walls, completely vulnerable. Your anger isn’t just affecting you. It’s affecting everyone around you and giving the devil a foothold in your life.
Overcoming anger requires brutal honesty about what’s really driving it, humility to admit you’re wrong, and dependence on God’s Spirit to produce self-control you don’t naturally have. The anger will keep destroying your life until you deal with what’s underneath it and surrender it to God.
Say This Prayer
Heavenly Father, my anger is out of control, and I hate what it’s doing to me and the people around me. I’m tired of exploding over things that don’t matter, saying things I can’t take back, and watching relationships suffer because I can’t control my temper. I need Your help because I can’t fix this on my own.
Show me what’s really driving this anger. Is it hurt, fear, pride, or something else I haven’t dealt with? Help me to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. Give me wisdom to know when to address something and when to overlook an offense.
Produce in me the self-control I need to feel anger without being controlled by it. Help me to respond instead of react, to bring calm instead of chaos. Teach me to resolve conflict without destroying people in the process.
I’m asking You to heal whatever’s broken inside me that keeps producing this rage. Replace my anger with Your peace, my harsh words with gentle answers, and my quick temper with patience. Make me slow to anger like You are.
In Jesus’ Merciful Name, Amen.