4:26a
Paul quoted from Psalm 4:4. Several English versions indicate this by using quote marks (as in the Berean Standard Bible), other special formatting, or a footnote. Use the form here that you use for other Old Testament quotations in your translation.
You may also want to add a footnote stating that this is a quotation from Psalm 4:4. For example:
In this verse Paul quotes Psalm 4:4. To indicate this, the Berean Standard Bible has put quotation marks around the part that is quoted.
Be angry: Another way to say Be angry is: “If/when you become angry.” In this verse Paul taught us that we can be angry without sinning. But we need to be careful, because it is easy to sin when we are angry.
yet do not sin: The word sin refers to an offense against God. Sin includes an act, thought, and attitude that is not what God wants or approves of. A person can also offend God by not doing what God wants him to do.
It is helpful to translate sin with a general term that can include any offense against God. Here are some problems to avoid:
(a) The term should not imply that only serious crimes like murder or stealing are sins. Other offenses like gossip and greed are also sins.
(b) The term should not include accidents or mistakes that are not against God’s will.
Some ways to translate sin are:
wrong act
-or-
offense ⌊against God⌋
-or-
evil deed
4:26b
Do not let the sun set upon your anger: Paul is using figurative language here. In his culture, sunset marked the end of a day and the beginning of the next day. So, this sentence means “stop being angry before the end of the day” or “end your anger before you go to bed.”
Paul said that we should not continue being angry for a long time.
Here are some other ways to translate this sentence:
Don’t go to bed angry. (God’s Word, Contemporary English Version)
-or-
do not stay angry all day (Good News Translation)
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