SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 15:18

15:18

Notice the parallel parts that contrast in meaning:

18a
A hot-tempered man stirs up strife,

18b but he who is slow to anger calms dispute.

15:18a

A hot-tempered man stirs up strife: The phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as A hot-tempered man refers to someone who easily or quickly becomes angry or loses his temper. Such a person stirs up strife. This phrase means that he causes arguments or disagreements.

15:18b

but he who is slow to anger: In Hebrew, the phrase he who is slow to anger is literally “a ⌊person⌋ long of anger.” It refers to someone who is able to stay calm and control his temper.

calms dispute: Such a person settles or quiets a dispute or quarrel. According to most scholars, the Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as dispute refers here to any kind of argument. It does not refer only to a legal dispute.

Some other ways to translate 15:18b are:

but those who are slow to anger calm contention (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
but those who control their tempers stop a quarrel (New Century Version)
-or-
but staying calm settles arguments (Contemporary English Version)

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