So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath. | Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. |
The Lord is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. | The Lord is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. |
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He who is slow to wrath has great understanding, But he who is impulsive exalts folly. | People with understanding control their anger; a hot temper shows great foolishness. |
He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, And he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city. | Better to be patient than powerful; better to have self-control than to conquer a city. |
So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the Lord your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm. | “Don’t tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He is eager to relent and not punish. |
The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, And will not at all acquit the wicked. The Lord has His way In the whirlwind and in the storm, And the clouds are the dust of His feet. | The Lord is slow to get angry, but his power is great, and he never lets the guilty go unpunished. He displays his power in the whirlwind and the storm. The billowing clouds are the dust beneath his feet. |
The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. | The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. |
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. | Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. |