Ephesians 4 · Verse 31

Ephesians 4:31

Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
Ephesians 4:31, King James Version

Ephesians 4:31 in other translations

BSBGet rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, outcry and slander, along with every form of malice.
WEBLet all bitterness, wrath, anger, outcry, and slander be put away from you, with all malice.
ASVLet all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and railing, be put away from you, with all malice:
YLTLet all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil-speaking, be put away from you, with all malice,
DARBYLet all bitterness, and heat of passion, and wrath, and clamour, and injurious language, be removed from you, with all malice;
BBELet all bitter, sharp and angry feeling, and noise, and evil words, be put away from you, with all unkind acts;
WebsterLet all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil-speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:

What does Ephesians 4:31 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
31. bitterness--both of spirit and of speech: opposed to "kind." wrath--passion for a time: opposed to "tender-hearted." Whence Bengel translates for "wrath," harshness. anger--lasting resentment: opposed to "forgiving one another." clamour--compared by Chrysostom to a horse carrying anger for its rider: "Bridle the horse, and you dismount its rider." "Bitterness" begets "wrath"; "wrath," "anger"; "anger," "clamor"; and "clamor," the more chronic "evil-speaking," slander, insinuations, and surmises of evil. "Malice" is the secret root of all: "fires fed within, and not appearing to by-standers from without, are the most formidable" [Chrysostom].

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Barnes' Notes
Verse 31. Let all bitterness. Eph 4:2.

And wrath. The word here does not differ essentially from anger.

Anger Eph 4:26. All cherished, unreasonable anger. And clamour. Noise, disorder, high words; such as men use in a brawl, or when they are excited. Christians are to be calm and serious. Harsh contentions and strifes; hoarse brawls and tumults, are to be unknown among them.

And evil speaking. Slander, backbiting, angry expressions, tale-bearing, reproaches, etc.

With all malice. Rather, "with all evil"--κακια. Every kind and sort of evil is to be put away, and you are to manifest only that which is good.

(c) "and wrath" Col 3:8 (d) "be put away" Tit 3:2

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 31 Let all bitterness - Πασα πικρια. It is astonishing that any who profess the Christian name should indulge bitterness of spirit. Those who are censorious, who are unmerciful to the failings of others, who have fixed a certain standard by which they measure all persons in all circumstances, and unchristian every one that does not come up to this standard, these have the bitterness against which the apostle speaks. In the last century there was a compound medicine, made up from a variety of drastic acrid drugs and ardent spirits, which was called Hiera Picra, ἱερα πικρα, the holy bitter; this medicine was administered in a multitude of cases, where it did immense evil, and perhaps in scarcely any case did it do good. It has ever appeared to me to furnish a proper epithet for the disposition mentioned above, the holy bitter; for the religiously censorious act under the pretense of superior sanctity. I have known such persons do much evil in a Christian society, but never knew an instance of their doing any good. And wrath - Θυμος is more properly anger, which may be considered the commencement of the passion. Anger - Οργν is more properly wrath - the passion carried to its highest pitch, accompanied with injurious words and outrageous acts, some of which are immediately specified. And clamor - Κραυγη Loud and obstreperous speaking, brawling, railing, boisterous talk, often the offspring of wrath; all of which are highly unbecoming the meek, loving, quiet, sedate mind of Christ and his followers. And evil speaking - Βλασφημια· Blasphemy; that is, injurious speaking - words which tend to hurt those of whom or against whom they are spoken. With all malice - Κακια· All malignity; as anger produces wrath, and wrath clamor, so all together produce malice; that is, settled, sullen, fell wrath, which is always looking out for opportunities to revenge itself by the destruction of the object of its indignation. No state of society can be even tolerable where these prevail; and, if eternity were out of the question, it is of the utmost consequence to have these banished from time.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Ephesians 4:29-32

Filthy words proceed from corruption in the speaker, and they corrupt the minds and manners of those who hear them: Christians should beware of all such discourse. It is the duty of Christians to seek, by the blessing of God, to bring persons to think seriously, and to encourage and warn believers by their conversation. Be ye kind one to another. This sets forth the principle of love in the heart, and the outward…

Read the full comment on Ephesians 4:29-32 →

Ephesians 4:31 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

ΠᾶσαPasaAllG3956
πικρίαpikriabitternessG4088
καὶkaiandG2532
θυμὸςthumosrageG2372
καὶkaiandG2532
ὀργὴorgēangerG3709
καὶkaiandG2532
κραυγὴkraugēclamorG2906
καὶkaiandG2532
βλασφημίαblasphēmiaslanderG988
ἀρθήτωarthētōshould be removedG142
ἀφ᾽aph᾽fromG575
ὑμῶνhumōnyouG4771
σὺνsunalong withG4862
πάσῃpasēallG3956
κακίᾳ.kakiamalice.G2549

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Ephesians 4:31

  • Colossians 3:8

    But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.

  • Ecclesiastes 7:9

    Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.

  • Titus 3:2-3

    To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men. For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.

  • 1 Peter 2:1

    Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,

  • James 1:19

    Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:

  • Colossians 3:19

    Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.

  • James 3:14-4:2

    But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. …

  • Ephesians 4:26

    Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:

  • 1 John 3:12

    Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.

  • Leviticus 19:16-18

    Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour: I am the Lord. Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him. Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.

  • 1 Corinthians 14:20

    Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men.

  • Proverbs 29:22

    An angry man stirreth up strife, and a furious man aboundeth in transgression.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
bitterness.
Ps 64:3; Ro 3:14; Col 3:8,19; Jas 3:14,15
wrath.
26; Pr 14:17; 19:12; Ec 7:9; 2Co 12:20; Ga 5:20; Col 3:8; 2Ti 2:23
Tit 1:7; Jas 1:19; 3:14-18; 4:1,2
clamour.
2Sa 19:43; 20:1,2; Pr 29:9,22; Ac 19:28,29; 21:30; 22:22,23; 1Ti 3:3
1Ti 6:4,5
evil speaking.
Le 19:16; 2Sa 19:27; Ps 15:3; 50:20; 101:5; 140:11; Pr 6:19; 10:18
Pr 18:8; 25:23; 26:20; Jer 6:28; 9:4; Ro 1:29,30; 1Ti 3:11; 5:13
2Ti 3:3; Tit 2:3; 3:2; Jas 4:11; 1Pe 2:1; 2Pe 2:10,11; Jude 1:8-10
Re 12:10
with.
Ge 4:8; 27:41; 37:4,21; Le 19:17,18; 2Sa 13:22; Pr 10:12; 26:24,25
Ec 7:9; Ro 1:29; 1Co 5:8; 14:20; Col 3:8; Tit 3:3; 1Jo 3:12,15

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Ephesians 4:30

    And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

  • Ephesians 4:31

    Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:

  • Ephesians 4:32

    And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

Read all of Ephesians 4

Ephesians 4:31 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Toda amargura, y enojo, é ira, y voces, y maledicencia sea quitada de vosotros, y toda malicia:
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Que toute amertume, et tout courroux, et toute colère, et toute crierie, et toute injure, soient ôtés du milieu de vous, de même que toute malice;
German
Elberfelder 1871		Alle Bitterkeit und Wut und Zorn und Geschrei und Lästerung sei von euch weggetan, samt aller Bosheit.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Omnis amaritudo, et ira, et indignatio, et clamor, et blasphemia tollatur a vobis cum omni malitia.