Ephesians 4:31

Revised Standard Version

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, with all malice,

Parallel Translations

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.

Legacy Standard Bible
Let all bitterness and anger and wrath and shouting and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.

Simplified Cowboy Version
There's no place in your saddlebags for backbiting, rage, gossip, harsh talk, or anything else that will bring dishonor to God.

Bible in Basic English
Let all bitter, sharp and angry feeling, and noise, and evil words, be put away from you, with all unkind acts;

Darby Translation
Let all bitterness, and heat of passion, and wrath, and clamour, and injurious language, be removed from you, with all malice;

Christian Standard Bible®
All bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander must be removed from you, along with all malice.

World English Bible
Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, outcry, and slander, be put away from you, with all malice.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil-speaking be put away from you with all malice.

Weymouth's New Testament
Let all bitterness and all passionate feeling, all anger and loud insulting language, be unknown among you--and also every kind of malice.

King James Version (1611)
Let all bitternes, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and euill speaking, be put away from you, with all malice,

Literal Translation
Let all bitterness, and anger, and wrath, and tumult, and evil speaking be put away from you, along with all evil things.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Let all bytternes, and fearsnes, and wrath, and roaringe, & cursed speakynge be farre fro you with all maliciousnes.

Mace New Testament (1729)
banish all resentment and indignation, anger, vehemence, detraction, and every thing like malice.

THE MESSAGE
Make a clean break with all cutting, backbiting, profane talk. Be gentle with one another, sensitive. Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you.

Amplified Bible
Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor [perpetual animosity, resentment, strife, fault-finding] and slander be put away from you, along with every kind of malice [all spitefulness, verbal abuse, malevolence].

American Standard Version
Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and railing, be put away from you, with all malice:

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
Let all bitternes fearsnes and wrath rorynge and cursyd speakynge be put awaye from you with all maliciousnes.

Update Bible Version
Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and railing, be put away from you, with all malice:

Webster's Bible Translation
Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil-speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:

Young's Literal Translation
Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil-speaking, be put away from you, with all malice,

New Century Version
Do not be bitter or angry or mad. Never shout angrily or say things to hurt others. Never do anything evil.

New English Translation
You must put away all bitterness, anger, wrath, quarreling, and slanderous talk—indeed all malice.

Berean Standard Bible
Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, outcry and slander, along with every form of malice.

Contemporary English Version
Stop being bitter and angry and mad at others. Don't yell at one another or curse each other or ever be rude.

Complete Jewish Bible
Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, violent assertiveness and slander, along with all spitefulness.

English Standard Version
Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Let all bitternesse, and anger, and wrath, crying, and euill speaking be put away from you, with all maliciousnesse.

George Lamsa Translation
Let all bitterness and wrath, and anger, and clamouring and blasphemy be put away from you, together with all malice:

Hebrew Names Version
Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, outcry, and slander, be put away from you, with all malice.

International Standard Version
Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, quarreling, and slander be put away from you, along with all hatred.Colossians 3:8,19; Titus 3:2-3; James 4:11; 1 Peter 2:1;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
Let all bitterness, and heat, and anger, and clamour, and scandal be taken from you, with all malice;

Murdock Translation
Let all bitterness, and anger, and wrath, and clamoring, and reviling, be taken from you, with all malice:

New King James Version
Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.

New Living Translation
Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior.

New Life Bible
Put out of your life all these things: bad feelings about other people, anger, temper, loud talk, bad talk which hurts other people, and bad feelings which hurt other people.

English Revised Version
Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and railing, be put away from you, with all malice:

New Revised Standard
Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice,

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
All bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and outcry, and profane speaking, let it be taken away from you, with all baseness;

Douay-Rheims Bible
Let all bitterness and anger and indignation and clamour and blasphemy be put away from you, with all malice.

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

Lexham English Bible
All bitterness, and rage, and wrath, and clamor, and abusive speech, must be removed from you, together with all wickedness.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Let all bytternesse, and fiercenesse, & wrath, and crying, and euyll speakyng, be put away from you, with all maliciousnesse.

Easy-to-Read Version
Never be bitter, angry, or mad. Never shout angrily or say things to hurt others. Never do anything evil.

New American Standard Bible
All bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and slander must be removed from you, along with all malice.

Good News Translation
Get rid of all bitterness, passion, and anger. No more shouting or insults, no more hateful feelings of any sort.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Al bitternesse, and wraththe, and indignacioun, and cry, and blasfemye be takun awey fro you, with al malice;

Contextual Overview

¹⁷ Now this I affirm and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds; ¹⁸ they are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart; ¹⁹ they have become callous and have given themselves up to licentiousness, greedy to practice every kind of uncleanness. ²⁰ You did not so learn Christ! -- ²¹ assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus. ²² Put off your old nature which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful lusts, ²³ and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, ²⁴ and put on the new nature, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. ²⁵ Therefore, putting away falsehood, let every one speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. ²⁶ Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

bitterness: Psalms 64:3, Romans 3:14, Colossians 3:8, Colossians 3:19, James 3:14, James 3:15

wrath: Ephesians 4:26, Proverbs 14:17, Proverbs 19:12, Ecclesiastes 7:9, 2 Corinthians 12:20, Galatians 5:20, Colossians 3:8, 2 Timothy 2:23, Titus 1:7, James 1:19, James 3:14-18, James 4:1, James 4:2

clamour: 2 Samuel 19:43, 2 Samuel 20:1, 2 Samuel 20:2, Proverbs 29:9, Proverbs 29:22, Acts 19:28, Acts 19:29, Acts 21:30, Acts 22:22, Acts 22:23, 1 Timothy 3:3, 1 Timothy 6:4, 1 Timothy 6:5

evil speaking: Leviticus 19:16, 2 Samuel 19:27, Psalms 15:3, Psalms 50:20, Psalms 101:5, Psalms 140:11, Proverbs 6:19, Proverbs 10:18, Proverbs 18:8, Proverbs 25:23, Proverbs 26:20, Jeremiah 6:28, Jeremiah 9:4, Romans 1:29, Romans 1:30, 1 Timothy 3:11, 1 Timothy 5:13, 2 Timothy 3:3, Titus 2:3, Titus 3:2, James 4:11, 1 Peter 2:1, 2 Peter 2:10, 2 Peter 2:11, Jude 1:8 -10; Revelation 12:10

with: Genesis 4:8, Genesis 27:41, Genesis 37:4, Genesis 37:21, Leviticus 19:17, Leviticus 19:18, 2 Samuel 13:22, Proverbs 10:12, Proverbs 26:24, Proverbs 26:25, Ecclesiastes 7:9, Romans 1:29, 1 Corinthians 5:8, 1 Corinthians 14:20, Colossians 3:8, Titus 3:3, 1 John 3:12, 1 John 3:15

Reciprocal: Genesis 45:24 - See that Exodus 20:16 - General 1 Samuel 1:14 - put away 1 Samuel 20:30 - Thou 1 Samuel 25:21 - Surely Psalms 37:8 - Cease Matthew 5:22 - Whosoever Matthew 18:22 - but Mark 9:50 - have peace Luke 6:36 - General Luke 11:4 - for Luke 17:4 - if 1 Corinthians 1:10 - that ye Philippians 2:14 - disputings 1 Peter 3:8 - courteous 1 John 4:11 - General

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Let all bitterness,.... These words are a dehortation from several vices good men are liable to, by which the Spirit of God is grieved: "bitterness" sometimes designs the corruption of nature, which is the gall of bitterness, and bond of iniquity; and sometimes actual sins and transgressions, even those of God's own people, which are evil and bitter things; and sometimes heretical doctrines, which are roots of bitterness; and sometimes sinful words spoken by the saints, one against another; and here perhaps it signifies, the first offence taken in the mind, against any person, upon any account, which should at once be put away, and not encouraged:

and wrath: heat of spirit, which follows upon bitterness, or upon the spirit being embittered and offended; see Ezekiel 3:14.

And anger; a sinful one, cautioned against before, Ephesians 4:26.

And clamour and evil speaking; such as brawlings, contentions, contumelies, reproaches, slanders, c. arising from an embittered, wrathful, and angry disposition: these should all

be put away from you, with all malice being the deeds of the old man, unbecoming such as are born again, and grieving to the Spirit of God.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Let all bitterness - see the notes on Ephesians 4:2.

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

Anger - see the note on Ephesians 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” - κακίᾳ kakia. Every kind and sort of evil is to be put away, and you are to manifest only that which is good.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

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, ιερα 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 pretence 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 clamour — 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 clamour, 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.