"My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires."
— James 1:19-20 (NIV)
James 1:19-20 is the "quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger" passage, one of the Bible's best-known lines about how to handle a conversation that is getting hot. This page gives the verses, what the key words mean, where they sit in James 1, and a plain reading. For more on the theme, see Bible verses about anger, Bible verses about listening, and Bible verses about patience.
Free PDF
Get the free 30 Days of Love Verses PDF
Sign up for the daily Bible verse email, and get the free 30 Days of Love Verses PDF. 30 Days of Love Verses · Open the PDF
The verses
The King James reads: "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God."
"Quick" (KJV "swift") is tachys (G5036), fast or ready. "Listen" is akouō (G191), to hear. "Slow" is bradys (G1021), unhurried. "Speak" is laleō (G2980). "Anger" (KJV "wrath") is orgē (G3709), a settled anger rather than a flash. "Produce" (KJV "worketh") is katergazomai (G2716), to bring about, and "righteousness" is dikaiosynē (G1343), what is right in God's eyes.
Where it sits in James 1
James opens with trials and endurance: "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds" (James 1:2-4). Verses 19-20 turn to the way people talk and react under that kind of pressure.
The next verses connect listening to God's word: "Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you" (James 1:21), and "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says" (James 1:22). A few verses later James comes back to the mouth: "Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless" (James 1:26).
What the verses are saying
James gives an order for a hard conversation: hear first, speak second, and keep anger last. Most arguments run the other way. People get angry, speak fast, and listen only to reload.
Verse 20 gives the reason. Human anger feels like it is setting things right, but it does not produce the kind of right God is after. That does not make every feeling of anger sinful; Ephesians 4:26-27 says "in your anger do not sin." It means anger is a poor tool for fixing people. Proverbs 15:1 says the same from another angle: "A gentle answer turns away wrath."
Questions people ask
What does James 1:19 say?
In the NIV it says, "My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry." The KJV says, "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath."
What does James 1:20 mean?
It means human anger does not accomplish what God wants. "The wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God" (KJV) is the reason James gives for being slow to anger in verse 19.
Is it a sin to be angry according to James 1:19-20?
James says to be slow to anger, not to never feel it. Ephesians 4:26 says "In your anger do not sin," so the warning is about anger that is quick, kept, or used to win, because that kind does not produce God's righteousness.
How do you practice "quick to listen, slow to speak"?
Let the other person finish, ask a question before answering, and repeat back what you heard. Waiting before you reply gives anger time to cool.
What verses go with James 1:19-20?
Proverbs 15:1 (a gentle answer turns away wrath), Proverbs 14:29 (patience shows great understanding), and Proverbs 18:21 (life and death in the tongue) are close companions.
