🛡️WEB · Ephesians 4:26
What does Ephesians 4:26 mean?
"“Be angry, and don’t sin.” Don’t let the sun go down on your wrath,"
— Ephesians 4:26 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
and put on the new man, who in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of truth.
Therefore putting away falsehood, speak truth each one with his neighbor. For we are members of one another.
“Be angry, and don’t sin.” Don’t let the sun go down on your wrath,
and don’t give place to the devil.
Let him who stole steal no more; but rather let him labor, producing with his hands something that is good, that he may have something to give to him who has need.
Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth, but only what is good for building others up as the need may be, that it may give grace to those who hear.
Explanation
Ephesians 4:26 reads, "Be angry, and don't sin. Don't let the sun go down on your wrath." In plain language, Paul is telling believers that anger itself is not automatically sinful, but there is real danger in how we handle it. He commands two things: first, if you are angry, do not let that anger lead you into sin; second, do not let anger fester past the end of the day. It's a call to feel your emotions honestly while refusing to let them control your actions or linger unresolved.
The verse opens with a direct quotation from Psalm 4:4, which in its original Hebrew context also carries the sense of "tremble and do not sin" — a call to self-examination even in strong emotion. Paul, writing this letter to the church at Ephesus (and likely circulating to other churches in Asia Minor) while imprisoned, is in the middle of a section (Ephesians 4:17-32) urging believers to live differently than they did before coming to Christ. He has just spoken of putting off the old self and putting on the new self, and he continues by giving concrete, practical instructions — don't lie, work honestly, use wholesome speech, and here, deal with anger properly. This isn't abstract theology; it's a list of everyday behavioral commands for a community learning to live in love and unity.
Theologically, this verse affirms that anger is a genuine human emotion, even one that appears in Scripture as something God himself experiences (against sin and injustice). Paul does not say "never be angry" — he assumes anger will happen. The moral issue is not the emotion but what we do
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