James 1 · a question people ask

"let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger" (1:19). Why slow to anger?

In the text

The next verse gives the letter's reason: "for the anger of man doesn’t produce the righteousness of God." (1:20). These notes say no more of "the righteousness of God" (1:20) than the verse does.

The verses

“So, then, my beloved brothers, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger; for the anger of man doesn’t produce the righteousness of God.”
James 1:19-20 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of James 1

James 1: Doers of the word

Double-minded (1:8) is a word the New Testament has only in James. And behind produces in "The sin, when it is full grown, produces death." (1:15) and gave birth in "Of his own will he gave birth to us by the word of truth" (1:18) is one Greek verb, which the New Testament has only in those two verses.

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Last reviewed October 8, 2026. Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions