Anger in the Bible

David's ambassadors are humiliated by the Ammonites. The Ammonites hire Aramean mercenaries, but Joab defeats both forces. The Arameans eventually make peace with Israel, abandoning the Ammonite alliance.

Rapid succession of wicked kings in Israel: Baasha's dynasty is destroyed by Zimri, who reigns only seven days before Omri takes power. Omri's son Ahab becomes king and marries Jezebel, introducing Baal worship on a massive scale.

Ahab covets Naboth's vineyard. When Naboth refuses to sell his ancestral land, Jezebel orchestrates false charges and has Naboth stoned to death. Elijah confronts Ahab with God's judgment: dogs will lick his blood and devour Jezebel.

Jonathan and David form a deep friendship covenant. David's military success makes him wildly popular, provoking Saul's jealousy. Saul attempts to kill David with a spear and schemes to have him killed by the Philistines through a dangerous bride-price.

Jonathan confirms Saul's intent to kill David through a secret arrow signal. The friends weep together and renew their covenant. Jonathan sends David away in peace, both knowing their separation may be permanent.

David asks the wealthy Nabal for provisions, but Nabal insults him. David sets out to destroy Nabal's household, but Nabal's wise wife Abigail intercepts with gifts and a persuasive appeal. God strikes Nabal dead, and David marries Abigail.

Joash faithfully repairs the temple under Jehoiada's guidance using a collection chest at the gate. After Jehoiada dies at 130 years old, Joash turns to idolatry. Zechariah the priest rebukes him and is stoned to death in the temple courtyard. Joash is assassinated by his own officials.

Manasseh becomes Judah's most wicked king, rebuilding high places, practicing sorcery, and setting up idols in the temple. God declares that because of Manasseh's sins, Jerusalem will be destroyed. His son Amon reigns briefly before being assassinated.

After Josiah, Judah rapidly declines under Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, and Jehoiachin. Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon besieges Jerusalem, takes the first wave of captives (including Jehoiachin and Daniel), and plunders the temple. Zedekiah is installed as puppet king.

Abner defects to David after a quarrel with Ish-bosheth. Joab, angry over his brother Asahel's death, murders Abner in cold blood. David publicly mourns Abner, distancing himself from the killing.

Two of Ish-bosheth's captains murder him in his bed and bring his head to David, expecting reward. David condemns them for killing an innocent man and has them executed, demonstrating his commitment to justice.

David sends a delegation to comfort the Ammonite king, but his ambassadors are humiliated. The Ammonites hire Aramean mercenaries, but Joab and Abishai defeat both armies. The Arameans make peace with Israel.

David's son Amnon rapes his half-sister Tamar, then despises her. David is furious but does nothing. After two years, Tamar's brother Absalom takes revenge by having Amnon murdered at a feast, then flees to Geshur.

David is cursed by Shimei of Saul's family as he flees. Ziba falsely claims Mephibosheth has turned traitor. In Jerusalem, Absalom follows Ahithophel's counsel to publicly claim David's concubines, signaling a permanent break.

Amos, a shepherd from Tekoa, delivers God's roaring judgment from Zion. In a devastating pattern — for three sins and for four — he pronounces judgment on Damascus, Gaza, Tyre, and Edom for their war crimes and cruelty.

The judgment pattern continues to Moab, then shockingly turns on Judah and Israel. Israel is condemned for selling the righteous for silver, trampling the poor, and profaning God's name. They have perverted every institution God gave them.

Can two walk together unless they agree? God does nothing without revealing His plan to the prophets. Israel was chosen above all families — but with privilege comes greater accountability. Destruction is coming to the altars of Bethel and the mansions of the wealthy.

Woe to those at ease in Zion — lounging on ivory beds, feasting on lamb, singing idle songs, drinking wine by the bowlful, but not grieving over Israel's ruin. Their complacency in the face of injustice brings them first into exile.

A basket of ripe fruit — the end is ripe for Israel. The merchants can't wait for the sabbath to end so they can cheat the poor with dishonest scales. The sun will go down at noon, and God will send a famine — not of bread or water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.

Moses clarifies that Israel is not receiving the land because of their righteousness — they are a stubborn people. He recounts the golden calf incident in detail, reminding them how close God came to destroying the nation and how Moses interceded for forty days and nights to avert their destruction.

Moses renews the covenant with the entire assembly — including future generations — reminding them that despite witnessing God's mighty acts, their hearts have not fully understood. He warns that secret idolatry will bring ruin and that the devastation of the land will be a witness to all nations. The secret things belong to God, but revealed things belong to Israel to obey.

Moses recites the Song of Moses, a powerful poem recounting God's faithfulness and Israel's future unfaithfulness. It portrays God as the Rock, a faithful creator and father, while Israel is a perverse and crooked generation that will provoke God to jealousy with foreign gods. The song ends with God's ultimate vindication and mercy. God tells Moses to ascend Mount Nebo to view the land before he dies.

A collection of reflections on wisdom, suffering, and balance. A good name is better than fine perfume. Sorrow is better than laughter because it deepens the heart. Do not be overrighteous or overwicked. No one on earth is truly righteous.

Haman, promoted to highest official, is enraged when Mordecai refuses to bow to him. He plots to destroy not just Mordecai but all Jews throughout the Persian Empire. He casts lots (purim) to choose the date and obtains the king's decree for genocide.

Esther bravely approaches the king and is received with favor. Rather than revealing her request immediately, she invites the king and Haman to two banquets. Haman is elated but furious when Mordecai still won't bow. His wife suggests building a gallows for Mordecai.

At the second banquet, Esther reveals that she is Jewish and that Haman has plotted to destroy her people. The king is furious. When Haman falls on Esther's couch begging for mercy, the king interprets it as assault. Haman is hanged on the very gallows he built for Mordecai.

Three more devastating plagues strike Egypt: a disease kills all Egyptian livestock, painful boils afflict people and animals, and a severe hailstorm destroys crops and kills those caught in the open. God continues to distinguish between Egypt and Goshen. Pharaoh admits he has sinned but again hardens his heart.

While Moses is on the mountain, the people grow impatient and persuade Aaron to make a golden calf, declaring it their god who brought them out of Egypt. God's anger burns and Moses intercedes, then descends and shatters the stone tablets. Moses calls the Levites to execute judgment, and about 3,000 people die.

God tells Ezekiel to shave his head and divide the hair: one third burned, one third struck with a sword, one third scattered to the wind — representing Jerusalem's fate. A small portion tucked in his garment represents the remnant. God's anger is described in terrifying terms.

God pronounces judgment on the mountains and high places of Israel where idolatry was practiced. The idols will be shattered and their worshipers will fall among them. Yet a remnant will survive, and in exile they will remember God and loathe their sinful past.

The end has come. God declares the final day of judgment on the land of Israel. Wealth will be thrown in the streets, the temple will be profaned, and violence fills the land. No prophet's vision or priest's teaching can save them now.

The Spirit transports Ezekiel to Jerusalem's temple where he sees escalating abominations: an idol of jealousy at the entrance, elders burning incense to images of crawling creatures, women weeping for Tammuz, and men worshiping the sun. The corruption is total.

God commands six executioners and a man with a writing kit. The scribe marks the foreheads of those who grieve over Jerusalem's abominations — they will be spared. The rest are slaughtered without mercy, beginning at the sanctuary itself.

The glory of the Lord — the same vision from chapter 1 with cherubim and wheels — begins to depart from the temple. God's presence moves from the Most Holy Place to the threshold, then to the east gate. The departure of God's glory is the most devastating event in Israel's history.

God condemns false prophets who prophesy from their own imagination, whitewashing a flimsy wall that will collapse. He also confronts false prophetesses who practice divination. Their lies give false hope and prevent the wicked from turning back.

Elders come to consult Ezekiel but have set up idols in their hearts. God refuses to answer them. Even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in the land, they could only save themselves — not the nation. Personal righteousness cannot substitute for national repentance.

An extended allegory: Jerusalem was an abandoned newborn whom God rescued, raised, and married in lavish splendor. But she used her beauty for prostitution with every passerby — worse than Sodom and Samaria. Yet God will remember His covenant and establish an everlasting one.

God unsheaths His sword against Jerusalem. The sword is sharpened and polished for slaughter. Nebuchadnezzar stands at a crossroads using divination to decide whether to attack Jerusalem or Ammon — the lots fall on Jerusalem. The crown will be removed until the rightful ruler comes.

A comprehensive indictment of Jerusalem as a bloody city. Princes, priests, prophets, and people are all corrupt — violence, extortion, profaning holy things, and oppressing foreigners. God searched for someone to stand in the gap but found no one.

The allegory of Oholah (Samaria) and Oholibah (Jerusalem) — two sisters who became prostitutes in Egypt from their youth. Oholibah is worse, lusting after Assyrian and Babylonian lovers. God will turn these lovers against her in graphic judgment.

Oracles against four neighboring nations who rejoiced over Jerusalem's fall: Ammon, Moab, Edom, and Philistia. Each is condemned for gloating over Judah's destruction. They too will know that God is the Lord through His judgment.

An oracle against Tyre, the great Phoenician trading city. God sends Nebuchadnezzar against it like waves of the sea. Tyre will become a bare rock where fishermen spread their nets — a prophecy remarkably fulfilled in history.

The Day of the Lord comes for Egypt and its allies. God will break the arms of Pharaoh while strengthening Babylon's arm. Egypt's proud power — its cities, armies, and alliances — will be shattered, and they will know that God is the Lord.

A lament over Pharaoh as a dragon caught in God's net. Egypt descends to the pit, joining other fallen powers — Assyria, Elam, Meshech-Tubal — all lying slain. A haunting tour of Sheol where mighty empires rest in shame.

An oracle against Mount Seir (Edom) for its ancient hatred of Israel and its gloating over Jerusalem's fall. Because Edom said these two nations will be mine, God will make Edom a perpetual desolation.

Gog from the land of Magog leads a massive coalition against restored Israel. God Himself fights back with earthquake, plague, fire, and hailstone — a dramatic end-times battle demonstrating His power before all nations.

Cain and Abel bring offerings to God; Abel's is accepted but Cain's is not. Jealous and angry, Cain murders his brother and is cursed to wander the earth. The chapter traces Cain's descendants and ends with Seth's birth.

Humanity's wickedness grows so great that God grieves having made mankind and decides to send a worldwide flood. Noah alone finds favour with God because of his righteousness. God instructs Noah to build an ark to preserve his family and representatives of every living creature.

Two angels visit Sodom and are welcomed by Lot. The men of Sodom surround the house demanding the visitors, but the angels strike them blind. God destroys Sodom and Gomorrah with fire and brimstone; Lot's wife looks back and becomes a pillar of salt.

Dinah, Jacob's daughter, is violated by Shechem the son of Hamor. Simeon and Levi avenge their sister by tricking the men of Shechem into being circumcised and then slaughtering them. Jacob rebukes his sons for bringing trouble, but they defend their sister's honour.

Israel sows the wind and reaps the whirlwind. They set up kings without God's consent, make idols from gold and silver, and their golden calf of Samaria will be destroyed. Israel has forgotten its Maker and built temples to itself.

Israel will return to captivity like another Egypt. The prophet is considered a fool, the spiritual man mad. Ephraim's glory will fly away — no birth, no pregnancy, no conception. God found Israel like grapes in the wilderness, but they turned to shame.

God's tender heartbreak as a parent: When Israel was a child, I loved him — I taught Ephraim to walk, I carried them. But they turned away. God's heart recoils within Him; His compassion grows warm and tender. He will not execute His fierce anger because He is God, not man.

God's fierce judgment: I will be like a lion, a leopard, a bear robbed of cubs. Israel's king cannot save them. Yet the stunning declaration: I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. Where, O death, are your plagues? — echoed by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15.

God confronts Judah's rebellion, comparing them to Sodom and Gomorrah. He rejects their empty religious rituals and calls them to genuine justice and repentance, promising cleansing for those who return to Him.

God removes Judah's leadership and stability as judgment for their sin. The chapter describes social collapse and specifically addresses the proud women of Zion, warning that their luxury will be replaced with shame.

The famous Song of the Vineyard portrays Israel as God's carefully tended vineyard that produced only bad fruit. Six woes follow, condemning greed, drunkenness, and moral confusion — calling evil good and good evil.

God uses Assyria as His rod of discipline against Israel but will then judge Assyria for its arrogance. A remnant of Israel will return, trusting in God rather than their oppressors.

The first of Isaiah's oracles against the nations targets Babylon. God summons warriors for the Day of the Lord — a day of destruction, darkness, and cosmic upheaval against Babylon's pride.

A terrifying oracle of universal judgment. God's wrath falls on all nations, particularly Edom, in apocalyptic language of cosmic destruction. The sword of the Lord is bathed in blood as He executes justice on the earth.

A dramatic taunt against Babylon, personified as a pampered queen who will be reduced to a slave grinding grain. Her sorceries and astrologers cannot save her. Babylon's fall is certain and complete.

God comes from Edom with garments stained crimson, having trodden the winepress of judgment alone. The chapter shifts to a poignant prayer recalling God's faithfulness to Israel in the past while lamenting their present hardened state.

A passionate prayer for God to rend the heavens and come down. Israel confesses that all their righteous acts are like filthy rags. They plead with God as the potter who shaped them — do not be angry beyond measure, remember we are your people.

The angel of the Lord rebukes Israel for making treaties with Canaanites. After Joshua's generation dies, a new generation abandons God. The cyclical pattern of Judges is introduced: sin, oppression, crying out, and deliverance.

Abimelech, Gideon's son by a concubine, murders his 70 brothers and makes himself king at Shechem. Only Jotham escapes and pronounces a prophetic parable. Abimelech's violent reign ends when a woman drops a millstone on his head.

The Ephraimites quarrel with Jephthah for not calling them to battle. Civil war erupts, and 42,000 Ephraimites are identified and killed by their pronunciation of Shibboleth. Three minor judges follow: Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon.

Samson demands a Philistine wife from Timnah against his parents' wishes. On the way he kills a lion with his bare hands, and later finds honey in its carcass, inspiring a riddle. When his riddle is solved through his wife's betrayal, Samson kills 30 Philistines.

Samson takes revenge on the Philistines by tying torches to foxes and burning their fields. Captured and bound by his own people, the Spirit of the Lord empowers him to break free and kill 1,000 Philistines with a donkey's jawbone.

A Levite's concubine is brutally assaulted and killed by men of Gibeah in Benjamin. The Levite dismembers her body and sends the pieces throughout Israel to provoke outrage. This horrific event reveals the moral collapse of the nation.

All Israel assembles and demands justice from Benjamin for the atrocity at Gibeah. When Benjamin refuses, civil war erupts. After two devastating defeats, Israel finally prevails on the third day, nearly wiping out the tribe of Benjamin.

Judgment from the north approaches like a lion from its thicket. Jeremiah agonizes over the coming destruction and sees a vision of creation undone — the earth formless and void again. He pleads with Jerusalem to wash its heart from evil.

God challenges Jeremiah to find even one just person in Jerusalem — if one exists, He will forgive the city. But the people are rebellious, their prophets speak lies, and they have no fear of God despite His power over the sea and seasons.

Disaster approaches from the north as God tells Jeremiah to sound the alarm. The people refuse correction, their ears are closed. Jeremiah is appointed as a tester of metals — the people are rejected silver, impure and worthless despite refining.

God tells Jeremiah to buy a clay jar and smash it before the elders as a dramatic sign: Jerusalem will be shattered beyond repair. The valley of Ben Hinnom — where children were sacrificed — will become a valley of slaughter.

King Zedekiah sends for Jeremiah during the Babylonian siege, hoping for a miracle like Hezekiah received. Instead, Jeremiah says God Himself will fight against Jerusalem. The only survival is surrender to Babylon.

Jeremiah summarizes twenty-three years of ignored warnings. God will send Nebuchadnezzar against Judah and the nations, followed by seventy years of Babylonian captivity. Then Babylon itself will be judged. A cup of God's wrath passes to all nations.

In Egypt, Jeremiah confronts the refugees who are burning incense to the Queen of Heaven. They defiantly declare they will continue because things were better when they worshiped idols. Jeremiah pronounces God's final judgment on these stubborn idolaters.

Oracles against the nations begin with Egypt. Pharaoh Necho's army, defeated at Carchemish by Nebuchadnezzar, is described as a swollen river turned back. Yet God promises that Jacob need not fear — He will save Israel from afar and discipline them justly.

An oracle against the Philistines as Babylon approaches from the north like rising floodwaters. The cities of Gaza and Ashkelon will mourn. God's sword of judgment will not rest until it has accomplished its purpose.

A lengthy oracle against Moab, detailing the destruction of its cities and pride. Moab trusted in its works and treasures, and its god Chemosh will go into exile. Yet God promises to restore Moab's fortunes in the latter days — judgment is not final.

Oracles against Ammon, Edom, Damascus, Kedar, Hazor, and Elam. Edom's destruction is most detailed — their pride in dwelling among the rocks (Petra) cannot save them. God promises restoration for Ammon and Elam in the latter days.

The massive oracle against Babylon begins. Babylon, destroyer of nations, will itself be destroyed. Israel and Judah will return from exile weeping with joy, seeking their God. The vengeance of the Lord will repay Babylon for destroying His temple.

Continues the Babylon oracle with cosmic-scale destruction imagery. God used Babylon as His hammer to shatter nations, but now shatters the hammer itself. Jeremiah tells Seraiah to read this oracle in Babylon and sink the scroll in the Euphrates — so shall Babylon sink.

Jesus performs His first miracle at the wedding in Cana, turning water into wine. He then cleanses the temple in Jerusalem, declaring it His Father's house. When challenged for a sign, He prophesies His own death and resurrection—destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.

Eliphaz begins his second speech, growing harsher. He accuses Job of undermining piety and claims that Job's own mouth condemns him. He paints a vivid picture of the wicked person's fate as a warning.

Bildad delivers his second speech, describing the terrors awaiting the wicked in graphic detail. He portrays their downfall as certain and complete, implicitly accusing Job of being among the wicked.

Zophar's second speech describes the short-lived triumph of the wicked. He argues that ill-gotten gains will be vomited up and that God's wrath will rain down upon the unrighteous.

Young Elihu enters, angry at Job for justifying himself rather than God, and at the three friends for condemning Job without answering him. He claims to speak by the Spirit and prepares his case.

Jonah is furious that God showed mercy — he wanted Nineveh destroyed. God teaches him through a plant that grows and dies: Jonah pities the plant but not 120,000 people. Should I not have concern for this great city? The book ends with God's question unanswered.

Israel is defeated at Ai because Achan took forbidden plunder from Jericho. God reveals the sin, and Achan and his family face judgment. Israel learns that one person's disobedience affects the whole community.

God Himself is the destroyer — He has swallowed up Israel without pity, demolished His own sanctuary, and silenced praise in Zion. The prophet weeps until his eyes fail. Young and old lie in the streets. The chapter confronts the devastating reality that God judges His own people.

The sacred gold is scattered, children beg for bread, and nobles once fairer than snow are blacker than soot. The horrors of the siege are described in graphic detail — mothers boiling their own children. Edom is warned that its turn for judgment is coming.

Jesus delivers a fierce denunciation of the scribes and Pharisees, pronouncing seven woes against their hypocrisy. He condemns them for burdening people with rules while neglecting justice, mercy, and faithfulness. He laments over Jerusalem, longing to gather her children as a hen gathers chicks.

Micah announces judgment on Samaria and Jerusalem — the mountains melt under God's feet and valleys split apart. Samaria's idols will be shattered and its wages scattered. Micah mourns barefoot and naked, wailing like a jackal over the coming devastation.

Woe to those who plot evil on their beds and carry it out by morning — seizing fields and oppressing families. False prophets say peace when there is wine and beer. Yet God promises to gather the remnant of Israel like sheep in a pen.

Leaders who should know justice instead eat the flesh of God's people. Prophets lead people astray; they prophesy for money. Because of them, Zion will be plowed like a field. Micah is filled with the Spirit's power to declare Israel's sin boldly.

Jesus enters Jerusalem on a colt to shouts of Hosanna, cleanses the temple of merchants, and curses a barren fig tree. He teaches the disciples about the power of prayer with faith, promising that whoever believes and does not doubt can move mountains.

God is jealous and avenging against Nineveh — 150 years after Jonah, Nineveh has returned to wickedness. God is slow to anger but great in power, and will by no means clear the guilty. Yet He is a refuge in the day of trouble for those who trust in Him.

A vivid, cinematic description of Nineveh's fall: chariots race through streets, defenders stumble, the river gates open, and the palace collapses. The lion's den (Assyria's symbol of power) is emptied. God is against Nineveh — their cruelty comes to a decisive end.

Woe to the city of blood, full of lies and plunder! Nineveh is compared to a prostitute who seduced and enslaved nations through sorcery. Her fall will be total and unmourned — everyone who hears the news will clap their hands because of her endless cruelty.

The people complain about hardships and then about the lack of meat, weeping for the food they had in Egypt. God's anger burns and Moses is overwhelmed, so God puts His Spirit on seventy elders to share the leadership burden. God sends quail in abundance, but strikes the greedy with a plague.

The people weep, rebel, and want to return to Egypt. God threatens to destroy them, but Moses intercedes. God pardons the people but decrees that the entire adult generation (except Caleb and Joshua) will die in the wilderness over forty years. Some Israelites then rashly attack and are defeated.

Korah, Dathan, and Abiram lead 250 leaders in a rebellion against Moses and Aaron, claiming all the people are holy enough to lead. God judges dramatically — the earth opens and swallows the rebels and their households, then fire consumes the 250 men offering incense. Even after this, the people grumble and a plague kills 14,700.

Miriam dies at Kadesh. The people again quarrel about water, and God tells Moses to speak to the rock. Instead, Moses strikes the rock twice in anger, and God declares that Moses and Aaron will not enter the Promised Land because they did not trust Him. Aaron dies on Mount Hor and his son Eleazar succeeds him.

Israel defeats the Canaanite king of Arad. When the people grumble again, God sends venomous snakes that kill many. Moses makes a bronze serpent and sets it on a pole; anyone bitten who looks at it lives. Israel then conquers the Amorite kings Sihon and Og, taking their territories east of the Jordan.

Balaam delivers two more prophetic oracles blessing Israel, comparing them to a lion and foretelling a star and sceptre rising from Jacob — a Messianic prophecy. Balak dismisses Balaam in anger, but Balaam gives a final oracle predicting the doom of Moab, Edom, Amalek, and other nations.

Israelite men are seduced into sexual immorality and idolatry with Moabite women at Baal Peor, following Balaam's counsel. God's anger brings a plague that kills 24,000. Phinehas the priest zealously intervenes by executing an Israelite man and Midianite woman together, and God grants him a covenant of peace for his zeal.

The shortest book in the Old Testament: a single chapter oracle against Edom for its pride and betrayal of brother-nation Judah. When Jerusalem fell, Edom gloated, looted, and handed over refugees. God will bring Edom low from its mountain strongholds, and Israel will possess its land.

Proverbs on gentle speech, God's omniscience, and contentment. A gentle answer turns away wrath. The eyes of the Lord are everywhere. Better a little with the fear of the Lord than great wealth with turmoil. A cheerful heart is good medicine.

Proverbs on fools, sluggards, and gossip. As a dog returns to its vomit, so fools repeat their folly. The sluggard turns on his bed like a door on its hinges. Gossip is like choice morsels that go down to the body's inmost parts.

Proverbs on friendship and self-awareness. Do not boast about tomorrow. Faithful are the wounds of a friend. As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. As water reflects the face, so one's life reflects the heart.

A messianic royal psalm declaring God's authority over rebellious nations. God installs his anointed King on Zion and declares him his Son. The psalm warns rulers to serve the Lord with reverent fear.