Proverbs 15:18

A quick-tempered person ¹  stirs up dissension, but one who is slow to anger ²  calms ³  a quarrel. ⁴ 

Ge 13:8,9; Jud 8:1-3; 1Sa 25:24-44; 2Sa 19:43; 2Sa 20:1; Pr 10:12; Pr 15:1; Pr 25:15; Pr 26:21; Pr 28:25; Pr 29:22; Ec 10:4; Mt 5:9; Ac 6:1-5; Jas 1:19,20; Jas 3:14-16

¹ tn Heb “a man of wrath”; KJV, ASV “a wrathful man.” The term “wrath” functions as an attributive genitive: “an angry person.” He is contrasted with the “slow of anger,” so he is a “quick-tempered person” (cf. NLT “a hothead”).

² tn Heb “slow of anger.” The noun “anger” functions as a genitive of specification: slow in reference to anger, that is, slow to get angry, patient.

³ tn The Hiphil verb יַשְׁקִיט (yashqit) means “to cause quietness; to pacify; to allay” the strife or quarrel (cf. NAB “allays discord”). This type of person goes out of his way to keep things calm and minimize contention; his opposite thrives on disagreement and dispute.

⁴ sn The fact that רִיב (riv) is used for “quarrel; strife” strongly implies that the setting is the courtroom or other legal setting (the gates of the city). The hot-headed person is eager to turn every disagreement into a legal case.