Greek word · G2372
θυμός
thymos
wrath
Passion, strong feeling, hot anger, rage, outburst. In the Greek Old Testament it often stands for Hebrew ḥēmâ (heat, venom, rage) and 'aph (anger).
Appears 18 times in 18 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
θυμός, -οῦ, ὁ
(θύω), [in LXX most frequently for אַף, also for חֱמָא, חָרוֹן, etc., 30 words in all ;]
passion, hot anger, wrath: Hebrews 11:27; ὀργὴ καὶ θ., Romans 2:8, cf. Colossians 3:8; πικρία κ. θ., Ephesians 4:31; πλησθῆναι, πλήρης θυμοῦ, Luke 4:28, Acts 19:28; θ. ἔχειν, Revelation 12:12; οἶνος τ. θυμοῦ τ. πορνείας (cf. Jeremiah 51:7), Revelation 14:8 18:3 (cf. Revelation 17:2); οἶνος τ. θ. τ. θεοῦ, Revelation 14:10; τ. ὀργῆς τ. θεοῦ, Revelation 16:19 19:15; ὁ θ. τ. θεοῦ, Revelation 14:19 15:1, 7 16:1; pl., impulses or outbursts of anger: ἔρις, ζῆλος, θυμοὶ, ἐριθίαι, 2 Corinthians 12:20, Galatians 5:20 (Cremer, 287, 733).†
SYN.: ὀργή, παροργισμός (AS)
From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).
In depth
From the study of Revelation 14:10
- Range of meaning
Passion, strong feeling, hot anger, rage, outburst. In the Greek Old Testament it often stands for Hebrew ḥēmâ (heat, venom, rage) and 'aph (anger).
- Against the English
KJV 'wrath', BSB 'anger', other versions 'fury'. 'Fury' best keeps the heat of the word.
- Used elsewhere in the period
In the Greek Old Testament it is often paired with orgē. In Revelation the two appear together at 16:19 and 19:15 ('the fury of the wrath of God'). Revelation 14:8 and 18:3 use thumos for the 'passion' of Babylon's immorality.
From the study of Revelation 16:1
- Range of meaning
Originally the seat of passion and spirit in a person, then strong emotion, especially hot anger, rage or fury. In Koine Greek it often overlaps with ὀργή (orgē, "wrath, anger"). The two are frequently paired.
- Against the English
"Wrath" (most versions) is accurate but sounds old-fashioned and abstract. "Fury" or "burning anger" keeps the heat of the word better. The word is strong, and the text should not be softened into mere "displeasure".
- How it drifted
Modern English tends to hear "wrath" either as an outdated religious term or as an uncontrolled temper tantrum. Neither fits Revelation's use, where the fury is passionate and also judicial: the next verses call these acts "true and just judgments" (16:5–7).
- Used elsewhere in the period
In the LXX θυμός regularly translates Hebrew words for God's burning anger (e.g. ḥēmâ, ḥărôn ʾap), often with the verb "pour out" (Ps 79:6 [LXX 78:6]; Jer 10:25; Ezek 14:19; 22:31; Zeph 3:8). Revelation links it with wine: "the wine of the fury of her sexual immorality" (14:8), "the wine of the fury of God" (14:10), "the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath" (16:19). Older word studies (e.g. Trench) separated θυμός as a sudden flare-up from ὀργή as a settled disposition, but Koine and LXX usage does not keep that line consistently (BDAG).
From the study of Revelation 14:8
- Range of meaning
Strong feeling that boils up: passion, heat, ardour, rage, fury. In the Greek Old Testament it often translates Hebrew ḥēmâ, which can mean heat, poison or venom, and wrath. Revelation uses it of God's fury (14:10, 19; 15:1, 7; 16:1, 19; 19:15) and of the devil's rage (12:12).
- Against the English
The KJV, WEB and YLT say 'wrath', following the Latin Vulgate's irae. The BSB, ESV and NASB say 'passion'. The NIV says 'maddening' and the NLT 'passionate'. Each choice keeps one half of a word that does two jobs here.
- How it drifted
'Wrath of her fornication' sounds strange in English, and readers may take it to mean Babylon's own anger. That is not the point.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Jeremiah 25:15 (Greek 32:15) speaks of 'the cup of the wine of this wrath' given to the nations. Jeremiah 51:7 says 'Babylon was a golden cup… the nations drank of her wine; therefore they went mad.' In Deuteronomy 32:33 the Greek uses θυμός for the 'venom' of dragons in wine. BDAG lists the word under both 'passion' and 'wrath', and commentators divide over Revelation 14:8 and 18:3.
Where it appears
Luke · 1
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Luke 4:28 θυμοῦ with anger
On hearing this, all the people in the synagogue were enraged.
Acts · 1
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Acts 19:28 θυμοῦ of rage
When the men heard this, they were enraged and began shouting, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
Romans · 1
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Romans 2:8 θυμός, anger
But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow wickedness, there will be wrath and anger.
Here: Burning, intense anger. Paired with ὀργή it repeats a stock Old Testament phrase for God's anger, and the pairing makes it stronger: anger in full force.
2 Corinthians · 1
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2 Corinthians 12:20 θυμοί, anger,
For I am afraid that when I come, I may not find you as I wish, and you may not find me as you wish. I fear that there may be quarreling, jealousy, rage, rivalry, slander, gossip, arrogance, and disorder.
Here: Plural: flare-ups of temper, hot outbursts, rather than settled anger.
Galatians · 1
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Galatians 5:20 θυμοί, outbursts of anger,
idolatry and sorcery; hatred, discord, jealousy, and rage; rivalries, divisions, factions,
Here: Plural: flare-ups of temper, anger that boils over. The plural points to repeated outbursts rather than a settled attitude.
Ephesians · 1
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Ephesians 4:31 θυμὸς rage
Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, outcry and slander, along with every form of malice.
Here: Anger that boils over: the hot flare-up of temper, losing your head in the moment.
Colossians · 1
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Colossians 3:8 θυμόν, rage,
But now you must put aside all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.
Here: Anger that boils over: a flare-up of temper, an outburst. Paired with orgē, the two words cover both the slow-burning grudge and the sudden explosion.
Hebrews · 1
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Hebrews 11:27 θυμὸν anger
By faith Moses left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw Him who is invisible.
Here: A boiling, passionate outburst of rage, not a calm judicial displeasure. It is the volatile anger of an absolute ruler who could kill on a whim.
Revelation · 10
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Revelation 12:12 θυμὸν fury
Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea; with great fury the devil has come down to you, knowing he has only a short time.”
Here: Hot, boiling anger, a violent outburst rather than a judge's measured verdict.
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Revelation 14:8 θυμοῦ of wrath
Then a second angel followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, who has made all the nations drink the wine of the passion of her immorality.”
Here: Heated passion. The wine inflames and maddens. The same word becomes 'the wine of God's wrath' two verses later (14:10), so her wine of passion turns into God's wine of anger.
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Revelation 14:10 θυμοῦ anger
he too will drink the wine of God’s anger, poured undiluted into the cup of His wrath. And he will be tormented in fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb.
Here: Hot, rising anger. It is the same word used in verse 8 for the 'passion' of Babylon's immorality, so Babylon's intoxicating wine is answered by God's wine of fury.
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Revelation 14:19 θυμοῦ wrath
So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and gathered the grapes of the earth, and he threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath.
Here: God's burning anger. The press is defined by it: what happens in this vat is God's fury at work. It picks up the 'wine of the fury of God' in 14:10.
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Revelation 15:1 θυμὸς wrath
Then I saw another great and marvelous sign in heaven: seven angels with the seven final plagues, with which the wrath of God is completed.
Here: Hot, intense anger. In Revelation it is tied to the image of wine poured out (14:8, 10; 16:19), and it is aimed at the powers that have crushed God's people and corrupted the earth.
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Revelation 15:7 θυμοῦ wrath
Then one of the four living creatures gave the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever.
Here: Intense, burning anger. Here it is God's settled opposition to evil, breaking out into action. Revelation connects this word with wine to be drunk (14:8, 10; 16:19), so the bowls' contents are pictured as a liquid poured out.
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Revelation 16:1 θυμοῦ wrath
Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go, pour out on the earth the seven bowls of God’s wrath.”
Here: Hot, intense anger. Elsewhere in Revelation it is pictured as wine in a cup (14:10; 16:19). It names what fills the bowls.
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Revelation 16:19 θυμοῦ fury
The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. And God remembered Babylon the great and gave her the cup of the wine of the fury of His wrath.
Here: The heat or intensity of anger. The same word in 14:8 and 18:3 means the heat of Babylon's 'passion' (her immorality), so her own heat is answered by God's.
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Revelation 18:3 θυμοῦ wrath
All the nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her immorality. The kings of the earth were immoral with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown wealthy from the extravagance of her luxury.”
Here: A hot, surging emotion. It is the intoxicating heat of Babylon's lure, and it also echoes 'the wine of God's wrath' (14:10; 16:19). The wine that seduces the nations is the same wine that brings judgment on them.
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Revelation 19:15 θυμοῦ fury
And from His mouth proceeds a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and He will rule them with an iron scepter. He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.
Here: Hot, surging anger. The same word was also used for the intoxicating 'heat' of strong wine, which may be part of the wordplay with 'wine'.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.