Greek word · G3710

ὀργίζω

orgizō

to anger

In the passive and middle forms: to become angry, be enraged, be provoked to anger. It comes from ὀργή (orgē), the general Greek word for anger, from a flash of temper to settled indignation. In Jewish Greek the same word group is also used of God's just anger against wrongdoing.

Appears 8 times in 8 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

ὀργίζω

(ὀργή), [in LXX chiefly for חָרָה, also for קָצַף, etc. ;]

to make angry, provoke to anger; in cl. most frequently in pass., and so always in NT, to be provoked to anger, be angry: absol., Matthew 18:34 22:7, Luke 14:21 15:28, Ephesians 4:26" (LXX), Revelation 11:18; with dative, Matthew 5:22; before ἐπί, with dative (3Ki.11:9, al.), Revelation 12:17 (cf. παρ-ὀργίζω).†

(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 Ephesians 4:26

Range of meaning

In the passive and middle forms: to become angry, be enraged, be provoked to anger. It comes from ὀργή (orgē), the general Greek word for anger, from a flash of temper to settled indignation. In Jewish Greek the same word group is also used of God's just anger against wrongdoing. Feeling anger is neither praised nor condemned by the word itself. Its moral weight comes from the context.

Against the English

"Be angry" (KJV, ESV, BSB, WEB) keeps the Greek imperative, but in modern English it sounds like an order to work yourself up. NIV's "In your anger" turns it into a circumstance ("when you are angry"). That is a defensible reading, but it hides the fact that the Greek is grammatically a command.

How it drifted

The word has not drifted much. The problem is the English imperative: modern readers take "Be angry!" only as an order. Greek, like Hebrew, often uses a pair of imperatives where the first sets up a situation and the second carries the real point ("be angry, and don't sin" ≈ "you may be angry, but don't sin").

Used elsewhere in the period

The clause ὀργίζεσθε καὶ μὴ ἁμαρτάνετε is quoted exactly from the Greek Old Testament of Psalm 4:4 (4:5 in Greek and Hebrew numbering). There the Hebrew has רִגְזוּ (rigzu), from רָגַז (ragaz), "to quake, tremble, be agitated" with fear, rage or distress (HALOT). The Greek translators read it as anger. Greek moralists argued about anger. Aristotle praised being angry "at the right things, with the right people, to the right degree" (Nicomachean Ethics 4.5). Stoics such as Seneca (On Anger) said it should be removed entirely. Paul's line sits nearer the realistic middle, but 4:31 still tells readers to put away all ὀργή.

From the study of Matthew 22:7

Range of meaning

To be angry or provoked; in the passive, to become angry. Its noun ὀργή (orgē) covers both personal anger and the settled, punitive anger of a ruler or of God against wrongdoing.

Against the English

BSB "was enraged", KJV/YLT "was wroth", WEB "was angry". "Enraged" can suggest a loss of self-control. The Greek simply marks the onset of anger, and the context makes it a ruler's justified response.

How it drifted

Modern English tends to treat anger as an emotional failure. In the ancient world a king who let envoys be murdered without responding would have lost his honor and his authority. His anger was expected and right.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Greek Old Testament, God's anger regularly comes before judgment on covenant-breaking Israel (e.g. 2 Kings 23:26; Psalm 106:40). In Matthew's other king-parable the king, "being angry" (ὀργισθείς), hands the unforgiving servant over to the jailers (18:34). In Luke's version of this parable the master of the house is also "angry" (Luke 14:21), but there his anger only leads to a wider invitation.

From the study of Matthew 5:22

Range of meaning

To be or become angry, to be enraged. The noun ὀργή (orgē) can mean a settled, purposeful anger that wants redress, while θυμός (thymos) leans more toward a flare of temper. The two often overlap. The present participle here describes a continuing state: 'the one who is angry' and stays angry.

Against the English

'Angry' is accurate. The bigger issue is the KJV/WEB phrase 'angry… without a cause', which narrows the target to unjustified anger. That phrase comes from a later textual addition (see εἰκῆ in the textual notes).

How it drifted

Not drift in the English word itself. The KJV tradition's 'without a cause' has shaped centuries of teaching that the verse forbids only unjustified anger.

Used elsewhere in the period

Anger was a major theme of ancient moral teaching. Jewish wisdom: Sir 1:22 ('unjust anger cannot be justified'); Sir 27:30–28:7 ('anger and wrath, these also are abominations'); Testament of Dan 1–6, which treats anger as a spirit that blinds. At Qumran, the Community Rule (1QS 5:25–6:1) forbids speaking to a fellow member 'in anger' or harbouring hatred, and 1QS 6:24–7:9 sets graded penalties for insulting or angry speech against fellow members. Greco-Roman moralists discussed the same subject at length (Seneca, On Anger; Plutarch, On Controlling Anger).

Where it appears

Matthew · 3

  1. Matthew 5:22 ὀργιζόμενος is being angry with

    But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ will be subject to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be subject to the fire of hell.

    Here: A present participle, so the anger is ongoing: someone who keeps being angry and holds it against his brother, not just a passing flash of feeling. It is set in parallel with the murderer of v. 21.

  2. Matthew 18:34 ὀργισθεὶς having been angry

    In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should repay all that he owed.

    Here: 'Having become angry.' It deliberately mirrors v.27, where the same master, 'moved with compassion' (splanchnistheis, the same verb form), cancelled the debt. Compassion has turned to anger, and the servant's own conduct has caused the change.

  3. Matthew 22:7 ὠργίσθη, was angry,

    The king was enraged, and he sent his troops to destroy those murderers and burn their city.

    Here: A passive form used for a change of state: "he became angry" or "his anger was roused". It is a ruler's justified anger at an insult and at the murder of his envoys, and it leads straight into a judicial and military response.

Luke · 2

  1. Luke 14:21 ὀργισθεὶς having become angry

    The servant returned and reported all this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the city, and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’

    Here: 'Having become angry.' This is a host whose honour has been publicly insulted by his peers. The anger is not sulking. It drives the decision that follows.

  2. Luke 15:28 ὠργίσθη He was angry

    The older son became angry and refused to go in. So his father came out and pleaded with him.

    Here: Aorist passive form. Greek uses this form for falling into a feeling, not for being acted on, so it means 'he became angry, he flared up', not 'he was made angry'. It is the son's instant reaction to the servant's news in v.27.

Ephesians · 1

  1. Ephesians 4:26 ὀργίζεσθε do be angry

    “Be angry, yet do not sin.” Do not let the sun set upon your anger,

    Here: Present imperative, plural, word for word from Psalm 4:4 in the Greek Old Testament. It means "be angry" or "get angry", and it can be read as a command, as permission, or as "when you are angry". The tense pictures anger as something that happens to people more than once, not a single outburst.

Revelation · 2

  1. Revelation 11:18 ὠργίσθησαν, were enraged,

    The nations were enraged, and Your wrath has come. The time has come to judge the dead and to reward Your servants the prophets, as well as the saints and those who fear Your name, both small and great—and to destroy those who destroy the earth.”

    Here: 'Were enraged', a past-tense summary of their hostile uprising. It sets up a pun with the next clause: the nations got angry, then God's anger arrived.

  2. Revelation 12:17 ὠργίσθη was angry

    And the dragon was enraged at the woman and went to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea.

    Here: 'He flew into a rage'. The aorist passive here describes the anger flaring up at a point in time. It is the dragon's reaction to failing twice: the child was snatched up to God (12:5) and the woman was rescued (12:14–16).

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.