Proverbs 22:24

Proverbs 22:24, in plain English

Stay away from people who are controlled by anger; don't let them become your close circle of friends.

Why it's here

You're living in a world where relationships shape who you become. An angry person doesn't just have a bad mood—they're unstable, unpredictable, and their influence seeps into everyone around them. Choosing friendships wisely was a matter of self-preservation and character.

Who's speaking

Solomon, teaching you about the power of proximity and influence

Where it sits in the story

This reflects a theme running through all of Proverbs: you become like the people you spend time with. It connects to the larger biblical story about how holiness isn't isolated—it's relational and influenced by community.

The scholarly reading

Avoid friendships and close association with chronically angry or hot-tempered people, whose volatility poses a threat to your own stability.

Language and setting

The Hebrew term אַנְשֵׁי־חֵמָה (anshe-chema, literally 'men of wrath') and בַּעַל־חֵמוֹת (ba'al-chemot, 'master of wraths') denote those characterized by explosive temperament. In the honor-shame culture of the ancient Near East, association with such individuals could damage one's own reputation and entangle one in their destructive conflicts. The prohibition reflects practical social psychology: character is partly formed through relational contagion.

Voice

The wisdom teacher, employing the classical sapential method of warning through consequence rather than command alone.

Significance

This inaugurates a section (verses 24-27) addressing the theme of entanglement and loss—how one's social choices and financial commitments can bind one to catastrophic outcomes. It reflects the biblical understanding that we are fundamentally relational beings whose choices ripple outward.

22Do not rob a poor man because he is poor, and do not crush the afflicted at the gate,

23for the LORD will take up their case and will plunder those who rob them.

24Do not make friends with an angry man, and do not associate with a hot-tempered man,

25or you may learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare.

26Do not be one who gives pledges, who puts up security for debts.

Read all of Proverbs 22 — A good name is more desirable than great riches. Train up a child in the way he should go. Proverbs that have shaped civilizations.