Tuesday, September 29, 2026 · Chapter 29
Cool Down Before You Blow Up
An angry man stirreth up strife, and a furious man aboundeth in transgression.
Proverbs 29:22
A man's pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit.
Proverbs 29:23
IThe Hebrew, opened up
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a man of nose — the Hebrew idiom for anger is a flaring nostril; picture him breathing hard before he even says a word (also H639)
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stirreth up — to provoke, to poke at, to meddle and agitate on purpose
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strife — ongoing contention, a fight that keeps going
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a master of chemah — a word that also means poison or venom; a “furious man” is owned by his own rage, not the other way around (also H2534)
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aboundeth — multiplies, piles up, keeps growing
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transgression — a willful rebellion, a crossing of a known line, not just a slip
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pride — a swelling up, majesty turned inward and claimed for yourself
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shall bring him low — to sink, to be brought down, a deliberate reversal
“A man of nose” is Hebrew’s picture for anger — the flare before the outburst. And chemah doubles as the word for venom: a furious man is literally poisoned by his own rage, and a poisoned man’s actions “multiply” sin, they don’t stay contained. Anger isn’t a one-time spark here — it’s described as something that breeds more of itself. Ga’avah is a swelling — something inflated past its real size. The verse doesn’t say pride might cost you; it says it will actively sink you, the same downward motion built into the word shaphel. Meanwhile the humble man doesn’t grab honour for himself — kabod comes and tamak, “holds him up,” from outside. You don’t build your own weight; you either inflate it and it pops, or you go low and something real holds you.
IIWhat this actually means
These two verses are one move, not two separate lessons. An angry man is a man who’s already decided his read on things is final — that’s pride wearing a red face. The blow-up and the swelled head come from the same root: thinking you’re too big to be told no, too right to be interrupted, too important to let it go. One version leaks out loud as strife. The other sits quiet until it gets knocked down. Both end the same way — lower than where they started.
IIIObey it today
When you feel your jaw tighten today — a text, a driver, a kid not listening — stop and take one slow breath before you respond. Don’t answer on the flare.
Before you push back hard on someone today, ask yourself “am I right, or am I just not used to being told no?” If it’s the second one, drop it.
Find one person today you’ve been giving the cold shoulder over pride and send them a plain, short text first. Not an apology essay — just “hey, let’s talk.”
PrayerGod, when I feel that flare come up today, slow me down before my mouth or my pride gets there first.
Keep this in your chest
“A man's pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit.”
Proverbs 29:22-23