Is anger towards your brother fundamentally reprehensible?

Deutsch

Are you generally not allowed to be angry with your brother, or are you, but only justified? A verse in Matthew, translated variously. The solution to the puzzle comes from looking at Jesus Christ.

Is anger fundamentally reprehensible?

A rather controversial verse in the Bible can be found in Matthew chapter 5. In verse 22, Jesus Christ warns not to be angry with your brother, otherwise you yourself will be subject to judgment. The controversial or sticking point in the basic Greek text concerns only one word, “εικη” (“without reason”, “without reason”). This word is included in the majority text (textus receptus) and the Bibles, which adhered to the textus receptus (Stephanos 1550), also took this word into account in the translation.

This includes, for example, the German Schlachter 2000:
“But I say to you, everyone who is angry with his brother without cause will be liable to judgment. But whoever says to his brother, ‘Raka!’, he will be liable to judgment. Whoever but say: You fool! he will be condemned to the fire of hell.“

and also the English King James Version 1611:
“But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.”

Newer Bibles see it differently

Modern translations use the “scientifically” revised basic text by Nestle and Aland. The textus sinaiticus, which was only found in 1844, also serves as a basis here. In their translations, the restriction “without reason” is missing in Matthew 5:22, such as the following examples (translated from German):

Matthew 5:22 (Luther 2017)
“But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother is guilty of judgment; but whoever says to his brother, You worthless, is guilty of judgment; but whoever says, You fool! is guilty of judgment guilty of infernal fire.“

Matthew 5:22 (Hope for All)
“But I say to you, anyone who is angry with his fellow human beings deserves to be tried. Whoever says to him: ‘You idiot!’ he belongs to the Sanhedrin, and whoever curses him deserves it , to be thrown into the fire of hell.“

Matthew 5:22 (Good News Bible 2018)
“But I say to you: Whoever is angry with his brother or sister[9] belongs in court. Whoever says to his brother or sister, “You idiot,” belongs in the highest court. And whoever… Saying to your brother or sister, “Go to the devil,” belongs in the fire of hell.“

Matthew 5:22 (New Evangelistic Translation)
“But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother belongs to the court. But whoever says to his brother, “Idiot,” he belongs to the Sanhedrin.[3] And whoever says to him, “You idiot !’, belongs in the fire of hell.“

Matthew 5:22 (Standard Translation 2016)
“But I say to you, everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the sentence of the council; but whoever says to him, ‘You fool!’ , is said to have fallen into the fire of hell.“

Matthew 5:22 (New Life. The Bible)
“But I say: even the one who is angry with someone will be condemned! Whoever says to his friend, ‘You fool!’, the judgment awaits him. And whoever curses someone[6] is threatened with the fire of hell.“

“New Life. The Bible” adds a footnote noting that “some manuscripts add .”

Discrepancy has been known for a long time

The modern translations thus suggest that one should not be angry with one’s brother in principle, while the Bibles, according to the textus receptus, contain the condition of a reason.

The Catholic “Church Father” Sophronius Eusebius Hieronymus (347-420) already made such a note that other writings contained the word “groundless”. He translated the Bible into the Latin Vulgate, but took the compilation of the Septuagint (LXX – Info) as a model. A collection of writings prepared by 72 scholars from the Alexandria area in the 3rd century BC. These Hellenistic-influenced scholars also translated the Hebrew/Aramaic scriptures (now the Old Testament) into Greek.

Jerome on Matthew 5:22:
“It seems that it cannot be permissible to be angry […] Some codes add ‘without reason’. However, in the real codes the phrase is unqualified and anger is forbidden entirely.“

Apparently, based on the modern versions of the Bible, and especially those recognized by the Roman Catholic Church, an agreement has been reached to brand anger entirely as a transgression. This fit “wonderfully” with the propagated “love for all” among a peacefully united human family. For this purpose, the “love commandments of Jesus” are simply disconnected from the 10 commandments (Info).

Jesus Christ as an example

How the “anger” towards his brother actually works, whether the textus receptus is correct or the modern versions, can best be verified by looking at Jesus Christ himself. How did Jesus Christ, the shining example of faith for humanity, behave in some situations?

The most famous scene with a rather “unpeaceful” Jesus Christ is the cleaning of the temple. Jesus even made himself a whip for this purpose. Matthew 21:12-13:
“And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.“

Jesus drove everyone out, but did not accompany them out by hand. Jesus overturned the tables and chairs, but did not gently place them in a horizontal position. Everything looks more like an angry act than a gentle instruction.

In Matthew 23, Jesus Christ gives the Pharisees a lecture. The whole series of accusations introduced with “you hypocrites” doesn’t exactly indicate a calm tone. Jesus Christ also visibly lost his temper in Matthew 17:17:
“O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you?“

“Without reason” is more believable

Paul himself proves the causeless anger by purifying his behavior as “Saul” towards the first Christians, Acts 26:11:
“And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities.“

There is therefore some evidence that Jesus Christ did become emotional and flared up, which can also be called anger. But these were all justified. For this reason, greater credence can be given to Matthew 5:22’s statement that anger toward a brother “without cause” leads to condemnation.

Bible verses from King James Version (1611)