Proverbs 16:32 (WEB)

Passage

One who is slow to anger is better than the mighty; one who rules his spirit, than he who takes a city.

Nearby Context

Proverbs 16:30 One who winks his eyes to plot perversities, one who compresses his lips, is bent on evil.

Proverbs 16:31 Gray hair is a crown of glory. It is attained by a life of righteousness.

Proverbs 16:32 One who is slow to anger is better than the mighty; one who rules his spirit, than he who takes a city.

Proverbs 16:33 The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from Yahweh.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "Spirit", "slow", "anger", "better", "than", "mighty", and "rules". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "Spirit" and "slow", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 31's "Gray hair is a crown of glory..." into verse 33's "The lot is cast into the lap...", so "Spirit" and "slow" belong inside that flow. In Proverbs context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "Spirit" and "slow" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.