A fool declares his whole anger,
but the wise reserves it in part.
Proverbs 29:11 (NETS)

If you see a man hasty in speech,
be sure there is more hope for a fool than for him.
Proverbs 29:20 (NETS)

Are you quick to show your teeth?

Consider Gideon. You know the story of Gideon and his three hundred men well. After they had pursued the Midianites, the men of Ephraim came to Gideon. With Midian defeated, there would be new land and plunder, and they didn't want left out.

"Why have you done this thing to us, not to call us when you were setting out to fight against Madiam?" And they disputed with him forcefully. And he said to them, "What have I done now as you have? Are not the gleanings of the grapes of Ephraim better things than the vintage of Abiezer? God has given up in your hand the commanders of Madiam, Oreb and Zeeb, and what have I been able to do as you have?" And they desisted. Then their spirit abated because of him, when he spoke his word.
Judges 8:1-3 (NETS)

Gideon could have jumped to defend himself, but he showed restraint. He didn't explode at them. Being hot tempered is always wrong. He was wise, and the result was peace.

The fool isn't like that. He announces his anger to everyone. And, unfortunately, a few verses later, Gideon did show his teeth when he cut to pieces the men of Succoth with thorns and briers and broke down the tower of Penuel (8:7-21).

In the New Testament, James said in 3:13-18

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. (NKJV)

We've got to remember to not let everything in our heads flow out of our mouths. The fool shoots first and asks questions later. There is nothing wrong with waiting to give a response, even waiting a day or longer. That's wisdom.

Chazah (see, 29:20) is stronger than merely observing. Solomon was telling his son, "Hey, check it out! Come here, I want you to see something." In Psalm 11:4, David said, "The Lord is in his holy shrine; the Lord's throne is in heaven. His eyes focus [chazah] on the needy; his eyelids examine the sons of men." (NETS) Solomon was training his son and wanted to give him a real example of what he was about to teach him. (Hey, dads, this is a good pattern for us). I believe he wanted his son to see and observe this hasty man. But I think there was still more there than closely observing and studying someone. I believe he wanted his son to keep a "sharp eye" for that kind so he could avoid him.

Someone who is hasty disregards the consequences of his actions. He does not reflect first on what he is about to do.

Again, James said in 3:5-8:

Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.(NKJV)

How long is your tongue? Can you cut your own throat with it? Once your words are out, cannot pull them back in.

I was playing Lego Star Wars with my son one day, and there was some task we had tried five or six times and always some little mistake made me fail at it. Finally, I cussed. I immediately told him that what I had said was wrong, I should not have said it, and apologized.

About a week or so later, I was tucking him into bed. You may know that my wife has been setting many Proverbs to music and teaching the songs to our children. Well, Ethan asked me why I say bad words. I couldn't remember when I had, but he reminded me of the Lego game. I told him I had said it without thinking. Then he quoted this verse to me:

Do you see a man hasty in his words?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.

He said, "Dad, if you are hasty in your words, then there's more hope for a fool than for you. And you have to be careful with what you say, because I want to be just like you but I don't want to say bad words." Rebuke taken.