The fear of the Lord leads to life, And he who has it will abide in satisfaction; He will not be visited with evil.
Parallel translations
- WEB The fear of Yahweh leads to life, then contentment; he rests and will not be touched by trouble.
- KJV The fear of the LORD tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil.
- BSB The fear of the LORD leads to life, that one may rest content, without visitation from harm.
- NASB The fear of the Lord leads to life, So that one may sleep satisfied, untouched by evil.
- NLT Fear of the Lord leads to life, bringing security and protection from harm.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Reverent fear of the LORD leads to life, contentment, and security. Walking in the fear of God brings true rest.
Overview
This proverb teaches that the fear of Yahweh leads to life and satisfying contentment, so that one rests untouched by harm. It does not promise freedom from all trouble but a settled security in God for those who reverence Him. This deep rest is fulfilled in the gospel, where Christ gives life and peace, inviting the weary to find rest for their souls in Him (Matt. 11:28-29).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 23
- Matt 5:6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.
- Prov 14:26–27In the fear of Yahweh is a secure fortress, and he will be a refuge for his children.
- Isa 58:10–11and if you pour out your soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul: then your light will rise in darkness, and your obscurity will be as the noonday;
- Prov 12:21No mischief shall happen to the righteous, but the wicked shall be filled with evil.
- 1 Tim 4:8For bodily exercise has some value, but godliness has value in all things, having the promise of the life which is now, and of that which is to come.
- Heb 13:5–6Be free from the love of money, content with such things as you have, for he has said, “I will in no way leave you, neither will I in any way forsake you.”
- Ps 90:14Satisfy us in the morning with your loving kindness, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
- Phil 4:11–12Not that I speak in respect to lack, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content in it.
- Prov 10:27The fear of Yahweh prolongs days, but the years of the wicked shall be shortened.
- Mal 3:16–17Then those who feared Yahweh spoke one with another; and Yahweh listened, and heard, and a book of memory was written before him, for those who feared Yahweh, and who honored his name.
- Ps 103:17But Yahweh’s loving kindness is from everlasting to everlasting with those who fear him, his righteousness to children’s children;
- Ps 85:9Surely his salvation is near those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land.
- Ps 145:18–20Yahweh is near to all those who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.
- Ps 33:18–19Behold, Yahweh’s eye is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his loving kindness;
- 1 Tim 6:6–9But godliness with contentment is great gain.
- Ps 34:9–11Oh fear Yahweh, you his saints, for there is no lack with those who fear him.
- Rom 8:28We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose.
- Mal 4:2But to you who fear my name shall the sun of righteousness arise with healing in its wings. You will go out, and leap like calves of the stall.
- Ps 91:16I will satisfy him with long life, and show him my salvation.”
- Ps 19:9The fear of Yahweh is clean, enduring forever. Yahweh’s ordinances are true, and righteous altogether.
- Ps 25:13His soul shall dwell at ease. His offspring shall inherit the land.
- 2 Tim 4:18And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me for his heavenly Kingdom; to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
- Acts 9:31So the assemblies throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace, and were built up. They were multiplied, walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Wisdom personified, with God before creation and the agent of all things, anticipates Christ 'in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom' — the wisdom of God made flesh.
How Proverbs 19:23 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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