My son, fear the LORD and the king, and do not associate with the rebellious.
Parallel translations
- WEB My son, fear Yahweh and the king. Don’t join those who are rebellious:
- KJV My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change:
- NKJV My son, fear the Lord and the king; Do not associate with those given to change;
- NASB ¶My son, fear the Lord and the king; Do not get involved with those of high rank,
- NLT My child, fear the Lord and the king. Don’t associate with rebels,
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
Fear the LORD and honor the king; do not join the rebellious.
Overview
Wisdom links reverence for God with proper respect for legitimate authority, warning against joining those bent on rebellion. Reverence for God grounds and orders one's submission to earthly rulers. The New Testament echoes this, calling believers to fear God and honor those in authority (1 Pet. 2:17; Rom. 13:1).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Rom 13:1–7Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which is from God. The authorities that exist have been appointed by God.
- 1 Pet 2:13–17Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to the king as the supreme authority,
- 1 Kgs 12:16When all Israel saw that the king had refused to listen to them, they answered the king: “What portion do we have in David, and what inheritance in the son of Jesse? To your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, O David!” So the Israelites went home,
- Titus 3:1Remind the believers to submit to rulers and authorities, to be obedient and ready for every good work,
- 1 Sam 12:12–19But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was moving against you, you said to me, ‘No, we must have a king to rule over us’—even though the LORD your God was your king.
- Matt 22:21“Caesar’s,” they answered. So Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
- Exod 14:31When Israel saw the great power that the LORD had exercised over the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and believed in Him and in His servant Moses.
- Num 16:1–3Now Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath son of Levi, along with some Reubenites—Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth—conducted
- Eccl 8:2–5Keep the king’s command, I say, because of your oath before God.
- 1 Sam 8:5–7“Look,” they said, “you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king to judge us like all the other nations.”
- 1 Sam 24:6So he said to his men, “The LORD forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the LORD’s anointed. May I never lift my hand against him, since he is the LORD’s anointed.”
- 2 Sam 15:13–37Then a messenger came to David and reported, “The hearts of the men of Israel are with Absalom.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 24:21 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.