My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change:
Parallel translations
- WEB My son, fear Yahweh and the king. Don’t join those who are rebellious:
- BSB My son, fear the LORD and the king, and do not associate with the rebellious.
- 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 13:1–7Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
- 1 Pet 2:13–17Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme;
- 1 Kgs 12:16So when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David. So Israel departed unto their tents.
- Titus 3:1Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work,
- 1 Sam 12:12–19And when ye saw that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon came against you, ye said unto me, Nay; but a king shall reign over us: when the LORD your God was your king.
- Matt 22:21They say unto him, Caesar’s. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.
- Exod 14:31And Israel saw that great work which the LORD did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD, and his servant Moses.
- Num 16:1–3Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men:
- Eccl 8:2–5I counsel thee to keep the king’s commandment, and that in regard of the oath of God.
- 1 Sam 8:5–7And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.
- 1 Sam 24:6And he said unto his men, The LORD forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the LORD’s anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the LORD.
- 2 Sam 15:13–37And there came a messenger to David, saying, The hearts of the men of Israel are after 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.