My child, fear the Lord and the king. Don’t associate with rebels,
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:
- 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,
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 in subjection to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those who exist are ordained by God.
- 1 Pet 2:13–17Therefore subject yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether to the king, as supreme;
- 1 Kgs 12:16When all Israel saw that the king didn’t listen to them, the people answered the king, saying, “What portion have we in David? We don’t have an inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, Israel! Now see to your own house, David.” So Israel departed to their tents.
- Titus 3:1Remind them to be in subjection to rulers and to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work,
- 1 Sam 12:12–19“When you saw that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon came against you, you said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us;’ when Yahweh your God was your king.
- Matt 22:21They said to him, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Give therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
- Exod 14:31Israel saw the great work which Yahweh did to the Egyptians, and the people feared Yahweh; and they believed in Yahweh, and in his servant Moses.
- Num 16:1–3Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took some men.
- Eccl 8:2–5I say, “Keep the king’s command!” because of the oath to God.
- 1 Sam 8:5–7They said to him, “Behold, you are old, and your sons don’t walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.”
- 1 Sam 24:6He said to his men, “Yahweh forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, Yahweh’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, since he is Yahweh’s anointed.”
- 2 Sam 15:13–37A messenger came 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.