Blessed is the man who is always reverent, but he who hardens his heart falls into trouble.
Parallel translations
- WEB Blessed is the man who always fears; but one who hardens his heart falls into trouble.
- KJV Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief.
- NKJV Happy is the man who is always reverent, But he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity.
- NASB How blessed is the person who fears always, But one who hardens his heart will fall into disaster.
- NLT Blessed are those who fear to do wrong, but the stubborn are headed for serious trouble.
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
Those who reverently fear God are blessed, but the hard-hearted fall into trouble. It commends a tender, watchful heart over stubborn presumption.
Overview
Blessing rests on the one who maintains a holy, reverent fear of God, while hardening one's heart leads to calamity. The verse contrasts humble dependence with proud self-assurance. Scripture repeatedly warns against hardening the heart and calls us to a softened heart that hears God's voice in Christ today (Hebrews 3:15).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Prov 23:17Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always continue in the fear of the LORD.
- Ps 2:11Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
- Isa 66:2Has not My hand made all these things? And so they came into being,” declares the LORD. “This is the one I will esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, who trembles at My word.
- Rom 11:20That is correct: They were broken off because of unbelief, but you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid.
- Jer 32:40I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never turn away from doing good to them, and I will put My fear in their hearts, so that they will never turn away from Me.
- 1 Pet 1:17Since you call on a Father who judges each one’s work impartially, conduct yourselves in reverent fear during your stay as foreigners.
- Heb 4:1Therefore, while the promise of entering His rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be deemed to have fallen short of it.
- Prov 29:1A man who remains stiff-necked after much reproof will suddenly be shattered beyond recovery.
- Ps 112:1Hallelujah! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in His commandments.
- Rom 2:4Or do you disregard the riches of His kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you to repentance?
- Ps 95:8do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, in the day at Massah in the wilderness,
- Job 9:4God is wise in heart and mighty in strength. Who has resisted Him and prospered?
- Ps 16:8I have set the LORD always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
- Exod 7:22But the magicians of Egypt did the same things by their magic arts. So Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said.
- Exod 14:23And the Egyptians chased after them—all Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and horsemen—and followed them into the sea.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 28:14 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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