Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief.
Parallel translations
- WEB Blessed is the man who always fears; but one who hardens his heart falls into trouble.
- BSB Blessed is the man who is always reverent, but he who hardens his heart falls into trouble.
- 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 23:17Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long.
- Ps 2:11Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
- Isa 66:2For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.
- Rom 11:20Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:
- Jer 32:40And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.
- 1 Pet 1:17And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:
- Heb 4:1Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.
- Prov 29:1He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.
- Ps 112:1Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments.
- Rom 2:4Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?
- Ps 95:8Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
- Job 9:4He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who hath hardened himself against him, and hath prospered?
- Ps 16:8I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
- Exod 7:22And the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments: and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, neither did he hearken unto them; as the LORD had said.
- Exod 14:23And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.
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 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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