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Read the Bible

Good News Translation

Proverbs 24:21

-30-

Have reverence for the Lord , my child, and honor the king. Have nothing to do with people who rebel against them;

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Character;   Citizens;   Fear of God;   Instability;   Loyalty;   Young Men;   Thompson Chain Reference - Citizens, Duties of;   Civic Duties;   Duties;   Instability;   Nation;   Nation, the;   Steadfastness-Instability;   The Topic Concordance - Fear;   Government;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Children;   Kings;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Fear;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Pardon;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Proverbs, the Book of;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Proverbs, Book of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Greek Versions of Ot;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Commandment;  

Encyclopedias:

- The Jewish Encyclopedia - Patriotism;  

Devotionals:

- Every Day Light - Devotion for December 22;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
My son, fear the Lord, as well as the king,and don’t associate with rebels,
Hebrew Names Version
My son, fear the LORD and the king. Don't join those who are rebellious:
King James Version
My son, fear thou the Lord and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change:
English Standard Version
My son, fear the Lord and the king, and do not join with those who do otherwise,
New American Standard Bible
My son, fear the LORD and the king; Do not get involved with those of high rank,
New Century Version
My child, respect the Lord and the king. Don't join those people who refuse to obey them.
Amplified Bible
My son, fear the LORD and the king; And do not associate with those who are given to change [of allegiance, and are revolutionary],
World English Bible
My son, fear Yahweh and the king. Don't join those who are rebellious:
Geneva Bible (1587)
My sonne feare the Lord, and the King, and meddle not with them that are sedicious.
Legacy Standard Bible
My son, fear Yahweh and the king;Do not associate with those who change,
Berean Standard Bible
My son, fear the LORD and the king, and do not associate with the rebellious.
Contemporary English Version

-30-

My children, you must respect the Lord and the king, and you must not make friends with anyone who rebels against either of them.
Complete Jewish Bible
My son, don't get involved with revolutionaries, but fear Adonai and the king.
Darby Translation
My son, fear Jehovah and the king: meddle not with them that are given to change.
Easy-to-Read Version
Son, respect the Lord and the king, and don't join with those who are against them,
George Lamsa Translation
My son, fear the LORD and give good counsel; and meddle not with the fools;
Lexham English Bible
Fear Yahweh, my son, and the king; with those who change, do not associate.
Literal Translation
My son, fear Jehovah and the king; do not meddle with those who change,
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
My sonne, feare thou ye LORDE & ye kinge, & kepe no copany wt ye slaunderous:
American Standard Version
My son, fear thou Jehovah and the king; And company not with them that are given to change:
Bible in Basic English
My son, go in fear of the Lord and the king: have nothing to do with those who are in high positions:
JPS Old Testament (1917)
My son, fear thou the LORD and the king, and meddle not with them that are given to change;
King James Version (1611)
My sonne, feare thou the Lord, and the king: and medle not with them that are giuen to change.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
My sonne, feare thou the Lorde and the kyng, and kepe no company with them that slide backe [from his feare:]
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
My son, fear God and the king; and do not disobey either of them.
English Revised Version
My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change:
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
My sone, drede thou God, and the kyng; and be thou not medlid with bacbiteris.
Update Bible Version
My son, fear Yahweh and the king; [And] don't company with those that are given to change:
Webster's Bible Translation
My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: [and] meddle not with them that are given to change:
New English Translation
Fear the Lord , my child, as well as the king, and do not associate with rebels,
New King James Version
My son, fear the LORD and the king; Do not associate with those given to change;
New Living Translation
My child, fear the Lord and the king. Don't associate with rebels,
New Life Bible
My son, fear the Lord and the king. Have nothing to do with those who are given to change.
New Revised Standard
My child, fear the Lord and the king, and do not disobey either of them;
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Revere thou Yahweh, my son, and the king, and, with the fickle, have thou no fellowship;
Douay-Rheims Bible
My son, fear the Lord, and the king: and have nothing to do with detractors.
Revised Standard Version
My son, fear the LORD and the king, and do not disobey either of them;
Young's Literal Translation
Fear Jehovah, my son, and the king, With changers mix not up thyself,
THE MESSAGE
30 Fear God , dear child—respect your leaders; don't be defiant or mutinous. Without warning your life can turn upside down, and who knows how or when it might happen? It's wrong, very wrong, to go along with injustice. Whoever whitewashes the wicked gets a black mark in the history books, But whoever exposes the wicked will be thanked and rewarded. An honest answer is like a warm hug. First plant your fields; then build your barn. Don't talk about your neighbors behind their backs— no slander or gossip, please. Don't say to anyone, "I'll get back at you for what you did to me. I'll make you pay for what you did!" One day I walked by the field of an old lazybones, and then passed the vineyard of a lout; They were overgrown with weeds, thick with thistles, all the fences broken down. I took a long look and pondered what I saw; the fields preached me a sermon and I listened: "A nap here, a nap there, a day off here, a day off there, sit back, take it easy—do you know what comes next? Just this: You can look forward to a dirt-poor life, with poverty as your permanent houseguest!"
New American Standard Bible (1995)
My son, fear the LORD and the king; Do not associate with those who are given to change,

Contextual Overview

21

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Have reverence for the Lord , my child, and honor the king. Have nothing to do with people who rebel against them;
22 such people could be ruined in a moment. Do you realize the disaster that God or the king can cause?

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

fear: Exodus 14:31, 1 Samuel 24:6, Ecclesiastes 8:2-5, Matthew 22:21, Romans 13:1-7, Titus 3:1, 1 Peter 2:13-17

meddle: Numbers 16:1-3, 1 Samuel 8:5-7, 1 Samuel 12:12-19, 2 Samuel 15:13-37, 1 Kings 12:16

given to change: Heb. changers

Reciprocal: Joshua 4:14 - they feared him 2 Samuel 18:7 - a great 2 Samuel 20:1 - he blew 2 Samuel 20:12 - General 1 Kings 1:53 - Go to 1 Kings 3:28 - feared 1 Chronicles 29:20 - worshipped Proverbs 18:1 - intermeddleth Proverbs 20:19 - meddle Mark 12:17 - Render Luke 20:25 - Render Romans 13:7 - fear to Ephesians 5:21 - in 1 Timothy 2:2 - that 1 Peter 2:17 - Fear

Cross-References

Genesis 24:1
Abraham was now very old, and the Lord had blessed him in everything he did.
Genesis 24:6
Abraham answered, "Make sure that you don't send my son back there!
Genesis 24:7
The Lord , the God of heaven, brought me from the home of my father and from the land of my relatives, and he solemnly promised me that he would give this land to my descendants. He will send his angel before you, so that you can get a wife there for my son.
Genesis 24:12
He prayed, " Lord , God of my master Abraham, give me success today and keep your promise to my master.
Genesis 24:18
She said, "Drink, sir," and quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder and held it while he drank.
Genesis 24:20
She quickly emptied her jar into the animals' drinking trough and ran to the well to get more water, until she had watered all his camels.
Genesis 24:56
But he said, "Don't make us stay. The Lord has made my journey a success; let me go back to my master."
Psalms 107:1
"Give thanks to the Lord , because he is good; his love is eternal!"
Psalms 107:8
They must thank the Lord for his constant love, for the wonderful things he did for them.
Psalms 107:15
They must thank the Lord for his constant love, for the wonderful things he did for them.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

My son, fear thou the Lord, and the king,.... First the Lord, and then the king; and such as fear the Lord are generally loyal to their king; the fear of God includes love to him, reverence of him, faith in him, submission to him, and the whole worship of him, inward and outward, attended with holiness of life and conversation: and the king, who is under God, is to be feared also, with a fear suitable to him; he is to be loved and reverenced, to be trusted in and submitted to, in everything consistent with the fear of God and obedience to him; in whatever is not contrary to his laws, commands, and ordinances; see 1 Peter 2:13;

[and] meddle not with them that are given to change; in political things; that are for new laws, new forms of government, a new ministry, and a new king; never easy with the government under which they are, but are continually entering into plots, conspiracies, and rebellions, who, instead of fearing God and the king, change the laws and commandments of God and the king, and therefore to be shunned. Some render it, "with rebels"; the Targum and Syriac version, "with fools"; as all such persons are, and should be avoided as scandalous and dangerous: mix not with them, as the word s signifies; keep no company, and have no conversation with them, lest you be brought into danger and mischief by them. Or who are given to change in religious things; make innovations in doctrine and practice, always love to hear or say some now thing; turn with every wind, and shift as that does; are tossed about with every wind of doctrine, fickle and inconstant, carried about like meteors in the air, with "divers and strange doctrines"; such as disagree with the perfections of God, the doctrines of Christ and his apostles, the Scriptures of truth, the analogy of faith, anti form of sound words; and so the word here used signifies "divers", and is so rendered Esther 3:8; and may design such who hold doctrines and give into practices divers and different from the faith once delivered to the saints, and from the institutions and appointments of Christ; innovations in doctrine and worship ought not to be admitted of; and such who are for introducing them should not be meddled or mixed with; they should not be countenanced and encouraged; they should not be attended upon or given heed unto; have no fellowship, and join not in communion with them. This is interpreted by some of such who repeat t their sins after repentance, or who return a second time to their wickedness after they have repented, as Ben Melech observes.

s אל תתערב "ne misceas te", Pagninus, Montanus; "ne commisceto te", Junius Tremellius, Piscator, so Michaelis, Schultens. t עם שונים "cum iterantibus", Pagninus, Montanus "sub iniquitates suas"; so some in Vatablus, Baynus.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Them that are given to change - Those that seek to set aside the worship of the true God, or the authority of the true king, who represents Him.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Proverbs 24:21. My son, fear thou the Lord and the king — Pay to each the homage due: to the LORD, Divine honour and adoration; to the king, civil respect, civil honour, and political obedience.

Meddle not with them that are given to change — עם שונים אל תתערב im shonim al titharab: "And with the changelings mingle not thyself." The innovators; those who are always for making experiments on modes of government, forms of religion, &c. The most dangerous spirit that can infect the human mind.


 
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