Proverbs 24:21
My son, fear the Lord, as well as the king. And do not mingle with detractors.
Catholic Public Domain Version
In The King James Version
My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change:
In Context
20For the evil hold no hope in the future, and the lamp of the impious will be extinguished.
22For their perdition shall rise up suddenly. And who knows what ruin will be for each of them?
Cross References
Exodus 14:31And they saw the Egyptians dead on the shore of the sea and the great hand that the Lord had exercised against them. And the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in Moses his servant.
1 Samuel 8:5And they said to him: “Behold, you are elderly, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Appoint for us a king, so that he may judge us, just as all the nations have.”
1 Samuel 24:6After this, his own heart struck David, because he had cut off the edge of Saul’s cloak.
2 Samuel 18:8Now the battle in that place was dispersed over the face of all the land. And there were many more of the people whom the forest had consumed, than the sword had devoured, on that day.
1 Kings 12:16And so the people, seeing that the king had not been willing to listen to them, responded to him, saying: “What part do we have in David? Or what inheritance do we have in the son of Jesse? Go to your own tents, O Israel. Now David, see to your own house.” And Israel went away to their own tents.
Proverbs 23:17Let not your heart compete with sinners. But be in the fear of the Lord all day long.
Matthew Henry on Proverbs 24:20-21
19 Fret not thyself because of evil men, neither be thou envious at the wicked; 20 For there shall be no reward to the evil man; the candle of the wicked shall be put out. Here, 1. He repeats the caution he had before given against envying the pleasures and successes of wicked man in their wicked ways. This he quotes from his father David, Ps. xxxvii. 1 . We must not in any case fret ourselves, or make ourselves uneasy, whatever God does in his providence how disagreeable soever it is to our sentiments, interests,… Read the whole commentary →