Proverbs 24:21
My son, dread thou God, and the king; and be thou not meddled with backbiters. (My son, fear thou God or have thou reverence for God, and the king; and be thou not mixed in, or mingled, with backbiters.)
Wycliffe Modern Spelling
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
Cross References
Exodus 14:31and they saw the great hand, or power / or might, which the Lord had used against the Egyptians; and the people dreaded the Lord, and they believed to the Lord, and to Moses his servant. (and they saw the great power, or the great might, which the Lord had used against the Egyptians; and the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord, and in his servant Moses.)
1 Samuel 8:5And they said to him, Lo! thou hast waxed eld, and thy sons go not in thy ways; ordain thou a king to us, that he deem us, as also all other nations have. (And they said to him, Behold! thou hast grown old, and thy sons do not go in thy ways; ordain thou a king for us, so that he can judge, or can rule, us, like all the other nations have.)
1 Samuel 24:6And David said to his men, The Lord be merciful to me, lest I do this thing to my lord, the anointed of the Lord, or that I send mine hand on him, for he is the christ of the Lord. (And David said to his men, The Lord forbid that I do this to my lord, who is the Lord’s anointed, or that I put my hand against him, for he is the Lord’s anointed.)
2 Samuel 18:8And the battle was scattered there upon the face of all the land, and many more were of the people which the forest wasted, than they which the sword devoured in that day. (And the battle there was scattered over all the countryside, and the forest killed many more people that day, than they whom the sword devoured.)
1 Kings 12:16Then the people saw, that the king would not hear them, and the people answered to the king, and said, What part is to us in David, either what heritage in the son of Jesse? Israel, turn thou again into thy tabernacles; now, David, see thou (to) thine house. And Israel went into his tabernacles. (Then the people saw that the king would not listen to them, and the people answered to the king, and said, What part is for us with David, or what inheritance with the son of Jesse? Israel, return thou to thy homes; and David, see thou to thy own house. And the people of Israel went back to their homes.)
Proverbs 23:17(Let) Thine heart follow not sinners; but be thou in the dread of the Lord all day (or but be thou in the fear of the Lord or with reverence for 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 →