Proverbs 24:21

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Proverbs 24:19–23 · Berean Standard Bible

19 Do not fret over evildoers, and do not be envious of the wicked.

20 For the evil man has no future; the lamp of the wicked will be extinguished.

21 My son, fear the LORD and the king, and do not associate with the rebellious.

22 For they will bring sudden destruction. Who knows what ruin they can bring?

23 These also are sayings of the wise: To show partiality in judgment is not good.

Hebrew words

Data created by STEPBible.org based on work at Tyndale House Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

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Cross-references

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge lists these related verses. Scripture text comes from the Berean Standard Bible.

Exodus 14:31

When Israel saw the great power that the LORD had exercised over the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and believed in Him and in His servant Moses.

1 Samuel 24:6

So he said to his men, “The LORD forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the LORD’s anointed. May I never lift my hand against him, since he is the LORD’s anointed.”

Ecclesiastes 8:2

Keep the king’s command, I say, because of your oath before God.

Ecclesiastes 8:3

Do not hasten to leave his presence, and do not persist in a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases.

Ecclesiastes 8:4

For the king’s word is supreme, and who can say to him, “What are you doing?”

Ecclesiastes 8:5

Whoever keeps his command will come to no harm, and a wise heart knows the right time and procedure.

Matthew 22:21

“Caesar’s,” they answered. So Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

Romans 13:1

Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which is from God. The authorities that exist have been appointed by God.

Romans 13:2

Consequently, whoever resists authority is opposing what God has set in place, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.

Romans 13:3

For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the one in authority? Then do what is right, and you will have his approval.

Romans 13:4

For he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not carry the sword in vain. He is God’s servant, an agent of retribution to the wrongdoer.

Romans 13:5

Therefore it is necessary to submit to authority, not only to avoid punishment, but also as a matter of conscience.

Romans 13:6

This is also why you pay taxes. For the authorities are God’s servants, who devote themselves to their work.

Romans 13:7

Pay everyone what you owe him: taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.

Titus 3:1

Remind the believers to submit to rulers and authorities, to be obedient and ready for every good work,

1 Peter 2:13

Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to the king as the supreme authority,

1 Peter 2:14

or to governors as those sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right.

1 Peter 2:15

For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorance of foolish men.

1 Peter 2:16

Live in freedom, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.

1 Peter 2:17

Treat everyone with high regard: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.

Numbers 16:1

Now Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath son of Levi, along with some Reubenites—Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth—conducted

Numbers 16:2

a rebellion against Moses, along with 250 men of Israel renowned as leaders of the congregation and representatives in the assembly.

Numbers 16:3

They came together against Moses and Aaron and told them, “You have taken too much upon yourselves! For everyone in the entire congregation is holy, and the LORD is in their midst. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?”

1 Samuel 8:5

“Look,” they said, “you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king to judge us like all the other nations.”

1 Samuel 8:6

But when they said, “Give us a king to judge us,” their demand was displeasing in the sight of Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD.

1 Samuel 8:7

And the LORD said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you. For it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected Me as their king.

1 Samuel 12:12

But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was moving against you, you said to me, ‘No, we must have a king to rule over us’—even though the LORD your God was your king.

1 Samuel 12:13

Now here is the king you have chosen, the one you requested. Behold, the LORD has placed a king over you.

1 Samuel 12:14

If you fear the LORD and serve Him and obey His voice, and if you do not rebel against the command of the LORD, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the LORD your God, then all will be well.

1 Samuel 12:15

But if you disobey the LORD and rebel against His command, then the hand of the LORD will be against you as it was against your fathers.

1 Samuel 12:16

Now, therefore, stand and see this great thing that the LORD will do before your eyes.

1 Samuel 12:17

Is it not the wheat harvest today? I will call on the LORD to send thunder and rain, so that you will know and see what a great evil you have committed in the sight of the LORD by asking for a king.”

1 Samuel 12:18

So Samuel called to the LORD, and on that day the LORD sent thunder and rain. As a result, all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel.

1 Samuel 12:19

They pleaded with Samuel, “Pray to the LORD your God for your servants so that we will not die! For we have added to all our sins the evil of asking for a king.”

2 Samuel 15:13

Then a messenger came to David and reported, “The hearts of the men of Israel are with Absalom.”

2 Samuel 15:14

And David said to all the servants with him in Jerusalem, “Arise and let us flee, or we will not escape from Absalom! We must leave quickly, or he will soon overtake us, heap disaster on us, and put the city to the sword.”

2 Samuel 15:15

The king’s servants replied, “Whatever our lord the king decides, we are your servants.”

2 Samuel 15:16

Then the king set out, and his entire household followed him. But he left behind ten concubines to take care of the palace.

2 Samuel 15:17

So the king set out with all the people following him. He stopped at the last house,

2 Samuel 15:18

and all his servants marched past him—all the Cherethites and Pelethites, and six hundred Gittites who had followed him from Gath.

2 Samuel 15:19

Then the king said to Ittai the Gittite, “Why should you also go with us? Go back and stay with the new king, since you are both a foreigner and an exile from your homeland.

2 Samuel 15:20

In fact, you arrived only yesterday; should I make you wander around with us today while I do not know where I am going? Go back and take your brothers with you. May the LORD show you loving devotion and faithfulness.”

2 Samuel 15:21

But Ittai answered the king, “As surely as the LORD lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king may be, whether it means life or death, there will your servant be!”

2 Samuel 15:22

“March on then,” said David to Ittai. So Ittai the Gittite marched past with all his men and all the little ones who were with him.

2 Samuel 15:23

Everyone in the countryside was weeping loudly as all the people passed by. And as the king crossed the Kidron Valley, all the people also passed toward the way of the wilderness.

2 Samuel 15:24

Zadok was also there, and all the Levites with him were carrying the ark of the covenant of God. And they set down the ark of God, and Abiathar offered sacrifices until the people had passed out of the city.

2 Samuel 15:25

Then the king said to Zadok, “Return the ark of God to the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the LORD, He will bring me back and let me see both it and His dwelling place again.

2 Samuel 15:26

But if He should say, ‘I do not delight in you,’ then here I am; let Him do to me whatever seems good to Him.”

2 Samuel 15:27

The king also said to Zadok the priest, “Are you not a seer? Return to the city in peace—you with your son Ahimaaz, and Abiathar with his son Jonathan.

2 Samuel 15:28

See, I will wait at the fords of the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.”

2 Samuel 15:29

So Zadok and Abiathar returned the ark of God to Jerusalem and stayed there.

2 Samuel 15:30

But David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went up. His head was covered, and he was walking barefoot. And all the people with him covered their heads and went up, weeping as they went.

2 Samuel 15:31

Now someone told David: “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” So David pleaded, “O LORD, please turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness!”

2 Samuel 15:32

When David came to the summit, where he used to worship God, Hushai the Archite was there to meet him with his robe torn and dust on his head.

2 Samuel 15:33

David said to him, “If you go on with me, you will be a burden to me.

2 Samuel 15:34

But you can thwart the counsel of Ahithophel for me if you return to the city and say to Absalom: ‘I will be your servant, my king; in the past I was your father’s servant, but now I will be your servant.’

2 Samuel 15:35

Will not Zadok and Abiathar the priests be there with you? Report to them everything you hear from the king’s palace.

2 Samuel 15:36

Indeed, their two sons, Ahimaaz son of Zadok and Jonathan son of Abiathar, are there with them. Send them to me with everything you hear.”

2 Samuel 15:37

So David’s friend Hushai arrived in Jerusalem just as Absalom was entering the city.

1 Kings 12:16

When all Israel saw that the king had refused to listen to them, they answered the king: “What portion do we have in David, and what inheritance in the son of Jesse? To your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, O David!” So the Israelites went home,