Proverbs Chapter 24 verse 21 Holy Bible
My son, fear thou Jehovah and the king; `And' company not with them that are given to change:
read chapter 24 in ASV
My son, go in fear of the Lord and the king: have nothing to do with those who are in high positions:
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My son, fear Jehovah and the king: meddle not with them that are given to change.
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My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change:
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read chapter 24 in WBT
My son, fear Yahweh and the king. Don't join those who are rebellious:
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Fear Jehovah, my son, and the king, With changers mix not up thyself,
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Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerses 21, 22. - An injunction urging loyalty to God and the king. Verse 21. - Fear thou the Lord and the king. The king is God's vicegerent and representative, and therefore to be honoured and obeyed (see Ecclesiastes 8:2; Ecclesiastes 10:20; 1 Peter 2:17). Meddle not with them that are given to change. There is some doubt about the intepretation of the last word שׁונִים (shonim), which may mean those who change, innovators (in which transitive sense the verb does not elsewhere occur), or those who think differently, dissidents, who respect neither God nor the king. The verb שָׁנָה signifies transitively "to repeat," and intransitively "to be changed;" so it may be most accurately translated here, with Delitzsch, "those who are otherwise disposed," who have not the proper sentiments of fear and honour for God and the king. St. Jerome has, Et cum detractoribus non commiscearis, by which word he probably means what we call revolutionists, persons who disparage and despise all authority. Septuagint, "Fear God and the king, and disobey neither of them." The verse has been largely used as a text by preachers who desired to recommend loyalty and to censure disaffection and rebellion. It has been a favourite motto for discourses on the Gunpowder Treason and the execution of Charles I.
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(21) Them that are given to change.--Perhaps rather, those who think differently.
