Proverbs 24:21

Hebrew Bible

19 Do not fret because of evil people or be envious of wicked people, 20 for the evil person has no future, and the lamp of the wicked will be extinguished. 21 Fear the Lord, my child, as well as the king, and do not associate with rebels, 22 for suddenly their destruction will overtake them, and who knows the ruinous judgment both the Lord and the king can bring? 23 These sayings also are from the wise: To show partiality in judgment is terrible:

1 Peter 2:17

New Testament

15 For God wants you to silence the ignorance of foolish people by doing good. 16 Live as free people, not using your freedom as a pretext for evil, but as God’s slaves. 17 Honor all people, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the king. 18 Slaves, be subject to your masters with all reverence, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are perverse. 19 For this finds God’s favor, if because of conscience toward God someone endures hardships in suffering unjustly.

 Notes and References

"... The contrast of first and last clauses indicates that the initial command to honor all implies such honor is not to be reserved for the mighty; 107 no creature of God is unworthy of it, whatever his or her station in pagan society. 108 The identification of the Christian community as aoE1upor7Js, a word otherwise not used in the New Testament, points to the new familial relationship among believers, and hence for the necessity of love to prevail (compare 1:22; 4:8). In the command to revere God, the author employs a verb that, except when used in a quotation in 3:14, he uses exclusively in relation to God. The repetition of the verb in relation to the emperor is also based on Christian tradition and reflects the order of commands in Proverbs 24:21, but with the specific omission of the command to "fear the king" found there. 11 3 The change, hardly for reasons simply of style, may well reflect a rise in emperor worship in Asia Minor 115 and certainly represents a different, and devalued, understanding of imperial authority than that found in Romans 13:1-7 ..."

Achtemeier, Paul J. 1 Peter: A Commentary on First Peter (p. 188) Fortress Press, 1996

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