Bible Strands
Proverbs 20:2
The terror of a king is like the roar of a lion; whoever provokes him forfeits his own life.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The book of Proverbs issues this as a direct instruction to a reader seeking prudent conduct. It follows a warning about wine and precedes advice on resolving disputes.
The words — אֵ֣ימַת ('Ei.mat) means terror, and נַ֣הַם (Na.ham) means roaring. These terms frame the king’s anger as a lethal, untamed force.
The thread — The warning about royal wrath appears in Proverbs 19:12 and Ecclesiastes 10:4. These passages similarly contrast the danger of a ruler’s anger with the value of calm response.
Why it lands — The text states that provoking a king forfeits one’s life. A reader must therefore exercise restraint and avoid confrontation with established authority.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
The fear of a king is as the roaring of a lion: whoso provoketh him to anger sinneth against his own soul.
Cross-references
- Proverbs 19:12 A king’s rage is like the roar of a lion, but his favor is like dew on the grass.
- Ecclesiastes 10:4 If the ruler’s temper flares against you, do not abandon your post, for calmness lays great offenses to rest.
- 1 Kings 2:23 Then King Solomon swore by the LORD: “May God punish me, and ever so severely, if Adonijah has not made this request at the expense of his life.
- Proverbs 8:36 But he who fails to find me harms himself; all who hate me love death.”
- Proverbs 16:14 The wrath of a king is a messenger of death, but a wise man will pacify it.
- Hosea 11:10 They will walk after the LORD; He will roar like a lion. When He roars, His children will come trembling from the west.
- Amos 3:8 The lion has roared—who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken—who will not prophesy?
- Habakkuk 2:10 You have plotted shame for your house by cutting off many peoples and forfeiting your life.
- Numbers 16:38 As for the censers of those who sinned at the cost of their own lives, hammer them into sheets to overlay the altar, for these were presented before the LORD, and so have become holy. They will serve as a sign to the Israelites.”