fear (also used as infinitive) · preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct
LORD
יְ֭הוָהYah.weh
H3068
Jehovah · proper noun, a title
strong
עֹ֑ז'Oz
H5797
strength in various applications (force · noun, common masculine singular absolute
confidence
מִבְטַחmiv.tach-
H4009
properly · noun, common masculine singular construct
children
וּ֝לְבָנָ֗יוu.le.va.Nav
H1121
a son (as a builder of the family name) · conjunction + preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
refuge
מַחְסֶֽהmach.Seh
H4268
a shelter (literally or figuratively) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Proverbs 19:23 The fear of the LORD tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil.
Jeremiah 32:39-40 And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them:
Psalms 115:13-14 He will bless them that fear the LORD, both small and great.
Proverbs 18:10 The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.
Proverbs 3:7-8 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.
Psalms 34:7-11 The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.
Psalms 112:1 Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments.
Malachi 3:16-18 Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written befor…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Proverbs 14:26-27
In these two verses we are invited and encouraged to live in the fear of God by the advantages which attend a religious life. The fear of the Lord is here put for all gracious principles, producing gracious practices. 1. Where this reigns it produces a holy security and serenity of mind. There is in it a strong confidence; it enables a man still to hold fast both his purity and his peace, whatever happens, and gives him boldness before God and the world. I know that I shall be justified - None of these things move me; such is the language of this confidence. 2. It entails a blessing upon posterity. The children of those that by faith make God their confidence shall be encouraged by the promi…
The blessings of piety descend to children (Pro 13:22; Pro 20:7; Exo 20:6).
John Gill on Proverbs 14:26
In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence,.... Such who fear the Lord may be confident that he has a love to them, a delight in them; that his eye is upon them, and his heart towards them; and will communicate every needful good to them, and protect and defend them: or the Lord himself that is feared, who is the object of fear, called the fear of Isaac, Genesis 31:42; he is a strong tower, a place of defence to those that fear him and trust in him, Proverbs 18:10;
and his children shall have a place of refuge; the children of God, as those that fear him are; the Lord is a place of refuge to them, from the avenger of blood, from the vindictive justice of God; from the storm and tempest of…
26 In the fear of Jahve lies a strong ground of confidence,
And the children of such an one have a refuge.
The so-called בּ essentiae stands here, as at Psa 68:5; Psa 55:19; Isa 26:4, before the subject idea; the clause: in the fear of God exists, i.e., it is and proves itself, as a strong ground of confidence, does not mean that the fear of God is something in which one can rely (Hitzig), but that it has (Pro 22:19; Jer 17:7, and here) an inheritance which is enduring, unwavering, and not disappointing in God, who is the object of fear; for it is not faith, nor anything else subjective, which is the rock that bears us, but this Rock is the object which faith lays hold of (cf. Isa 28:16). Is…
The Church Fathers
"The fear of the Lord is the hope of courage." When you fear the punishment that is threatened, you learn to love the reward that is promised; and thus through fear of punishment you keep on leading a good life, and by leading a good life you acquire a good conscience, so that finally through a good conscience you don't fear any punishment. Therefore, learn how to fear, if you don't want to be afraid.
In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence, etc. The fear of the Lord provides the confidence of strength, because indeed our mind more valiantly despises the terrors of temporal things as much as it submits itself more truly to their creator through strength. The sons of the fear of the Lord are those who are governed by divine fear, just as the sons of power and the sons of resurrection, those who are zealous for virtues, or who pertain to the joys of the resurrection, who will have hope, according to that saying of the Psalmist, Those who fear the Lord, hope in the Lord (Psalm CXIII). Of which hope he consequently adds:
In the way of God fear produces strength; as Solomon witnesses, who says, "In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence." For 'strong confidence' is said 'to be in the fear of the Lord,' in that, in truth, our mind so much the more valorously sets at nought all the terrors of temporal vicissitudes, the more thoroughly that it submits itself in fear to the Author of those same temporal things. And being stablished in the fear of the Lord, it encounters nothing without to fill it with alarm, in that whereas it is united to the Creator of all things by a righteous fear, it is by a certain powerful influence raised high above them all.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Adoption · SPIRITUAL — SPIRITUAL
Boldness · Of THE RIGHTEOUS — Of THE RIGHTEOUS
Faith · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Fear, Godly · Those who have: Confide in God — Those who have: Confide in God
Protection · Is vouchsafed to saints in: Providing a refuge for them — Is vouchsafed to saints in: Providing a refuge for them
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
This proverb states a general principle, even though fools sometimes have wealth (10:2; 11:18), and poverty is not always the result of foolishness (cp. 13:23; 16:8).
Rashi on Proverbs 14:26
In the fear of the Lord is a strong promise It is stated concerning Abraham (Gen. 22:12): “Now I know that you are a God-fearing man,” and He promised him: “For I will bless, you, etc.”
and he will be... for his sons He.
a shelter For they will take shelter and hide in the shadow of his merit.
