Is this Bible verse a mistranslation?

[Jazzy]

Is the Bible verse, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom", a mistranslation? It makes no sense to me that we should fear the Lord.

 

[Messy]

What is "The Fear of the Lord"? - Emmanuel Community Church

The fear of the Lord is an important image central to biblical faith found all throughout Scripture. Unfortunately, it is far too often misunderstood

eccelmira.org

In the Psalms we see that fearing the Lord means to stand in awe of the living God (Ps. 33:8), to glorify him (Ps. 22:3), and to trust him wholeheartedly (Ps. 40:3). Those who fear the Lord receive his steadfast love (Ps. 103:17) and experience friendship with God (Ps 25:14)! In the book of Proverbs the fear of the Lord is a continual submission to God in humility and faith (Prov. 23:17) and consists of a hatred of evil and the desire to turn away from it (Prov. 8:13; 16:6). Fearing God is better than all earthly treasures (Prov. 15:16) and leads to greater love for and knowledge of God (Prov. 1:29; 2:5; 9:10; 15:33), confidence (Prov. 14:26), satisfaction, and protection (Prov. 19:23). It is safe to say that fearing the Lord is virtually synonymous for having saving faith in God and responding in obedience to him.

When Isaiah prophecies about the coming Messianic King who would have the Spirit resting on him, the result is that “his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord” (Isaiah 11:2-3; cf. John 4:34). His greatest desire and satisfaction would be trusting and obeying the Lord. In other words, pleasing God and putting him first would not be a burden.

In the later New Testament letters, fear of the Lord clearly becomes fear of Christ (Col. 3:22-24) and is the basis of Christian behavior (Eph. 5:21). In 1 Peter 3:14–15 the apostle alludes to Isaiah 8:13-14: ‘But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy.”

Understood biblically, then, the way we fear the Lord is by believing in Jesus Christ, acknowledging him as God, joyfully obeying him, and trusting him with our lives completely.

Oh in Ephesians 5:21 it says reverence.

 

[Lamb]

It's not a mistranslation. The Law of the Lord is good and holy and when we realize how far we are from being able to be holy, we fear the consequences. Thankfully, Christians have the Gospel, which is that Jesus fulfilled the law for us since He is the pure lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. So while the Law tells us to fear, the Gospel tells us to fear not.

 

[Josiah]

It's not a mistranslation. The Law of the Lord is good and holy and when we realize how far we are from being able to be holy, we fear the consequences. Thankfully, Christians have the Gospel, which is that Jesus fulfilled the law for us since He is the pure lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. So while the Law tells us to fear, the Gospel tells us to fear not.

What @Lamb said....

There IS a sense in which we need to view God both from Law and Gospel - and in a sense, the Law needs to come first. We know we are a "poor and miserable sinner" (to use some historical and liturgical language, LOL) and that all we DESERVE is temporal and eternal punishment and damnation. FEAR. For the unbeliever, that's all there is (although the Devil will do his best to convince him otherwise; "... did God REALLY say?").

BUT we Christians have something more, something additional ... we have the Gospel, we have Christ, who redeemed us and saved us (not just made it possible to save ourselves IF we do x,y,z). And that changes our relationship to God... we can see God through the Gospel as well. So we can "fear and love God" as the Bible says.



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[Ammi]

Once while I was at a Christian retreat, the leader said this about the word fear. He said that when the King James bible was written, if a boy was to say that he feared his father, people would think that he respected his father, but that if the boy was to say that today, child protective services might be called.
500 years ago, the word fear meant revere, respect. He went on to say that the word fear doesn't mean the same thing today, and that modern translations could've changed the word, but didn't. The word fear is used in a few different contexts in the bible. Sometimes it means what you think it means.

 

[Josiah]

SADLY...

In much of contemporary Christianity, God is seen exclusively as a cuddily teddy bear, all Love and no Justice... all Gospel and no Law. The ultimate Golden Retriever.

The result is that there is the near disappearance of the word "sin" in much of contemporary music and worship.
The result is the near disappearance of "repentance" in modern worship and churches. It's just disappeared.
The result is a general Christian belief that there is no hell, everyone goes to heaven.
The result is the surveys that show many Christians are now universalists.

We end up with a Christless Christianity.



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[Ammi]

Different Kinds Of Fear

1. natural - warning of danger. Hebrews 12:21
2. demonic - 2 Timothy 1:7, 1 John 4:18
3. religious - following rules and regulations to get to heaven. - Isaiah 29:13b
4. God's judgements - Psalm 119:120 solution is repentance and obedience.
5. fear of man - Proverbs 29:25
6. fear of the Lord - in this context, fear means great respect, awe, and reverence.* - Proverbs 9:10

*The original Hebrew meaning in the O.T. and the original Greek meaning in the N.T.

 

[Odë:hgöd]

.
For some folks, fright is the only motivation that works.

● Luke 12:4-5 . . And I say unto you my friends; be not afraid of them that kill the
body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom
you shall fear: fear Him, which after He has killed has power to cast into Hell; yes, I
say unto you: fear him.

● Heb 4:1 . . Let us fear lest, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one
of you should seem to have come short of it.

I would imagine that the scene depicted by Rev 20:11-15 is going to be very
disturbing as folks will be screaming, shrieking, sobbing, and howling like wounded
dogs as they're dragged off to a mode of death akin to a foundry worker falling into
a kettle of molten iron.
_

 

[Lamb]

.
For some folks, fright is the only motivation that works.

● Luke 12:4-5 . . And I say unto you my friends; be not afraid of them that kill the
body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom
you shall fear: fear Him, which after He has killed has power to cast into Hell; yes, I
say unto you: fear him.

● Heb 4:1 . . Let us fear lest, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one
of you should seem to have come short of it.

I would imagine that the scene depicted by Rev 20:11-15 is going to be very
disturbing as folks will be screaming, shrieking, sobbing, and howling like wounded
dogs as they're dragged off to a mode of death akin to a foundry worker falling into
a kettle of molten iron.
_

Fear doesn't bring faith. The Gospel does.

 

[Odë:hgöd]

.
Jesus didn't teach an entirely new thought in Mark 9:43-48. Some of it was
introduced in the Old Testament something like 700 years prior to his birth.

"From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will
come and bow down before Me: says The Lord. And they will go out and look upon
the dead bodies of those who rebelled against Me; their worm will not die, nor will
their fire be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind." (Isa 66:23-24)

FAQ: Do you not know it is the kindness of God that leads people to repentance rather
than fear and threats of fiery justice? (Rom 2:4)

REPLY: If the Bible's God weren't so kind, He wouldn't bother with giving His
creatures advance notice of the horror in store for them in the afterlife.

For example: when I was working as a professional welder for the US Army Corps
of Engineers, we had weekly and monthly safety meetings wherein we were shown
some grisly photographs of real life industrial accidents involving burns, chain saws,
punctured eyes, explosions, falls, crane collapses, suffocation, crushing, and the
like.

Let me tell you: those safety meetings got our attention, and really made a sharp
distinction between the fool and the wise.

● Prov 22:3 . . A prudent person foresees the danger ahead and takes precautions;
the simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.

A Danger Foreseen;
Is Half-Avoided.
(Cheyenne Proverb)
_

 

[Odë:hgöd]

.

Fear doesn't bring faith.

I'm a big chicken so fear works on me, but of course it doesn't work on everybody
because maybe there's something wrong with their amygdala, or maybe they're
one of those stubborn types who'd rather suffer in Hell than be dominated in
Heaven, or maybe they just tend to ignore things like storm warnings and the
hazards of tobacco.

But you know; fear, though it be a negative emotion, isn't always a bad thing.

Fear of rattlesnakes will save you from dying by snake bite. Fear of electrocution
will keep you from fiddling with live wires. Fear of liver failure will prevent you from
eating wild toad stools. Fear of drowning will make you wear a flotation device
when out boating. Fear of poverty will motivate you to learn a marketable skill.
Fear of death and injury will make you look both ways when crossing a street.

Fear of burns will make you keep your hands off a hot stove. Fear of prison will
make you obey the law and select your companions with care so you don't go down
with them when they commit crimes. Fear of losing your best friend will make you
treat them with respect and courtesy. Fear of old age will make your think about a
retirement plan.

There's a lesson to take from Aesop's ant and the grasshopper. The ant got ready
for the future and the grasshopper didn't so that when lean times came, the ant
fared very well-- the grasshopper; not so good.
_

 

[Odë:hgöd]

.

The Romans whipped Jesus to within an inch of his life, slapped him around,
crowned him with thorns, and drove nails into his hands and his feet. But that was
child's play compared to what God did. By the time those hours of darkness around
the cross lifted; Christ's own mother would have trouble recognizing him.

● Isa 52:14-15 . . there were many who were appalled at him-- his appearance was
so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness
--thus will he sprinkle many nations.

The thing is: if God would do that to His own next of kin, what might He have in
store for folks indifferent to its purpose?
_

 

[Lamb]

.


I'm a big chicken so fear works on me, but of course it doesn't work on everybody
because maybe there's something wrong with their amygdala, or maybe they're
one of those stubborn types who'd rather suffer in Hell than be dominated in
Heaven, or maybe they just tend to ignore things like storm warnings and the
hazards of tobacco.

But you know; fear, though it be a negative emotion, isn't always a bad thing.

Fear of rattlesnakes will save you from dying by snake bite. Fear of electrocution
will keep you from fiddling with live wires. Fear of liver failure will prevent you from
eating wild toad stools. Fear of drowning will make you wear a flotation device
when out boating. Fear of poverty will motivate you to learn a marketable skill.
Fear of death and injury will make you look both ways when crossing a street.

Fear of burns will make you keep your hands off a hot stove. Fear of prison will
make you obey the law and select your companions with care so you don't go down
with them when they commit crimes. Fear of losing your best friend will make you
treat them with respect and courtesy. Fear of old age will make your think about a
retirement plan.

There's a lesson to take from Aesop's ant and the grasshopper. The ant got ready
for the future and the grasshopper didn't so that when lean times came, the ant
fared very well-- the grasshopper; not so good.
_

But fear isn't what turns the Old Adam into the New Adam. That can only come from the Gospel.

 

[Albion]

Is the Bible verse, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom", a mistranslation? It makes no sense to me that we should fear the Lord.

Of course we should fear the Lord. But it's not because he isn't merciful. After all, He became one of his own creatures and died a painful death on Earth in order for us to escape from the just rewards of our evil deeds. However, the notion that God is good like your grandmother and will wink at any wrong you do, since, after all, He's nice...is nothing but what people would like God to be, i.e. a patsy.

Disabusing humans of that kind of thinking is exactly what some of those verses are getting at.

The thing is: if God would do that to His own next of kin, what might He have in
store for folks indifferent to its purpose?

By "next of kin" I assume you are referring to Jesus Christ, who IS God. Knowing that truth may lead you to reassess your view of the matter.

 

[Odë:hgöd]

.
When I underwent the spirit birth spoken of by John 3:3-8, I simultaneously
underwent an act of God that gave me something new. (2Cor 5:17, Gal
6:15, Eph 2:10)

However, it wasn't until I underwent the divine adoption process that I was
placed among God's posterity. (Gal 4:5, Eph 1:5)

Well; I'm not actually God's paternal offspring like Jesus is, but I'm content to
be one of His son's siblings no matter how I got there.
_

 

[Ammi]

"The reverential awe and respect of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" would be a more accurate translation, I would think. The King James didn't make a mistake when they used the word fear, it's just that over time the meaning of the word has changed.
Jesus didn't say, "If you are afraid of me, you'll obey me." However, He did say, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments." - John 14:15
"Jesus replied, 'If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.'"
- John 14:23
"There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment. The one who fears has not been perfected in love."
- 1 John 4:18
Our Father supernaturally revealed His love for me to me in 1994. I had turned back to Him, sought Him, found Him, and I haven't walked away from Him since. Nor has He left me. "You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart." - Jeremiah 29:13
When I stumbled, the Lord led me to this: "For though a righteous man may fall seven times, he still gets up; but the wicked stumble in bad times." - Proverbs 24:16
When I was reading God's word and saw that in the light of His wisdom, I was a fool in many ways, He led me to this" "Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him. - Proverbs 26:12
I had to work at studying the word until I understood it well enough to not feel condemned when I read certain parts of it. This took years. It then lined up with what He'd shown me. Good news? It's great news!
If being afraid of God gets someone into the kingdom, that's great. It's just that for me, it's His love for me and my almost instantaneous response to this love that has kept me. I couldn't help but love Him back. He is that wonderful. Shalom.

 

[Albion]

.
When I underwent the spirit birth spoken of by John 3:3-8, I simultaneously
underwent an act of God that gave me something new. (2Cor 5:17, Gal
6:15, Eph 2:10)

However, it wasn't until I underwent the divine adoption process that I was
placed among God's posterity. (Gal 4:5, Eph 1:5)

I don't see any reason for separating those two.

Well; I'm not actually God's paternal offspring like Jesus is, but I'm content to
be one of His son's siblings no matter how I got there.
_

That would be nice, if true, but of course we are not the equals of Jesus who was God in the flesh, so we need to be careful when using that language.