Proverbs 20:2

2 Fear an angry king as you would a growling lion; making him angry is suicide.

Proverbs 20:2 Meaning and Commentary

Proverbs 20:2

The fear of a king [is] as the roaring of a lion
The wrath and displeasure of a king, which causes fear; see ( Proverbs 19:12 ) ; kings should be terrors to evil works and workers, though not to good ones, ( Romans 13:3 ) . This is true of the King of kings, who one day will be terrible to the drunkards, the mockers, and murderers of his people, before spoken of; [whoso] provoketh him to anger sinneth [against] his own soul;
he exposes his life to danger: the Targum supplies it as we do. It may be rendered, his "soul sinneth" ^F1; he is guilty of sin, as well as is in danger of punishment; see ( Proverbs 8:36 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F1 (wvpn ajwx) .

Proverbs 20:2 In-Context

1 Drinking too much makes you loud and foolish. It's stupid to get drunk.

2 Fear an angry king as you would a growling lion; making him angry is suicide.

3 Any fool can start arguments; the honorable thing is to stay out of them.

4 A farmer too lazy to plow his fields at the right time will have nothing to harvest.

5 A person's thoughts are like water in a deep well, but someone with insight can draw them out.