What Does Proverbs 14:27 Mean in the King James?
The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
Awe of the LORD is not another snare; it is the living source that opens a way away from death’s traps.
THE MEANING
Awe of the LORD is a living source for you now, drawing you away from what ensnares and leads toward death. The verse presents turning aside as something that flows from this source of life.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It dissolves the belief that awe of God is itself a trap: here it is a fountain of life that leads away from death’s snares.
THE ROOT
יִרְאַת
yir'at
GROWS FROM
ירא
To fear, revere, or stand in awe.
This root holds fear and awe together; with the LORD as its object, the verse speaks of awe rather than a threat that traps you. That awe is named as a fountain of life.
ALSO GROWS
yir'ah: Fear, reverence, or awe.
יִרְאָה
This noun shares the verse’s root and shows that its “fear” carries the sense of reverent awe.
nora: Awe-inspiring or fearsome.
נוֹרָא
This related form shows how the root can describe what inspires awe, illuminating the verse’s focus on the LORD.
חַיִּים
chayyim
GROWS FROM
חיה
To live, be alive, or revive.
The root is active: it means living, not merely possessing an abstract “life.” Its branches name living beings and the act of living, so the fountain here sustains what is alive.
ALSO GROWS
chai: Living or alive.
חַי
This branch makes the verse’s “life” concrete: what flows from the source is living.
chayyah: A living creature.
חַיָּה
This branch extends the root from the state of being alive to the living being itself.
chayah: To live or remain alive.
חָיָה
The verb shows life as ongoing activity, fitting the image of a fountain that keeps flowing.
THE PATTERN
Life flows from connection with God and turns the reader away from what leads to death.
For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.THE THREAD
For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.Proverbs’ “fountain of life” and the psalm’s “fountain of life” share the Hebrew phrase מְקוֹר חַיִּים (meqor chayyim). The psalm locates that source with God, opening the proverb’s image of awe as a path that turns you from death’s snares.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us