What Does Proverbs 29:25 Mean in the King James?
The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.
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
Trust in the LORD lifts a person beyond reach, while fear of people sets a snare.
THE MEANING
Fear of another person can seem like protection, yet it tightens into a trap. Trust in the LORD places you on high, beyond the snare’s reach. The verse speaks wherever another person’s approval or threat begins to govern your sense of safety.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that fear of people keeps you safe; the verse names that fear itself as a snare.
THE ROOT
יְשֻׂגָּב
yesuggav
GROWS FROM
שגב
sagab
To be high, exalted, or beyond reach.
The word rendered “safe” carries the image of being lifted to a high place beyond danger’s reach. Safety here is not merely calm; it is elevation out of the snare’s grasp.
ALSO GROWS
sagab: To be high or exalted; to be inaccessible.
שָׂגַב
This verb shares the seed of the verse’s word for being safe: protection is pictured as being raised beyond reach.
misgav: A high refuge or stronghold.
מִשְׂגָּב
The same root names refuge as a raised stronghold, giving the verse’s safety a spatial image.
בֹּטֵחַ
boteach
GROWS FROM
בטח
batach
To trust, feel secure, or rely confidently.
Trust here is placed in the LORD, and the same root also gives words for security. The verse joins reliance with a state of safety rather than leaving trust as a thought alone.
ALSO GROWS
batach: To trust or feel secure.
בָּטַח
This is the verb from which the verse’s “trust” grows.
betach: Security; securely or safely.
בֶּטַח
This related form makes visible how trust and security belong to the same Hebrew word-family.
חֶרְדַּת
ḥerdat
GROWS FROM
חרד
charad
To tremble or shudder with alarm.
The fear named here is not only an idea about people; its root carries the sense of trembling. The verse shows that this disturbance can fasten a person to a snare.
ALSO GROWS
charad: To tremble or quake with fear.
חָרַד
The verb gives the bodily force beneath the verse’s word for fear.
charadah: Trembling, terror, or alarm.
חֲרָדָה
This related noun shows fear as a state of agitation, which the verse connects with being caught.
THE PATTERN
Fear of human power becomes a trap, while refuge in the LORD loosens its hold.
The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass;So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.THE THREAD
The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.Both verses use the root שגב (sagab), “to be high or beyond reach,” for the safety found in the LORD. Proverbs 18:10 pictures that safety as a high tower; Proverbs 29:25 says the one who trusts in the LORD is lifted high.
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