Proverbs 14:27
Reverent fear of the Lord is the life-giving source that delivers people from the snares of death.
27 The fear of Yahweh is a fountain of life, turning people from the snares of death.
Reverent fear of the Lord is the life-giving source that delivers people from the snares of death.
To teach that reverent fear of the Lord is the life-giving source that protects a person from destructive paths.
Proverbs 14 is a collection of concise sayings that repeatedly contrast wise and foolish paths and their outcomes. Verse 26 has just described the fear of the LORD as producing confidence and refuge; verse 27 deepens that same theme by shifting from "refuge" imagery to a "fountain"—a continuing supply of life. The second line adds the moral consequence of this Godward posture: it redirects a person away from lethal traps that are often unseen until they tighten. Within the chapter’s broader pattern, the proverb supports the recurring wisdom claim that choices have trajectories—toward life or toward death. The verse functions as both encouragement (there is a sustaining source of life) and warning (death has snares that catch the unwary).
Learners seeking wisdom in the fear of the LORD
The Fear of the LORD, the Way That Seems Right, and Wisdom for Household, Speech, and Community
Wisdom fears the LORD, discerns the way of life, builds households, speaks truth, shows kindness to the needy, and rejects the self-deceiving path that seems right but ends in death.