My son, fear the Lord, as well as the king, and don’t associate with rebels,

我儿，你要敬畏耶和华与君王，不要与反复无常的人结交，

我儿啊，你要敬畏耶和华与君王，不可结交反覆无常的人，

我儿啊，你要敬畏耶和华与君王，不可结交反覆无常的人，

孩子啊，要敬畏耶和华和君王，不要跟反复无常之徒为伍。

我儿，你要敬畏耶和华，也要尊敬君王；不要与叛逆的人结交。

我儿啊，你当敬畏耶和华和君王，不要与逆反的人结交！

我兒，你要敬畏耶和華與君王，不要與反覆無常的人結交，

我兒啊，你要敬畏耶和華與君王，不可結交反覆無常的人，

我兒啊，你要敬畏耶和華與君王，不可結交反覆無常的人，

孩子啊，要敬畏耶和華和君王，不要跟反復無常之徒為伍。

我兒，你要敬畏耶和華，也要尊敬君王；不要與叛逆的人結交。

弟子啊，你要敬畏永恆主，敬畏君王；不可激怒此二者；

我兒啊，你當敬畏耶和華和君王，不要與逆反的人結交！

我子、宜敬畏耶和華與王、好更張者、勿與之交、

爾小子、宜畏耶和華而尊王、勿交厭故喜新之人。

我子、當畏主而尊王、勿與叛逆之人交、

Fear the Lord and the king, my son, and do not join with rebellious officials,

My son, have respect for the Lord and the king. Don’t join with officials who disobey them.

My son, fear the Lord and the king, and do not join with those who do otherwise,

My child, fear the Lord and the king. Don’t associate with rebels,

My son, fear the LORD, as well as the king, and don’t associate with rebels,

My son, fear the Lord and the king; Do not get involved with those of high rank,

My son, fear the Lord and the king; Do not associate with those given to change;

My son, fear thou Jehovah and the king; And company not with them that are given to change:

My son, fear thou the LORD and the king:[ and] meddle not with them that are given to change:

Fear the LORD, my child, as well as the king, and do not associate with rebels,

My son, fear Yahweh and the king. Don’t join those who are rebellious;

Everyone must submit to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist are instituted by God.So then, the one who resists the authority is opposing God’s command, and those who oppose it will bring judgment on themselves.For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have its approval.For government is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, because it does not carry the sword for no reason. For government is God’s servant, an avenger that brings wrath on the one who does wrong.Therefore, you must submit, not only because of wrath, but also because of your conscience.And for this reason you pay taxes, since the authorities are God’s public servants, continually attending to these tasks.Pay your obligations to everyone: taxes to those you owe taxes, tolls to those you owe tolls, respect to those you owe respect, and honor to those you owe honor.

Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work,

Submit to every human authority because of the Lord, whether to the Emperor as the supreme authorityor to governors as those sent out by him to punish those who do what is evil and to praise those who do what is good.For it is God’s will that you silence the ignorance of foolish people by doing good.As God’s slaves, live as free people, but don’t use your freedom as a way to conceal evil.Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the Emperor.

Now Korah son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took250 prominent Israelite men who were leaders of the community and representatives in the assembly, and they rebelled against Moses.They came together against Moses and Aaron and told them,“ You have gone too far! Everyone in the entire community is holy, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the Lord’s assembly?”

But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was coming against you, you said to me,‘ No, we must have a king rule over us’— even though the Lord your God is your king.“ Now here is the king you’ve chosen, the one you requested. Look, this is the king the Lord has placed over you.If you fear the Lord, worship and obey Him, and if you don’t rebel against the Lord’s command, then both you and the king who rules over you will follow the Lord your God.However, if you disobey the Lord and rebel against His command, the Lord’s hand will be against you and against your ancestors.“ Now, therefore, present yourselves and see this great thing that the Lord will do before your eyes.Isn’t the wheat harvest today? I will call on the Lord and He will send thunder and rain, so that you will know and see what a great evil you committed in the Lord’s sight by requesting a king for yourselves.”Samuel called on the Lord, and on that day the Lord sent thunder and rain. As a result, all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.They pleaded with Samuel,“ Pray to the Lord your God for your servants, so we won’t die! For we have added to all our sins the evil of requesting a king for ourselves.”

Then an informer came to David and reported,“ The hearts of the men of Israel are with Absalom.”David said to all the servants with him in Jerusalem,“ Get up. We have to flee, or we will not escape from Absalom! Leave quickly, or he will soon overtake us, heap disaster on us, and strike the city with the edge of the sword.”The king’s servants said to him,“ Whatever my lord the king decides, we are your servants.”Then the king set out, and his entire household followed him. But he left behind 10 concubines to take care of the palace.So the king set out, and all the people followed him. They stopped at the last housewhile all his servants marched past him. Then all the Cherethites, the Pelethites, and the Gittites— 600 men who came with him from Gath— marched past the king.The king said to Ittai the Gittite,“ Why are you also going with us? Go back and stay with the new king since you’re both a foreigner and an exile from your homeland.Besides, you only arrived yesterday; should I make you wander around with us today while I go wherever I can? Go back and take your brothers with you. May the Lord show you kindness and faithfulness.”But in response, Ittai vowed to the king,“ As the Lord lives and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king is, whether it means life or death, your servant will be there!”“ March on,” David replied to Ittai. So Ittai the Gittite marched past with all his men and the children who were with him.Everyone in the countryside was weeping loudly while all the people were marching past. As the king was crossing the Kidron Valley, all the people were marching past on the road that leads to the desert.Zadok was also there, and all the Levites with him were carrying the ark of the covenant of God. They set the ark of God down, and Abiathar offered sacrifices until the people had finished marching past.Then the king instructed Zadok,“ Return the ark of God to the city. If I find favor in the Lord’s eyes, He will bring me back and allow me to see both it and its dwelling place.However, if He should say,‘ I do not delight in you,’ then here I am— He can do with me whatever pleases Him.”The king also said to Zadok the priest,“ Look, return to the city in peace and your two sons with you: your son Ahimaaz and Abiathar’s son Jonathan.Remember, I’ll wait at the fords of the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.”So Zadok and Abiathar returned the ark of God to Jerusalem and stayed there.David was climbing the slope of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he ascended. His head was covered, and he was walking barefoot. Each of the people with him covered their heads and went up, weeping as they ascended.Then someone reported to David:“ Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.”“ Lord,” David pleaded,“ please turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness!”When David came to the summit where he used to worship God, Hushai the Archite was there to meet him with his robe torn and dust on his head.David said to him,“ If you go away with me, you’ll be a burden to me,but if you return to the city and tell Absalom,‘ I will be your servant, my king! Previously, I was your father’s servant, but now I will be your servant,’ then you can counteract Ahithophel’s counsel for me.Won’t Zadok and Abiathar the priests be there with you? Report everything you hear from the king’s palace to Zadok and Abiathar the priests.Take note: their two sons, Zadok’s son Ahimaaz and Abiathar’s son Jonathan, are there with them. Send me everything you hear through them.”So Hushai, David’s personal adviser, entered Jerusalem just as Absalom was entering the city.

He said to his men,“ I swear before the Lord: I would never do such a thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed. I will never lift my hand against him, since he is the Lord’s anointed.”

Keep the king’s command because of your oath made before God.Do not be in a hurry; leave his presence, and don’t persist in a bad cause, since he will do whatever he wants.For the king’s word is authoritative, and who can say to him,“ What are you doing?”The one who keeps a command will not experience anything harmful, and a wise heart knows the right time and procedure.

When Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and believed in Him and in His servant Moses.

They said to him,“ Look, you are old, and your sons do not follow your example. Therefore, appoint a king to judge us the same as all the other nations have.”When they said,“ Give us a king to judge us,” Samuel considered their demand sinful, so he prayed to the Lord.But the Lord told him,“ Listen to the people and everything they say to you. They have not rejected you; they have rejected Me as their king.

When all Israel saw that the king had not listened to them, the people answered him: What portion do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. Israel, return to your tents; David, now look after your own house! So Israel went to their tents,

“ Caesar’s,” they said to Him. Then He said to them,“ Therefore give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”