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

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、

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

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;

Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended.For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing.Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good,

Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority,or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right.For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people.Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover- up for evil; live as God’s slaves.Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.

Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and certain Reubenites— Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth— became insolentand rose up against Moses. With them were 250 Israelite men, well-known community leaders who had been appointed members of the council.They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron and said to them,“ You have gone too far! The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is with them. Why then do you set yourselves above the Lord’s assembly?”

“ But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was moving against you, you said to me,‘ No, we want a king to rule over us’— even though the Lord your God was your king.Now here is the king you have chosen, the one you asked for; see, the Lord has set a king over you.If you fear the Lord and serve and obey him and do not rebel against his commands, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the Lord your God— good!But if you do not obey the Lord, and if you rebel against his commands, his hand will be against you, as it was against your ancestors.“ Now then, stand still and see this great thing the Lord is about to do before your eyes!Is it not wheat harvest now? I will call on the Lord to send thunder and rain. And you will realize what an evil thing you did in the eyes of the Lord when you asked for a king.”Then Samuel called on the Lord, and that same day the Lord sent thunder and rain. So all the people stood in awe of the Lord and of Samuel.The people all said to Samuel,“ Pray to the Lord your God for your servants so that we will not die, for we have added to all our other sins the evil of asking for a king.”

A messenger came and told David,“ The hearts of the people of Israel are with Absalom.”Then David said to all his officials who were with him in Jerusalem,“ Come! We must flee, or none of us will escape from Absalom. We must leave immediately, or he will move quickly to overtake us and bring ruin on us and put the city to the sword.”The king’s officials answered him,“ Your servants are ready to do whatever our lord the king chooses.”The king set out, with his entire household following him; but he left ten concubines to take care of the palace.So the king set out, with all the people following him, and they halted at the edge of the city.All his men marched past him, along with all the Kerethites and Pelethites; and all the six hundred Gittites who had accompanied him from Gath marched before the king.The king said to Ittai the Gittite,“ Why should you come along with us? Go back and stay with King Absalom. You are a foreigner, an exile from your homeland.You came only yesterday. And today shall I make you wander about with us, when I do not know where I am going? Go back, and take your people with you. May the Lord show you kindness and faithfulness.”But Ittai replied to the king,“ As surely as the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king may be, whether it means life or death, there will your servant be.”David said to Ittai,“ Go ahead, march on.” So Ittai the Gittite marched on with all his men and the families that were with him.The whole countryside wept aloud as all the people passed by. The king also crossed the Kidron Valley, and all the people moved on toward the wilderness.Zadok was there, too, and all the Levites who were with him were carrying the ark of the covenant of God. They set down the ark of God, and Abiathar offered sacrifices until all the people had finished leaving the city.Then the king said to Zadok,“ Take the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the Lord’s eyes, he will bring me back and let me see it and his dwelling place again.But if he says,‘ I am not pleased with you,’ then I am ready; let him do to me whatever seems good to him.”The king also said to Zadok the priest,“ Do you understand? Go back to the city with my blessing. Take your son Ahimaaz with you, and also Abiathar’s son Jonathan. You and Abiathar return with your two sons.I will wait at the fords in the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.”So Zadok and Abiathar took the ark of God back to Jerusalem and stayed there.But David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went; his head was covered and he was barefoot. All the people with him covered their heads too and were weeping as they went up.Now David had been told,“ Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” So David prayed,“ Lord, turn Ahithophel’s counsel into foolishness.”When David arrived at the summit, where people used to worship God, Hushai the Arkite was there to meet him, his robe torn and dust on his head.David said to him,“ If you go with me, you will be a burden to me.But if you return to the city and say to Absalom,‘ Your Majesty, I will be your servant; I was your father’s servant in the past, but now I will be your servant,’ then you can help me by frustrating Ahithophel’s advice.Won’t the priests Zadok and Abiathar be there with you? Tell them anything you hear in the king’s palace.Their two sons, Ahimaaz son of Zadok and Jonathan son of Abiathar, are there with them. Send them to me with anything you hear.”So Hushai, David’s confidant, arrived at Jerusalem as Absalom was entering the city.

He said to his men,“ The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, or lay my hand on him; for he is the anointed of the Lord.”

Obey the king’s command, I say, because you took an oath before God.Do not be in a hurry to leave the king’s presence. Do not stand up for a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases.Since a king’s word is supreme, who can say to him,“ What are you doing?”Whoever obeys his command will come to no harm, and the wise heart will know the proper time and procedure.

And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.

They said to him,“ You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.”But when they said,“ Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord.And the Lord told him:“ Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.

When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, they answered the king:“ What share do we have in David, what part in Jesse’s son? To your tents, Israel! Look after your own house, David!” So the Israelites went home.

“ Caesar’s,” they replied. Then he said to them,“ So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”