Proverbs 14:27

The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(27) Fountain of life.—Comp. Proverbs 13:14 and John 4:14.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

14:18. Sin is the shame of sinners; but wisdom is the honour of the wise. 19. Even bad men acknowledge the excellency of God's people. 20. Friendship in the world is governed by self-interest. It is good to have God our Friend; he will not desert us. 21. To despise a man for his employment or appearance is a sin. 22. How wisely those consult their own interest, who not only do good, but devise it! 23. Labour of the head, or of the hand, will turn to some good account. But if men's religion runs all out in talk and noise, they will come to nothing. 24. The riches of men of wisdom and piety enlarge their usefulness. 25. An upright man will venture the displeasure of the greatest, to bring truth to light. 26,27. Those who fear the Lord so as to obey and serve him, have a strong ground of confidence, and will be preserved. Let us seek to this Fountain of life, that we may escape the snares of death. 28. Let all that wish well to the kingdom of Christ, do what they can, that many may be added to his church. 29. A mild, patient man is one that learns of Christ, who is Wisdom itself. Unbridled passion is folly made known. 30. An upright, contented, and benevolent mind, tends to health. 31. To oppress the poor is to reproach our Creator. 32. The wicked man has his soul forced from him; he dies in his sins, under the guilt and power of them. But godly men, though they have pain and some dread of death, have the blessed hope, which God, who cannot lie, has given them. 33. Wisdom possesses the heart, and thus regulates the affections and tempers. 34. Piety and holiness always promote industry, sobriety, and honesty. 35. The great King who reigns over heaven and earth, will reward faithful servants who honour his gospel by the proper discharge of the duties of their stations: he despises not the services of the lowest.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

See the marginal reference and Proverbs 10:11 note.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

27. (Compare Pr 13:14).

fear of the Lord—or, "law of the wise," is wisdom (Ps 111:10).

Matthew Poole's Commentary

To preserve men from deadly and destructive courses.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life,.... Where the true fear of God is, there is a real principle of grace, which is "a well of living water, springing up unto everlasting life", John 4:14; eternal life is connected with it; it makes meet for it, and issues in it: or the Lord, who is the object of fear, he is the fountain of life: as of natural, so of spiritual and eternal life; spiritual life springs from him, is supported and maintained by him, the consequence of which is life everlasting;

to depart from the snares of death; sins, transgressions, as Aben Ezra interprets it; these are the works of men's hands, in which they are snared; these are the cords in which they are holden, and so die without instruction; the wages of them are death, even death eternal: likewise there are the snares of the world and of the devil, temptations to sin, with which being ensnared, lead to death; now the fear of the Lord is a means of delivering from and of avoiding those snares, and so of escaping death.

Geneva Study Bible

The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

27. Comp. Proverbs 13:14.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 27. - A repetition of Proverbs 13:14, substituting the fear of the Lord for "the law of the wise." The fear of the Lord can he called a fountain of life, because, showing itself in obedience, it nourishes the flowers and fruits of faith, produces graces and virtues, and prepares the soul for immortality. Septuagint, "The commandment of the Lord is a fountain of life, and makes one decline from the snare of death." Proverbs 14:27

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

27 The fear of Jahve is a fountain of life,

     To escape the snares of death.

There springs up a life which makes him who carries in himself (cf. John 4:14, ἐν αὐτῷ) this welling life, penetrating and strong of will to escape the snares (write after the Masora ממּקשׁי defective) which death lays, and which bring to an end in death - a repetition of Proverbs 13:4 with changed subject.