"And Moses said to the people, 'Do not be afraid[2]; for God has come in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him may remain with you, so that you may not sin'" (Exodus 20:20).

"And we have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this, love is perfected with us, that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love" (1 John 4:16-18).

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments; His praise endures forever" (Psa. 111:10).

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction" (Proverbs 1:7).

"The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way, And the perverted mouth, I hate" (Proverbs 8:13).

"By lovingkindness and truth iniquity is atoned for, And by the fear of the Lord one keeps away from evil" (Proverbs 16:6).

"My son, if you will receive my sayings, And treasure my commandments within you, Make your ear attentive to wisdom, Incline your heart to understanding; For if you cry for discernment, Lift your voice for understanding; If you seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures; Then you will discern the fear of the Lord, And discover the knowledge of God" (Proverbs 2:1-5).

"And opening his mouth, Peter said: 'I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right, is welcome to Him'" (Acts 10:34,35).

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"as it is written, 'There is none righteous, not even one; There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God; All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one.'

"Their throat is an open grave, With their tongues they keep deceiving, The poison of asps is under their lips; Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; Their feet are swift to shed blood, Destruction and misery are in their paths, And the path of peace have they not known.

"There is no fear of God[3] before their eyes" (Romans 3:10-18).

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"And do not fear those who kill the body, but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matthew 10:28).

"Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God" (2 Corinthians 7:1).

"And I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will put the fear of Me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from Me" (Jeremiah 32:40).

"The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person" (Ecclesiastes 12:13).

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[1] Fearing the Lord is not to be equated with merely being afraid of God. Rather, it denotes a deep, reverential respect one has for the Lord. Notice the next passage (Exodus 20:20) which clearly reveals this distinction.

[2] See the first footnote.

[3] In the New English Bible, Romans 3:18 is rendered, "and reverence for God does not enter their thoughts."