"fear the Lord your God. he is the only one who can throw you into Hell, yes you better fear him, he came as a lamb, he will return as a lion. a judge, and seperate the wheat from the chaff."

God is love.  God is not fear! King James was (and still is) a controlling SOB.          

Fear the Lord God... ??

Although the phrase "fear the LORD God" is common in the King James version of the bible, why should we fear or dread the very arms that we are, with every breath, lovingly drawn into? Certainly there are some people who can only be motivated by dreadful fear, but for the rest of us, there is a far more beautiful and inspiring interpretation of the these words.

Admittedly, millions have learned to have a fearful attitude, perhaps by using flawed translations or by listening to those who have blindly preached such fearful attitudes. This unfortunate concept of fear and dread seems have often been a result of the language used by the scripture translators, not from the original words of the prophets.

The word most often translated in the Old Testament as fear is the Hebrew word  (transliterated as yirah)  which can possibly mean fear, but also means awe, reverence, respect and devotion. A closely related Hebrew word is (transliterated as yare) which can mean fearful, but also means to stand in awe, reverence or honor. 

Similarly, the King James translators also chose to translate the Hebrew  (transliterated as mowra) as fear, although it also means reverence, object of reverence, or an awe inspiring spectacle or deed. Another word that the King James translators chose to call fear is the Hebrew (transliterated as guwr) which can mean fear, but which also means to stir up, sojourn, dwell with, remain, dwell in or to stand in awe. 

Fortunately, some of the newer bible translations are slowly beginning to correct this situation and are beginning to use fitting terms such as honor and reverence to express our relationship with God. What a magnificent difference it is to change from an attitude of  fear of a dreadful, vengeful God into the beautiful, loving attitude of awe, reverence, respect and devotion towards a kind, loving God.

Compare, for example, the old King James version of Nehemiah 1:11 which reads ( with my added bold letter highlighting):

O LORD, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king's cupbearer.

with New Living translation which reads:

O Lord, please hear my prayer! Listen to the prayers of those of us who delight in honoring you. Please grant me success now as I go to ask the king for a great favor. Put it into his heart to be kind to me." In those days I was the king's cup-bearer.

or the New American Standard which reads:

"O Lord, I beseech You,  may Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant and the prayer of Your servants who delight to revere Your name, and make Your servant successful today and grant him compassion before this man.'' Now I was the cupbearer to the king.

or the New International Version which reads:

O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man." I was cupbearer to the king.

Oh what a delightful difference!!

Interestingly, the same sort of metaphors are also used in the Qur'an. For example, consider sura al-Tawba where the Arabic word (transliterated as yakhsha) is typically translated as "be fearful". However, just as in the case of the Hebrew words considered above, this word stems from a root (kh-sh-y) which means to have fear, dread, awe, veneration, respect, honor or reverence. This same root appears about 50 times in verses of the Qur'an (e.g. 9:18, 20:3, 35:18, 87:10) and the reader must choose whether it is appropriate to recognize a Creator who deserves fear and dread, or One who deserves our loving awe, respect and reverence... or perhaps both at the same time.

Certainly there are passages in the scriptures where dread and fear are the appropriate connotation, but in many other cases, it is clear that feelings such as awe, respect and reverence are the greater significance. So, as you read the lines of your favorite scripture about "fearing God", try substituting these beautiful feelings of  awe, respect and reverence for God and observe the results for yourself.

Perhaps with such new thoughts the old ideas of a distant, threatening God will turn into an ever-present beloved friend and companion... only then will these lines from Matthew chapter 22:36-37  fully make sense:

Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.