The Fear of Sudden Terror

“Do not be afraid [yareʾ, verb] of sudden terror [pachad, noun] or of the ruin of the wicked, when it comes, for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught” (Proverbs 3:25, 26 ESV).

The Authorized Version reads, “Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. For the Lord shall be thy confidence and shall keep thy foot from being taken” (Proverbs 3:25, 26).

Several words in the Hebrew language are translated fear. The verb translated afraid is yireʾ, which describes a state of mind—afraid, terrified, or in the shock of awe. Scripture consistently forbids one to fear anything but God. “The fear [yirʾah, noun] of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding” (Psalm 111:10).

Spiritual wisdom results from practicing the fear of the Lord. Proverbs begins with an exhortation for the wise (the God-fearer) to hear and increase learning (1:5, 6). This is followed by a factual statement: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction” (1:5, 6). Fools hate knowledge (1:22). A fool is one who rejects God and chooses to follow his own course (iniquity). Because the fool refuses to listen to the Lord and ignores His counsel and reproof, the Lord declares, “I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when terror [pachad, noun] strikes you, when terror [pachad, noun] strikes you like a storm and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you. Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently but will not find me” (1:26–28).

Pacḥad is the experience of terror, particularly the abject terror of those experiencing the wrath of God: “In that day the Egyptians will be like women, and tremble with fear [pachad] before the hand that the Lord of hosts shakes over them. And the land of Judah will become a terror [chagaʾ, a reeling or spinning due to fear] to the Egyptians. Everyone to whom it is mentioned will fear [pachad] because of the purpose that the Lord of hosts has purposed against them” (Isaiah 19:16, 17).

In other words, the fear and terror experienced in a calamity, that is, whatever causes distress or burden like the pandemic we are experiencing, must not be experienced by the people of God. These calamities fulfill the purpose of the Lord. And, those who listen to the Lord and fear Him exclusively—who practice the fear of the Lord, being wise in the ways of God—will not fear. Rather, they will trust the Lord because He is their confidence, their hope; and He will keep them from the ruin of destruction. Sudden terror, however, will be the ruin of the wicked.

“Do not be afraid of sudden terror or of the ruin of the wicked, when it comes, for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught” (Proverbs 3:25, 26 ESV).