Reply #1: Unfortunately, "fear" is both a good (efficient), yet not a very good translation of the word.

[Rabrrrrrr]

At least in Hebrew - the word is yod-resh-aleph, which means fear, awe, reverence.

And so the word "fear" becomes a simple, one-word way to translate the concept - BUT, rightwing jackoffs love to abuse that word because they love the idea of a scary, judging, damning, violent God (though never against them for their sins, of course), and so they LOVE the phrase "Fear the LORD" as in "You non-like-me-people should BE TERRIFIED OF THE ALL CONSUMING FIRE THAT IS GOD!!!!!"

Instead of a more rightful interpretation of "God is God, and really, really fucking powerful, especially in comparison to you, puny mortal, whose power is utterly laughable, and so when you come before God, you should do so in utter reverence and awe and a feeling of 'holy crap I am nothing in comparison to this creator of all the universe maybe I should knock my ego down a couple pegs and go help those less fortunate than I'".

It does NOT mean terror, or be afraid of, or cower and tremble in anxious dread like a child afraid to go to sleep because his drunkard dad hasn't come home yet and had his nightly tirade and beating session.

Unfortunately, the rightwingers LOVE to think of God as the abusive, violent, smiting alcoholically unpredictably malignant and noxious God who will kill everyone in violent Divine righteous retribution who isn't a proper Christian, and in case God isn't smart enough to figure out who those people are, that rightwinger is perfectly capable of writing up a list for God.


I really think that modern translators should use the word "awe-filled reverence" instead of "fear", even though (IMO) "fear" is the best word to use here. The Hebrew does not at all have the sense of "be terrified", and too many think that when they read the word "fear" because, unfortunately, in English we've come to equate 'fear' with 'terror', which it shouldn't be.