Proverbs 20:2 (BSB)

The terror of a king is like the roar of a lion; whoever provokes him forfeits his own life.

From Proverbs 20. Also in the ESV.

Commentary on Proverbs 20:2

• Matthew Henry (Presbyterian), Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on Proverbs 20:2: See here, 1. How formidable kings are, and what a terror they strike upon those they are angry with. Their fear, with which (especially when they are absolute and their will is a law) they keep their subjects in awe, is as the roaring of a lion, which is very dreadful to the creatures he preys upon, and makes them tremble so that they cannot escape from him.
• John Gill (Reformed Baptist), Exposition of the Old and New Testaments on Proverbs 20:2: The fear of a king is as the roaring of a lion,.... The wrath and displeasure of a king, which causes fear; see Pro 19:12; kings should be terrors to evil works and workers, though not to good ones, Rom 13:3.
• Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (Reformed), Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible on Proverbs 20:2: (Compare Pro 19:12). Men who resist authority injure themselves (Rom 13:2).
• Geneva Bible Notes (Reformed), Geneva Bible Study Notes on Proverbs 20:2: The fear of a king [is] as the roaring of a lion: [whoever] provoketh him to anger sinneth [against] his own soul. (b) Puts his life in danger.