Amsal 1:28-29

1:28 Then they will call to me, but I will not answer;

they will diligently seek ¹  me, but they will not find me.

1:29 Because ²  they hated moral knowledge, ³ 

and did not choose to fear the Lord, ⁴ 

Amsal 21:13

21:13 The one who shuts his ears ⁵  to the cry ⁶  of the poor,

he too will cry out and will not be answered. ⁷ 

Amsal 28:9

28:9 The one who turns away his ear ⁸  from hearing the law,

even his prayer ⁹  is an abomination. ¹⁰ 

[1:28]  ¹ tn Heb “look to.” The verb שָׁחַר (shakhar, “to look”) is used figuratively of intensely looking (=seeking) for deliverance out of trouble (W. L. Holladay, Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon, 366); cf. NLT “anxiously search for.” It is used elsewhere in parallelism with בָּקַשׁ (baqash, “to seek rescue”; Hos 5:15). It does not mean “to seek early” (cf. KJV) as is popularly taught due to etymological connections with the noun שַׁחַר (shakhar, “dawn”; so BDB 1007 s.v. שָׁחַר).

[1:29]  ² tn The causal particle תַּחַת כִּי (takhat ki, “for the reason that”) introduces a second accusation of sin and reason for punishment.

[1:29]  ³ tn Heb “knowledge.” The noun דָעַת (da’at, “knowledge”) refers to moral knowledge. See note on 1:7.

[1:29]  ⁴ tn Heb “the fear of the Lord.” The noun is an objective genitive; the Lord is to be the object of fear. See note on 1:7.

[21:13]  ⁵ sn The imagery means “pay no attention to” the cry for help or “refuse to help,” so it is a metonymy of cause for the effect.

[21:13]  ⁶ sn “Cry” here would be a metonymy of effect for the cause, the cause being the great needs of the poor.

[21:13]  ⁷ sn The proverb is teaching that those who show mercy will receive mercy. It involves the principle of talionic justice – those who refuse the needs of others will themselves be refused when they need help (so Luke 16:19-31).

[28:9]  ⁸ sn The expression “turn away the ear from hearing” uses a metonymy to mean that this individual will not listen – it indicates a deliberate refusal to follow the instruction of the law.

[28:9]  ⁹ sn It is hard to imagine how someone who willfully refuses to obey the law of God would pray according to the will of God. Such a person is more apt to pray for some physical thing or make demands on God. (Of course a prayer of repentance would be an exception and would not be an abomination to the Lord.)

[28:9]  ¹⁰ sn C. H. Toy says, “If a man, on his part, is deaf to instruction, then God, on his part, is deaf to prayer” (Proverbs [ICC], 499). And W. McKane observes that one who fails to attend to God’s law is a wicked person, even if he is a man of prayer (Proverbs [OTL], 623).