Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will earnestly seek me, but will not find me.
Parallel translations
- WEB Then will they call on me, but I will not answer. They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me;
- KJV Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:
- NKJV “Thenthey will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me.
- NASB “Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently but will not find me,
- NLT “When they cry for help, I will not answer. Though they anxiously search for me, they will not find me.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
When the scornful finally seek wisdom in crisis, they will not find her. It matters because it warns there is a point where repentance is sought too late.
Overview
Those who refused wisdom in days of ease will call out in distress but receive no answer. This sobering reversal underscores the urgency of responding now. It parallels Jesus' warnings about a closed door (Luke 13:25), urging us to seek the Lord while He may be found (Isa. 55:6).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- Mic 3:4Then they will cry out to the LORD, but He will not answer them. At that time He will hide His face from them because of the evil they have done.
- Isa 1:15When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you multiply your prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.
- Jer 11:11Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘I am about to bring upon them a disaster that they cannot escape. They will cry out to Me, but I will not listen to them.
- Jas 4:3And when you do ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may squander it on your pleasures.
- Zech 7:13And just as I had called and they would not listen, so when they called I would not listen, says the LORD of Hosts.
- Matt 25:10–12But while they were on their way to buy it, the bridegroom arrived. Those who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet, and the door was shut.
- Job 27:9Will God hear his cry when distress comes upon him?
- Ps 18:41They cried for help, but there was no one to save them—to the LORD, but He did not answer.
- Jer 14:12Although they may fast, I will not listen to their cry; although they may offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Instead, I will finish them off by sword and famine and plague.”
- 1 Sam 8:18When that day comes, you will beg for relief from the king you have chosen, but the LORD will not answer you on that day.”
- Job 35:12There they cry out, but He does not answer, because of the pride of evil men.
- Prov 8:17I love those who love me, and those who seek me early shall find me.
- Ezek 8:18Therefore I will respond with wrath. I will not look on them with pity, nor will I spare them. Although they shout loudly in My ears, I will not listen to them.”
- Gen 6:3So the LORD said, “My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days shall be 120 years.”
- Matt 7:22–23Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’
- Hos 5:15Then I will return to My place until they admit their guilt and seek My face; in their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.”
- Ps 78:34–36When He slew them, they would seek Him; they repented and searched for God.
- Luke 13:25–28After the master of the house gets up and shuts the door, you will stand outside knocking and saying, ‘Lord, open the door for us.’ But he will reply, ‘I do not know where you are from.’
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Wisdom personified, with God before creation and the agent of all things, anticipates Christ 'in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom' — the wisdom of God made flesh.
How Proverbs 1:28 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.