Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall 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;
- BSB Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will earnestly seek me, but will 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 shall they cry unto the LORD, but he will not hear them: he will even hide his face from them at that time, as they have behaved themselves ill in their doings.
- Isa 1:15And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.
- Jer 11:11Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them.
- Jas 4:3Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
- Zech 7:13Therefore it is come to pass, that as he cried, and they would not hear; so they cried, and I would not hear, saith the LORD of hosts:
- Matt 25:10–12And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
- Job 27:9Will God hear his cry when trouble cometh upon him?
- Ps 18:41They cried, but there was none to save them: even unto the LORD, but he answered them not.
- Jer 14:12When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence.
- 1 Sam 8:18And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day.
- Job 35:12There they cry, but none giveth answer, because of the pride of evil men.
- Prov 8:17I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.
- Ezek 8:18Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them.
- Gen 6:3And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.
- Matt 7:22–23Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
- Hos 5:15I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early.
- Ps 78:34–36When he slew them, then they sought him: and they returned and enquired early after God.
- Luke 13:25–28When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:
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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.