Limitless Word
For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD:
Proverbs 1:29 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB because they hated knowledge, and didn’t choose the fear of Yahweh.
  • BSB For they hated knowledge and chose not to fear the LORD.
  • NKJV Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the Lord,
  • NASB Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the Lord.
  • NLT For they hated knowledge and chose not to fear the Lord.

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

Their ruin comes because they hated knowledge and refused the fear of Yahweh. It matters because it names the root cause: rejecting reverence for God.

Overview

The reason for unanswered cries is given: a settled hatred of knowledge and refusal to fear the Lord. Since the fear of Yahweh is wisdom's foundation (1:7), rejecting it forfeits everything. Their judgment is just, flowing from their own deliberate choice against God.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 11

  • Prov 6:23For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:
  • Job 21:14–15Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways.
  • Prov 1:22How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?
  • Heb 11:25Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;
  • Isa 27:11When the boughs thereof are withered, they shall be broken off: the women come, and set them on fire: for it is a people of no understanding: therefore he that made them will not have mercy on them, and he that formed them will shew them no favour.
  • Ps 50:16–17But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth?
  • Acts 7:51–54Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.
  • John 3:20For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
  • Prov 5:12And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof;
  • Luke 10:42But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
  • Isa 30:9–12That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the LORD:

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (11)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Proverbs videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Proverbs 1:29YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on ProverbsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 1:29 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.