The LORD is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous.
Parallel translations
- WEB Yahweh is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.
- KJV The LORD is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous.
- NKJV The Lord is far from the wicked, But He hears the prayer of the righteous.
- NASB The Lord is far from the wicked, But He hears the prayer of the righteous.
- NLT The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayers of the righteous.
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
God keeps distance from the wicked but hears the prayers of the righteous. It matters because access to God in prayer is tied to a life turned toward Him.
Overview
The proverb affirms that Yahweh is near to hear the righteous while remaining far from the wicked. This is not earning God's ear by merit but reflects the relational nearness of those who walk with Him. Through Christ, sinners are made righteous and granted bold access to God in prayer (Hebrews 4:16; 10:19-22).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- John 9:31We know that God does not listen to sinners, but He does listen to the one who worships Him and does His will.
- Ps 145:18–19The LORD is near to all who call on Him, to all who call out to Him in truth.
- Prov 15:8The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is His delight.
- 1 Pet 3:12For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are inclined to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
- Ps 34:15–17The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are inclined to their cry.
- Jas 5:16–18Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail.
- Eph 2:12–13remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.
- Rom 8:26–27In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know how we ought to pray, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words.
- Ps 66:18–19If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.
- Ps 138:6Though the LORD is on high, He attends to the lowly; but the proud He knows from afar.
- Isa 55:8–9“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD.
- Matt 25:46And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
- Ps 73:27Those far from You will surely perish; You destroy all who are unfaithful to You.
- Ps 10:1Why, O LORD, do You stand far off? Why do You hide in times of trouble?
- Ps 18:41They cried for help, but there was no one to save them—to the LORD, but He did not answer.
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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 15:29 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.