Whoever turns his ear away from hearing the law, even his prayer is detestable.
Parallel translations
- WEB He who turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.
- KJV He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.
- NKJV One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, Even his prayer is an abomination.
- NASB One who turns his ear away from listening to the Law, Even his prayer is an abomination.
- NLT God detests the prayers of a person who ignores the law.
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
If someone refuses to hear God's law, even his prayers become detestable to God. It warns that willful disobedience corrupts our worship.
Overview
The verse teaches that deliberately turning from God's word makes one's prayers an abomination, since true worship cannot be divorced from obedience. God is not honored by religious words from a heart that despises His commands. The gospel calls us to come with a heart cleansed and submitted, made acceptable through Christ our mediator (1 John 3:22).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Ps 66:18If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.
- 2 Tim 4:3–4For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires.
- Zech 7:11–13But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder; they stopped up their ears from hearing.
- Prov 15:8The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is His delight.
- Ps 109:7When he is tried, let him be found guilty, and may his prayer be regarded as sin.
- Isa 1:15–16When 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.
- Luke 13:25–27After 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.’
- Isa 58:7–11Isn’t it to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the poor and homeless into your home, to clothe the naked when you see him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
- Prov 21:13Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too shall cry out and receive no answer.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 28:9 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.