I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my mentors.
Parallel translations
- WEB neither have I obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor turned my ear to those who instructed me!
- KJV And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!
- NKJV I have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, Nor inclined my ear to those who instructed me!
- NASB “I did not listen to the voice of my teachers, Nor incline my ear to my instructors!
- NLT Oh, why didn’t I listen to my teachers? Why didn’t I pay attention to my instructors?
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
He laments not obeying his teachers or heeding his instructors. Refusing wise guidance brings lasting regret.
Overview
The confession continues: he neither obeyed his teachers nor inclined his ear to those who instructed him. The repeated lament stresses that his ruin was self-chosen through willful inattention. It is a sobering call to receive godly instruction now rather than mourn its rejection later.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- 1 Th 4:8Anyone, then, who rejects this command does not reject man but God, the very One who gives you His Holy Spirit.
- Heb 13:7Remember your leaders who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.
- Luke 15:18I will get up and go back to my father and say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
- 1 Th 5:12–13But we ask you, brothers, to acknowledge those who work diligently among you, who preside over you in the Lord and give you instruction.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 5:13 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.