to turn off (literal or figurative) · verb, hiphil active participle, masculine singular absolute
ear
אָ֭זְנוֹ'a.ze.no
H241
broadness. i.e. (concrete) the ear (from its form in ma… · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
hearing
מִשְּׁמֹ֣עַmi.she.Mo.a'
H8085
to hear intelligently (often with implication of attent… · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
law
תּוֹרָ֑הto.Rah
H8451
a precept or statute · noun, common feminine singular absolute
prayer
תְּ֝פִלָּת֗וֹte.fi.la.To
H8605
intercession · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
abomination
תּוֹעֵבָֽהto.'e.Vah
H8441
properly · noun, common feminine singular absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Psalms 66:18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:
2 Timothy 4:3-4 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having it…
Zechariah 7:11-13 But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear.
Proverbs 15:8 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is his delight.
Psalms 109:7 When he shall be judged, let him be condemned: and let his prayer become sin.
Isaiah 1:15-16 And 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…
Luke 13:25-27 When 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, L…
Isaiah 58:7-11 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Proverbs 28:9
Note, 1. It is by the word and prayer that our communion with God is kept up. God speaks to us by his law, and expects we should hear him and heed him; we speak to him by prayer, to which we wait for an answer of peace. How reverent and serious should we be, whenever we are hearing from and speaking to the Lord of glory! 2. If God's word be not regarded by us, our prayers shall not only not be accepted of God, but they shall be an abomination to him, not only our sacrifices, which were ceremonial appointments, but even our prayers, which are moral duties, and which, when they are put up by the upright, are so much his delight. See Isa 1:11, Isa 1:15. The sinner whose prayers God is thus angr…
(Compare Pro 15:8; Pro 21:27).
hearing--that is, obeying. God requires sincere worshippers (Psa 66:18; Joh 4:24).
John Gill on Proverbs 28:9
He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law,.... Not merely the moral law, but the word of God in general, and any and every doctrine of it; though the law is to be heard and attended to, what it commands and forbids, its precepts, menaces, and curses: indeed the Spirit of God is not received by the hearing of the law, nor does faith come by that; but by hearing the word of God, particularly the Gospel; which yet then turn away their ears from, and are turned to fables, and choose to hearken to anything rather than that; and, like the deaf adder, stop their ears to the voice of the charmer, charming ever so wisely; the folly and sad effects of which will be seen when too late;
even hi…
9 He who turneth away his ear not to hear of the law,
Even his prayer is an abomination.
Cf. Pro 15:8 and the argument Sa1 15:22. Not only the evil which such an one does, but also the apparent good is an abomination, an abomination to God, and eo ipso also in itself: morally hollow and corrupt; for it is not truth and sincerity, for the whole soul, the whole will of the suppliant, is not present: he is not that for which he gives himself out in his prayer, and does not earnestly seek that which he presents and expresses a wish for in prayer.
The Church Fathers
Let [anyone] beg, however, in faith, in no way hesitating. Let him, by living well, show himself to be worthy of being heard when he begs. For anyone who remembers that he has not obeyed the Lord's commands rightly loses hope that the Lord pays attention to his prayers. For it has been written, "The prayer of one who closes his ear that he may not hear the law will be detestable."
And so it cometh to pass that our tongue is so much the less respected of God when we pray, by how much we are more defiled with foolish speech, because, as it is written: "He that turneth away his ear that he hear not the law, his prayer shall be execrable." What marvel, then, is it, if, when we pray, God doth slowly hear us, when as we hear God's commandments, either slowly or not at all?
What is written in the book of Solomon we ought to read with great anxiety and fear, not with indifference: "He that hardens his ears from hearing the law, his prayer shall be an abomination." A person should first be willing to listen to God, if he wants to be heard by him. Indeed, with what boldness does he want God to hear him when he despises God so much that he refuses to read God's precepts?How is it, my brothers, that some Christians and, what is worse, even clergy, at times, when they are about to make a journey, order bread, wine, oil, and different items to be provided for themselves, but, while such great preparations are being made for his earthly journey so that his body may live, a man does not bother to read a single book to refresh his soul both here and forever?
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Abomination · UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO — UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO
Ear, The · Of the wicked: Turned away from God’s law — Of the wicked: Turned away from God’s law
Prayer, Answers To · Denied to those who: Hear not the law — Denied to those who: Hear not the law
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Tyndale Open Study Notes on Proverbs 28:9
A person who ignores the law shows no fear of the Lord (1:7), the lawgiver. That person’s prayers are hypocritical—why should God listen to them?
Rashi on Proverbs 28:8
He who increases his riches with usury and interest...for him who is gracious to the poor The government hears about him, that he is becoming wealthy by illegal means, and they confiscate his money, with which they build bridges and repair highways. This is being gracious to the poor. In this manner, Rabbi Tanhuma expounded on it.
