Discovery BoxProverbs 15:29 
Context15:29 The Lord is far 1 from the wicked,
but he hears 2 the prayer of the righteous. 3
Proverbs 15:31-32
Context15:31 The person 4 who hears the reproof that leads to life 5
is at home 6 among the wise. 7
15:32 The one who refuses correction despises himself, 8
but whoever hears 9 reproof acquires understanding. 10
Proverbs 20:12
Context20:12 The ear that hears and the eye that sees 11 –
the Lord has made them both. 12
1 sn To say that the
2 sn The verb “hear” (שָׁמַע, shama’) has more of the sense of “respond to” in this context. If one “listens to the voice of the
3 sn God’s response to prayer is determined by the righteousness of the one who prays. A prayer of repentance by the wicked is an exception, for by it they would become the righteous (C. H. Toy, Proverbs [ICC], 316).
4 tn Heb “ear” (so KJV, NRSV). The term “ear” is a synecdoche of part (= ear) for the whole (= person).
5 tn “Life” is an objective genitive: Reproof brings or preserves life. Cf. NIV “life-giving rebuke”; NLT “constructive criticism.”
6 tn Heb “lodges.” This means to live with, to be at home with.
7 sn The proverb is one full sentence; it affirms that a teachable person is among the wise.
8 sn To “despise oneself” means to reject oneself as if there was little value. The one who ignores discipline is not interested in improving himself.
9 tn Or “heeds” (so NAB, NIV); NASB “listens to.”
10 tn The Hebrew text reads קוֹנֶה לֵּב (qoneh lev), the participle of קָנָה (qanah, “to acquire; to possess”) with its object, “heart.” The word “heart” is frequently a metonymy of subject, meaning all the capacities of the human spirit and/or mind. Here it refers to the ability to make judgments or discernment.
11 sn The first half of the verse refers to two basic senses that the
12 sn The verse not only credits God with making these faculties of hearing and sight and giving them to people, but it also emphasizes their spiritual use in God’s service.
