The LORD is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous.

PROVERBS 15:29KJV
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Proverbs 15:29 (KJV)

What does Proverbs 15:29 mean?

Proverbs 15:29 contrasts how the LORD responds to two kinds of people. The person who does evil is described as distant from him, while the person who lives rightly can bring a prayer that he hears. The contrast connects a person’s conduct with the LORD’s response.

“Far” pictures distance in a relationship, rather than a measurement of space. The proverb places that picture alongside the act of hearing a prayer, giving the contrast a personal focus.

The Hebrew behind Proverbs 15:29

  • “heareth” — שָׁמַע (shamaʿ): The word can mean to hear or listen. Here it presents the LORD as attentive to a person’s prayer, not merely as aware that words have been spoken.
  • “righteous” — צַדִּיק (tsaddiq): The word describes someone who is just or does what is right. In this proverb, it identifies the kind of person whose prayer the LORD hears.

Why Proverbs 15:29 matters

  • The proverb’s contrast concerns both conduct and prayer. “Wicked” and “righteous” describe the people, while “far” and “heareth” describe the LORD’s relation to them.
  • The nearby verses also connect the LORD’s response with human conduct. Verse 26 contrasts the thoughts of the wicked with pleasant words, and verse 28 contrasts the speech of the righteous with the speech of the wicked.

Where else these words appear

“prayer” Hebrew H8605 · used in 70 verses

  • 2 Samuel 7:27 For thou, O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, hast revealed to thy servant, saying, I will build thee an house: therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer unto thee.
  • Nehemiah 11:17 And Mattaniah the son of Micha, the son of Zabdi, the son of Asaph, was the principal to begin the thanksgiving in prayer: and Bakbukiah the second among his brethren, and Abda the son of Shammua, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun.
  • Psalms 102:1 A Prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed, and poureth out his complaint before the LORD. Hear my prayer, O LORD, and let my cry come unto thee.

“far” Hebrew H7350 · used in 84 verses

  • Genesis 22:4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.
  • 2 Chronicles 6:36 If they sin against thee,(for there is no man which sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them over before their enemies, and they carry them away captives unto a land far off or near;
  • Isaiah 37:26 Hast thou not heard long ago, how I have done it; and of ancient times, that I have formed it? now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldest be to lay waste defenced cities into ruinous heaps.