Chapter
Verse

Proverbs 5:13

ESV I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my instructors.
NIV I would not obey my teachers or turn my ear to my instructors.
NASB I did not listen to the voice of my teachers, Nor incline my ear to my instructors!
CSB I didn’t obey my teachers or listen closely to my instructors.
NLT Oh, why didn’t I listen to my teachers? Why didn’t I pay attention to my instructors?
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!

What does Proverbs 5:13 mean?

Few experiences are as typical for mankind as looking back, with regret, on good advice we failed to take. Especially when judgment falls, sinners wish they had listened to godly wisdom. It is not the instructors' fault that students go astray, it is the fault of those who fail to accept the instruction. Few people who fall into deep sin can say, with any truth, that they were never warned about the consequences they would face. This verse continues the mourning of someone shattered by sin, who realizes exactly how they came to their fate (Proverbs 5:11–12).

Without a doubt Jesus was the best teacher in history. He spoke the truth, and His words were authoritative and life giving. However, not everyone who heard Jesus' instruction accepted it (John 5:39–40). The scribes and Pharisees rejected it, and at one point masses of people turned away and no longer followed Him (John 6:66). Jesus taught that God's Word, like scattered seed, doesn't fall only on good ground. Sometimes it falls on stony ground or among weeds and is unproductive (Matthew 13:18–23). Paul told Timothy the time would come when children would flagrantly ignore their parents (2 Timothy 3:1–2) and "people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions" (2 Timothy 4:3). The results of that ignorance will be painful.
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