Verses 24-25 state the reason why Wisdom will mock at those who reject her invitation. Each verse consists of two lines that have essentially the same meaning.

“Because I have called and you refused to listen”: “Called” here has the sense of “invited” or “advised.” “Listen” is not expressed in the Hebrew but is the obvious sense of “refused”.

“Stretched out my hand” refers to the gesture of beckoning or inviting someone to come toward the one calling.

“No one has heeded”: “Heeded” renders a verb meaning to pay attention, so some translate “No one has paid any attention to me.” Contemporary English Version says “You completely ignored me.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Proverbs. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .