“The Lord is far from the wicked”: “Far from” is an expression of distance which is used figuratively here. It means that the Lord is not accessible to the wicked, that he is deaf to the pleas of the wicked. The plea of the wicked is understood from the corresponding “prayer of the righteous” in the next line.

“But he hears the prayer of the righteous”: “He hears” contrasts with “far from”. For “prayer” see verse 8.

We may render this saying, for example, “The Lord does not listen to the wicked, but he hears the prayers of good people.” One translation in a Pacific language says, “When good people pray, the Lord hears them; but he turns his back on wicked people.”

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 .