“If one turns away his ear from hearing the law”: “Turns away his ear from hearing” is the literal Hebrew expression and means to “pay no attention,” “fail to obey,” or “disregard.” As in verse 4, “the law” here refers to God’s law.

“Even his prayer is an abomination”: The opening word “even” expresses the sense that what follows is contrary to what people normally think or expect, that is, that God hears and is happy with peoples’ prayers. “His prayer” is “his prayer to God” or “his praying to God.” For “abomination” see 3.32. We should understand here that the prayer is an “abomination” to God, and in some languages the sense may need to be completed in this way. It is expressed in one language as “God will regard this prayer as something that stinks.”

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 .