“For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD:”
My Notes
What Does Proverbs 1:29 Mean?
Proverbs 1:29 identifies the root cause of the fool's destruction — and it isn't ignorance. It's choice. They hated knowledge. They didn't choose the fear of the LORD.
"For that they hated knowledge" — the Hebrew tachath ki-san'u da'ath (because they hated knowledge) uses san'e — to hate, to detest, to have an aversion to. The Hebrew da'ath (knowledge) in Proverbs isn't raw information. It's relational, experiential, moral knowledge — the kind that changes how you live. The fools didn't lack access to knowledge. They hated it. They found it repulsive. Knowledge made demands, and they preferred the life that came without demands.
"And did not choose the fear of the LORD" — the Hebrew vĕyir'ath Yahweh lo' bacharu (and the fear of the LORD they did not choose) uses bachar — to choose, to select, to prefer. The same word God uses for choosing Israel (Deuteronomy 7:6). The fear of the LORD was available. It was an option on the table. They looked at it and chose something else. The refusal wasn't passive. It was an active selection of the alternative.
The verse comes from Wisdom's speech (v. 20-33) — personified Wisdom crying out in the streets, offering herself to the simple, the scorners, and the fools. Wisdom called (v. 24). They refused. Wisdom stretched out her hand (v. 24). No one regarded it. They "set at nought" all her counsel (v. 25). And now Wisdom says: the consequences arrive (v. 26-28). And the reason is here: they hated the thing that would have saved them and chose not to choose the posture that would have grounded them.
The theology is precise: the fool's destruction is self-inflicted. Not imposed by a vindictive God. Chosen. They hated knowledge — actively. They rejected the fear of the LORD — deliberately. The calamity that follows (v. 26-27) is the natural consequence of choices freely made. Wisdom offered. They refused. The consequences are the refusal's fruit.
Reflection Questions
- 1.The fool 'hated' knowledge — not just ignored it but actively rejected it. Where might you be avoiding truth because accepting it would require you to change?
- 2.They 'did not choose' the fear of the LORD — it was available and they passed. What has God made available to you that you've been choosing not to choose?
- 3.Knowledge was hated because it makes demands. What demand is wisdom currently making on your life that you're resisting?
- 4.The consequences (v. 26-28) are organic — the harvest of what was planted. How does understanding destruction as the fruit of choices (rather than punishment from God) change how you view your current consequences?
Devotional
They didn't just miss knowledge. They hated it. They didn't just fail to choose the fear of the LORD. They actively chose not to.
The language is deliberate: hated and did not choose. Two active verbs. Two decisions. The fool isn't someone who couldn't find wisdom. The fool is someone who found wisdom, looked at it, and walked the other way. The access was there. The invitation was extended. Wisdom cried out in the streets (v. 20). The fool heard and hated.
Why would anyone hate knowledge? Because knowledge makes demands. It changes what you're allowed to do. It removes the excuse of ignorance. Once you know, you're responsible for knowing. And some people would rather not know than carry the responsibility that knowledge creates. The hatred isn't emotional in the theatrical sense. It's practical: I prefer the life I'm living, and knowledge would force me to change it. So I hate the thing that threatens my comfort.
The fear of the LORD was available as a choice. Bachar — the same word for choosing a spouse, choosing a path, choosing a destiny. The fear of the LORD sat on the table alongside every other option. They looked at the options and picked something else. Not because the fear of the LORD was hidden. Because it was less appealing than the alternative. Less fun. Less immediately gratifying. Less compatible with the life they'd already built.
The consequences (v. 26-28 — calamity, distress, anguish, calling for wisdom and not finding it) aren't God's revenge. They're the harvest of two seeds: hating knowledge and rejecting reverence. You don't plant those seeds and harvest something different. The destruction is organic. The fruit matches the tree.
If wisdom is offering herself to you right now — through a conviction, a relationship, a verse, a moment of clarity — the question this verse asks is: are you choosing? Or are you hating the thing that would save you because it demands something you'd rather not give?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
For that they hated knowledge,.... Spiritual and evangelical; the knowledge of the Scriptures, of the promises and…
This is no arbitrary sentence. The fault was all along their own. The fruit of their own ways is death.
Solomon, having shown how dangerous it is to hearken to the temptations of Satan, here shows how dangerous it is not to…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture