“Turn to my reproof,
Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you;
I will make my words known to you.
Wisdom now calls those who have rejected her to “turn to my reproof.” Her reproof is correction intended to produce a change in direction. Although the naive, scoffers, and fools have resisted wisdom, they are still being offered an opportunity to turn and listen.
If they do, Wisdom promises, “I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.” The imagery of pouring suggests abundance. Wisdom is not reluctant to instruct those who genuinely turn toward her. She offers to make her words known and give understanding to those willing to receive her correction. This reinforces the point of the preceding verses: wisdom is neither hidden nor withheld. The obstacle is not Wisdom’s unwillingness to speak, but the hearer’s unwillingness to listen. The invitation is therefore both gracious and conditional—they must first turn from their present course and receive her reproof.
The command to “turn to my reproof” resembles the biblical call to repentance. Turning toward wisdom necessarily requires turning away from foolishness. One cannot continue down the same sinful path while simultaneously following the path Wisdom provides. This same imagery is used elsewhere when God calls people to “forsake his way” and “return to the LORD” , and when He commands Israel to “repent and turn away from all your transgressions”.Isa. 55:7; Ezek. 18:30. Likewise, the New Testament calls people to “repent and return” and describes conversion as turning “to God from idols”. Acts 3:19; 1 Thess. 1:9. In each case, turning toward one thing requires turning away from another. Wisdom is therefore calling for more than intellectual agreement with her teaching; she is calling for a change in direction. Her reproof exposes the foolishness of the present path and calls the hearer to leave it behind and walk according to wisdom.
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