Midrasz do Przysłów 3:34

Rabba b. R. Huna in the name of his father, and according to others, R. Huna in the name of R. Elazar, said: "From the Pentateuch, Prohpets, and Hagiographa it is inferred that Heaven leads a man upon the road he desires to follow. From the Pentateuch (Num. 22, 12) Thou shalt not go with them, and (Ib., ib. 20) Rise, up, go with them; from the Prophets (Is. 48, 17) Who teacheth thee for thy profit, who leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldst go; and from Hagiographa (Pr. 3, 34) If it concerneth the scorners, He scorneth them; but unto the humble, He giveth grace.

Resh Lakish said: "What is the meaning of the passage (Prov. 3, 34) If [it concerns] the mockers He will mock, but to the modest He will give grace; i.e., if one wishes to defile himself [with sin] the door is merely opened to him; but if one comes to purify himself, he is assisted." In the house of learning of R. Ishmael it was taught: "This statement may be compared to the story of a merchant who sells both naphtha and perfumes (Fol. 39); when one arrives to buy naphtha, he saith to him: 'Measure yourself the quantity you need'; but if one arrives to buy perfumes, he says, 'Wait, we will both measure it, so that I may also inhale the odor.'" The same disciples taught: "Sin dulls the heart of a man, as it is said (Lev. 11, 43) And ye shall not make yourselves unclean with them, that ye should he defiled thereby. Read not V'nitmethem (you will be defiled), but Untamatam (you will become dull-hearted)." Our Rabbis were taught: The passage, And ye shall not make yourselves unclean with them, that ye should be defiled, implies that, when a man defiles himself, a little, he will become defiled much; [when one defiles himself] here below he will be defiled from above; and when [he defiles himself] in this world, he will be defiled in the world to come. Our Rabbis have been taught: Ye shall sanctify yourselves; and be holy. When a man sanctifies himself a little here below, he will be sanstified much above; and when he sanctifies himself in this world, he will be sanctified in the world to come.

Raba b. R. Isaac said to R. Juda: "There is an idol in our town, and whenever there is drought with us, it comes in a dram to the priests, saying: 'Sacrifice a human being to me and you shall have rain;' and when they sacrifice a human being, it in reality begins to rain." Thereupon said R. Juda: "You may esteem yourselves fortunate that I am yet among the living, for were I dead, I should not be in a position to communicate to you what Rab said thereabout — viz.: 'What is the meaning of the passage (Ib. 4, 19) And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon and the stars, even all the host of heaven, and be drawn away and worship them … which the Lord thy God alloted unto all the peoples; from this it may be inferred that God has given some power to some worshipped objects for the purpose of barring their worshippers from the world to come.' " And this is what Resh Lakish said elsewhere: "What is the meaning of the passage (Pr. 3, 34) If it concerneth the scorner, He scorneth them, but unto the humble He giveth grace? This means that when one comes to defile himself, the door is opened to him, while when one comes to cleanse himself, he is supported."

Another explanation: For I have hardened his heart - Rabbi Yochanan said: Does this not provide heretics with an opportunity to open their mouths to say that he had no means of repenting, as it say "For I have hardened his heart". Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said to him: Let the mouths of the heretics be stopped up. Rather, (Mishlei 3:34) If it concerns the scorners, he scorns them. When the Holy One Blessed be He warns a man once, twice, thrice and he doesn't repent, and G-d will close his heart against repentance so that He should not exact vengeance from him for his sins. So to with the wicked Pharaoh, since Hashem sent five times to him and he took no notice, G-d then said: "You have stiffened your neck and hardened your heart; well, I will add impurity to your impurity". Hence, "For I have hardened his heart". What does "I have hardened" imply? That G-d made his heart like a liver (כבד) into which even if boiled a second time no juice enters; so also was the heart of Pharaoh made like a liver, and he did not receive the words of G-d. Hence, "For I have hardened his heart".

And He said: “If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God” (Exod. 15:26). Because of this verse they said: The man who hearkens to God’s word in time will hearken at other times as well, but if he ignores it at one time, he will do likewise at other times. Scripture teaches this in the verses And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently hearken (Jer. 17:24), and It shall be, too, if thou shalt forget (Deut. 8:19). How is that? If a man desires to hear only that which is to his advantage, he will hear that which is not to his advantage as well; and if he wishes to forget when it is to his advantage to do so, he will forget even when it is not to his advantage to do so. The power to choose is given to man. If it concerneth the scorners, He scorneth them, but unto the humble He giveth grace (Prov. 3:34). If a man hearkens to one command, he will be caused to hearken to many; but if he desires to forget even one commandment, he will be caused to forget many. Therefore it is written: If thou shalt begin to forget, thou wilt in time forget. Others reach this conclusion from the verse If thou at all take thy neighbor’s garment to pledge (Exod. 22:25); that is, if you should seize one garment as a pledge, you will ultimately take many pledges because of it.

(Exodus 15:26) "And He said: If pay heed, you shall pay heed": From here it was derived: If a man paid heed to one mitzvah, he is caused to pay heed to many mitzvoth, it being written "If pay heed, you shall pay heed." If a man forgot one mitzvah, he is caused to forget many mitzvoth, viz. (Devarim 8:19) "If forget, you shall forget." "to the voice of the L rd": This refers to the Ten Commandments, which were from Mouth to mouth through the medium of "voices." "and you do what is just in His eyes": These are select aggadoth, which are "heard" in the ears of all men. "and you give ear to His mitzvoth" — Mishnayoth. "and you keep all His statutes" — halachoth. "all of the illness which I placed in Egypt I will not place upon you." But if I do place it upon you — "for I am the L rd who heals you." These are the words of R. Yehoshua. R. Elazar Hamodai says: "hear": I might think that this is optional; it is, therefore, written "you shall hear": It is mandatory and not optional. "you shall pay heed": This is the rule which is the underpinning of Torah. "to the voice of the L rd your G d": We are hereby apprised that if one hears (Torah) from the mouth of his teacher, it is accounted to him as if he stood and paid attendance upon Him who lives and endures forever and ever. "and you do what is just in His eyes": This refers to (integrity) in one's dealings (with others). We are hereby apprised that if one deals faithfully (with others), men take pleasure in him, and it is accounted to him as if he fulfilled the entire Torah. "and you give ear to His mitzvoth" — laws. "and you keep all His statutes" — (those pertaining to) illicit relations. "all of the illness which I placed in Egypt I will not place upon you": And what is the intent of "for I am the L rd who heals you"? The Holy One Blessed be He said to Moses: Tell Israel that the words of Torah which I gave to you are healing for you, are life for you. As it is written (Mishlei 4:22) "for they are life to him who finds them", and (Ibid. 3:8) "It is healing to your navel and marrow to your bones." R. Yitzchak says: If they have no illness, why do they need healing? But (the intent is:) "All of the illness which I placed upon Egypt, I will not place upon you" in this world; (and if I do place it upon you, it is as if I have not placed it upon you) "for I am the L rd who heals you" (in the world to come.) Shimon b. Azzai says: (If it is already written ) "heed," why is it (also) written "you shall heed"? I might think that if one wishes to heed, he is caused to heed later; to forget, he is caused to forget later; it is, therefore, written "heed, you shall heed," "forget, you shall forget." How so? If he wishes to heed, he is caused to heed at once; (if he wishes) to forget, he is caused to forget at once. He was wont to say: If a man wishes to heed, of his volition, he is caused to heed (even) against his volition. To forget, of his volition, he is caused to forget (even) against his volition. "Permission (to exercise one's free will) is given" — (Mishlei 3:34) "If (men would be) scoffers, He will (enable them to) scoff; and to (men who would be) humble, He will grant (them the) grace (to be so)." Others say (homiletically, on Exodus 22:25): "If chavol, tachbol" — If you cause (one) injury, you shall suffer (many) injuries.