Have I not written for you thirty sayings about counsel and knowledge,
Parallel translations
- WEB Haven’t I written to you thirty excellent things of counsel and knowledge,
- KJV Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge,
- NKJV Have I not written to you excellent things Of counsels and knowledge,
- NASB Have I not written to you excellent things Of counsels and knowledge,
- NLT I have written thirty sayings for you, filled with advice and knowledge.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The teacher points to a deliberately rich body of counsel he has set down for the student.
Overview
The "thirty sayings" (a common rendering of the number here) mark this as a carefully composed unit of instruction. The phrasing has notable parallels to ancient Egyptian wisdom writings, yet Proverbs reframes all such counsel under the fear of the LORD. The deliberate, written form shows God's care to preserve reliable guidance, a care ultimately seen in the whole of inspired Scripture (2 Tim. 3:16).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- 2 Pet 1:19–21We also have the word of the prophets as confirmed beyond doubt. And you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.
- Prov 8:6Listen, for I speak of noble things, and the opening of my lips will reveal right.
- Ps 12:6The words of the LORD are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace, like gold purified sevenfold.
- 2 Tim 3:15–17From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
- Hos 8:12Though I wrote for them the great things of My law, they regarded them as something strange.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Wisdom personified, with God before creation and the agent of all things, anticipates Christ 'in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom' — the wisdom of God made flesh.
How Proverbs 22:20 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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