Proverbs 22:20 Meaning and Explanation
“Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge,”
King James Version (KJV)
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Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Written instruction is easy to take for granted once we own it. Here a teacher stops mid-appeal to remind his student that the words in front of him were composed on purpose, for him, with an aim. The verse raises a question we can each answer: what do we do with wisdom that has already been written down for us?
The teacher points to what he has already put in writing, a body of counsel and knowledge given deliberately for the learner's good. His question invites the hearer to value what has been handed down.
The Context of Proverbs 22:20
Verse 17 begins a new section, marked by a return to the direct address of a teacher to a student after a long run of short sayings. The teacher calls for a bowed ear and an applied heart, states in verse 19 that his purpose is trust in the LORD, and then asks the question of verse 20. Verse 21 completes the sentence with two goals: certainty about words of truth, and the ability to answer those who send to the student. Chapters 22 through 24 continue this style of extended instruction.
What Does Proverbs 22:20 Mean?
The line runs as a question expecting agreement: have I not written to thee. Written is the striking word here, since much of Proverbs presents itself as spoken counsel from a father. Something has been set down in durable form for a named recipient, thee, which keeps the address personal. Excellent things renders a Hebrew expression whose exact form is debated, and translators have read it as noble things, as three times, or as thirty sayings. Counsels and knowledge name two kinds of content: guidance for decisions, and understanding of how things actually are. The sentence continues into verse 21, where its purpose appears.
The question sits at the hinge of this section. Everything before it, from verse 17 onward, asks for attention; everything after it, in verse 21 and following, spells out results and then moves into specific commands about the poor, anger, and pledges. Placing a reminder of written instruction at that hinge gives the appeal its weight. Israel's life was shaped this way throughout Scripture, with Moses commanded to write in Exodus 17:14 and the king required to keep his own copy of the law in Deuteronomy 17:18-19. Wisdom in this tradition is received before it is exercised, handed on from those who have gone before.
A striking parallel appears at the opening of Luke. Writing to Theophilus, Luke states his aim as knowledge of the certainty of the things in which his reader had been instructed (Luke 1:3-4), which lands very close to the goal named in Proverbs 22:21. John gives a similar reason for his account in John 20:31, that readers might believe and have life through Jesus. Scripture repeatedly presents itself as written on purpose, for named people, toward settled confidence. The counsel of Proverbs finds its fullest object in the One whom the apostles wrote down for us.
Proverbs 22:20 in the Original Language
moetsah (מוֹעֵצָה), 'counsels' -- a plan or piece of advice meant to guide a decision. The plural here suggests a collection of tested guidance rather than a single tip, matching the book's habit of gathering many short directions into one body of teaching.
Bible Verses Related to Proverbs 22:20
“Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge.”
- Proverbs 22:17
“That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth; that thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee?”
- Proverbs 22:21
“For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.”
- Romans 15:4
“That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.”
- Luke 1:4
Where Proverbs 22:20 Echoes in Scripture
Romans 15:4 gathers up the impulse behind this verse. Paul says that the things written in earlier times were written for our learning, so that through patience and comfort of the Scriptures we might have hope. A teacher's written counsel to one student in Proverbs turns out to have a long reach. What was set down for a young learner in Israel keeps instructing readers who never met him, which is part of what makes these sayings worth slow attention now.
How to Apply Proverbs 22:20 Today
Two habits follow naturally. The first is treating what we already have as a gift worth working through, since a book we own and never open helps nobody. Reading a short section of Proverbs daily, with a pen, turns written counsel into something we can actually recall under pressure. The second is verse 21's goal of being able to answer. Learning well equips us to give a steady reply when a friend, a child, or a coworker brings a real question. We might pick one chapter this month and know it well enough to speak from it.
Reflection & Prayer
Whose written counsel shaped us most, and have we ever thanked God for it? Naming those voices can rekindle gratitude and sharpen appetite at the same time. A prayer to carry: Father, thank You for words preserved for people You had not yet made. Give me appetite for what You have written, memory to hold it, and courage to answer honestly when someone asks. Amen.