Passage
A joyful heart promoteth healing; but a broken spirit drieth up the bones.
Proverbs 17:22 (DBY)
Nearby Context
Proverbs 17:20 He that hath a perverse heart findeth no good; and he that shifteth about with his tongue falleth into evil.
Proverbs 17:21 He that begetteth a fool [doeth it] to his sorrow, and the father of a vile [man] hath no joy.
Proverbs 17:22 A joyful heart promoteth healing; but a broken spirit drieth up the bones.
Proverbs 17:23 A wicked [man] taketh a gift out of the bosom, to pervert the paths of judgment.
Proverbs 17:24 Wisdom is before him that hath understanding; but the eyes of a fool are in the ends of the earth.
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "Spirit", "joyful", "heart", "promoteth", "healing", "broken", "drieth", and "bones". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "Spirit" and "joyful", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 21's "He that begetteth a fool doeth it..." into verse 23's "A wicked man taketh a gift out...", so "Spirit" and "joyful" belong inside that flow. In Proverbs context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.
A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "Spirit" and "joyful" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.