Proverbs 22:18 (DRB)

Passage

Which shall be beautiful for thee, if thou keep it in thy bowels, and it shall flow in thy lips:

Nearby Context

Proverbs 22:16 He that oppresseth the poor, to increase his own riches, shall himself give to one that is richer, and shall be in need.

Proverbs 22:17 Incline thy ear, and hear the words of the wise: and apply thy heart to my doctrine:

Proverbs 22:18 Which shall be beautiful for thee, if thou keep it in thy bowels, and it shall flow in thy lips:

Proverbs 22:19 That thy trust may be in the Lord, wherefore I have also shewn it to thee this day.

Proverbs 22:20 Behold I have described it to thee three manner of ways, in thoughts and knowledge:

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "shall", "beautiful", "thee", "thou", "keep", "bowels", and "flow". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "shall" and "beautiful", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "Incline thy ear and hear the words..." into verse 19's "That thy trust may be in the...", so "shall" and "beautiful" 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 "shall" and "beautiful" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.