Passage
He who loves purity of heart and speaks gracefully is the king’s friend.
Proverbs 22:11 (WEB)
Nearby Context
Proverbs 22:9 He who has a generous eye will be blessed; for he shares his food with the poor.
Proverbs 22:10 Drive out the mocker, and strife will go out; yes, quarrels and insults will stop.
Proverbs 22:11 He who loves purity of heart and speaks gracefully is the king’s friend.
Proverbs 22:12 Yahweh’s eyes watch over knowledge; but he frustrates the words of the unfaithful.
Proverbs 22:13 The sluggard says, “There is a lion outside! I will be killed in the streets!”
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "grace", "loves", "purity", "heart", "speaks", "gracefully", "king", and "friend". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "grace" and "loves", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 10's "Drive out the mocker and strife will..." into verse 12's "Yahweh s eyes watch over knowledge but...", so "grace" and "loves" 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 "grace" and "loves" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.