Proverbs 22:21 (WEB)

Passage

To teach you truth, reliable words, to give sound answers to the ones who sent you?

Nearby Context

Proverbs 22:19 I teach you today, even you, So that your trust may be in Yahweh.

Proverbs 22:20 Haven’t I written to you thirty excellent things of counsel and knowledge,

Proverbs 22:21 To teach you truth, reliable words, to give sound answers to the ones who sent you?

Proverbs 22:22 Don’t exploit the poor, because he is poor; and don’t crush the needy in court;

Proverbs 22:23 for Yahweh will plead their case, and plunder the life of those who plunder them.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "teach", "truth", "reliable", "words", "give", "sound", "answers", and "ones". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "teach" and "truth", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 20's "Haven t I written to you thirty..." into verse 22's "Don t exploit the poor because he...", so "teach" and "truth" 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 "teach" and "truth" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.