Proverbs 22:11 (YLT)

Passage

Whoso is loving cleanness of heart, Grace <FI>are<Fi> his lips, a king <FI>is<Fi> his friend.

Nearby Context

Proverbs 22:9 The good of eye--he is blessed, For he hath given of his bread to the poor.

Proverbs 22:10 Cast out a scorner--and contention goeth out, And strife and shame cease.

Proverbs 22:11 Whoso is loving cleanness of heart, Grace <FI>are<Fi> his lips, a king <FI>is<Fi> his friend.

Proverbs 22:12 The eyes of Jehovah have kept knowledge, And He overthroweth the words of the treacherous.

Proverbs 22:13 The slothful hath said, `A lion <FI>is<Fi> without, In the midst of the broad places I am slain.'

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "grace", "whoso", "loving", "cleanness", "heart", "lips", "king", and "friend". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "grace" and "whoso", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 10's "Cast out a scorner--and contention goeth out..." into verse 12's "The eyes of Jehovah have kept knowledge...", so "grace" and "whoso" 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 "whoso" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.