Discovery BoxProverbs 22:19-21 
Context22:19 So that 1 your confidence may be in the Lord,
I am making them known to you today 2 – even you.
22:20 Have I not written thirty sayings 3 for you,
sayings 4 of counsel and knowledge,
22:21 to show you true and reliable words, 5
so that you may give accurate answers 6 to those who sent you?
1 tn The form לִהְיוֹת (lihyot, “to be”) is the infinitive construct indicating the purpose (or result) of the teaching (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV).
2 tn Heb “I cause you to know.” The term “today” indicates that the verb should have the instantaneous nuance, and so an English present tense is used in the translation (“am making…known”).
3 tn Older English versions and a few more recent ones render this phrase as either “excellent things” following the Qere (so KJV, ASV, NASB, NKJV), “officers,” or “heretofore” [day before yesterday], following the Kethib. However (as in most recent English versions) the Qere should be rendered “thirty,” referring to the number in the collection (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
4 tn The term “sayings” does not appear in the Hebrew text but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.
5 tn Heb “to cause you to know the truth of words of truth” (NASB similar).
6 tn Heb “to return true words”; NAB “a dependable report”; NIV “sound answers.”
