Proverbs 22:20

Have I not written thirty sayings ¹  for you, sayings ²  of counsel and knowledge,

Ps 12:6; Pr 8:6; Ho 8:12; 2Ti 3:15-17; 2Pe 1:19-21

¹ 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).

² tn The term “sayings” does not appear in the Hebrew text but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.