Proverbs 22:18

For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee; they shall withal be fitted in thy lips.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
thing	נָ֭עִים Na.'im	H5273	delightful (objective or subjective · adjective, masculine singular absolute
keep	תִשְׁמְרֵ֣ם tish.me.Rem	H8104	properly · verb, qal imperfect, 2nd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
within	בְּבִטְנֶ֑ךָ be.vit.Ne.kha	H990	the belly · preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
withal	יַ֝חְדָּ֗ו yach.Dav	H3162	properly · adverb
fitted	יִכֹּ֥נוּ yi.Ko.nu	H3559	properly · verb, niphal imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
lips	שְׂפָתֶֽיךָ se.fa.Tei.kha	H8193	the lip (as a natural boundary) · noun, common feminine dual construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Jeremiah 15:16 Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD…
Proverbs 2:10 When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;
Proverbs 8:6 Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things.
Psalms 119:103 How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
Proverbs 10:21 The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want of wisdom.
Proverbs 15:7 The lips of the wise disperse knowledge: but the heart of the foolish doeth not so.
John 7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
Job 32:18-19 For I am full of matter, the spirit within me constraineth me.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Proverbs 22:17-21

Solomon here changes his style and manner of speaking. Hitherto, for the most part, since the beginning of ch. 10, he had laid down doctrinal truths, and but now and then dropped a word of exhortation, leaving us to make the application as we went along; but here, to the end of ch. 24, he directs his speech to his son, his pupil, his reader, his hearer, speaking as to a particular person. Hitherto, for the most part, his sense was comprised in one verse, but here usually it is drawn out further. See how Wisdom tries variety of methods with us, lest we should be cloyed with any one. To awaken attention and to assist our application the method of direct address is here adopted. Ministers must…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Proverbs 22:18

These lessons must be laid up in the mind, and fitted--or better, "fixed" in the lips so as to be ever ready.

John Gill on Proverbs 22:18

For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee,.... Or, "in thy belly" (a). That is, in thine heart, in the inmost recesses of it; where the words or doctrines of the wise should be received in the love of them, and carefully laid up and retained; which will upon reflection yield much pleasure, like Ezekiel's roll, which was in his belly as honey for sweetness; and which also is very profitable as an antidote against sin, Psalm 119:11; they shall withal be fitted in thy lips; become them, and be suitable and graceful to them: or, "shall be ordered and disposed in" or "by thy lips" (b); being received into the heart, and digested there, they shall easily and freely go off the tongu…

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Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 22:17-21

Pro 22:17-21, forming the introduction to this appendix, are these Words of the Wise: 17 Incline thine ear and hear the words of the wise, And direct thine heart to my knowledge! 18 For it is pleasant if thou keep them in thine heart; Let them abide together on thy lips. 19 That thy trust may be placed in Jahve, I have taught thee to-day, even thee! 20 Have not I written unto thee choice proverbs, Containing counsels and knowledge, 21 To make thee to know the rule of the words of truth, That thou mightest bring back words which are truth to them that send thee? From Pro 10:1 to Pro 22:16 are the "Proverbs of Solomon," and not "The Words of the Wise;" thus the above παραίνεσις is not an epil…

The Church Fathers

Which will be beautiful to you when you keep it in your belly, etc. Often, the doctrine of wisdom seems harsh and undesirable to the foolish; but when one has perceived its power in the innermost heart, and learned to keep it with works, and also to share it with brothers by word, they will find this doctrine more beautiful than the others.
— Bede, Commentary on Proverbs

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Belly — The seat of the carnal affections (Titus 1:12; Phil. 3:19; Rom. 16:18). The word is used symbolically for the heart (Prov. 18:8; 20:27; 22:18, marg.). The “belly of hell” signifies the grave or…
Proverbs, Book of — A collection of moral and philosophical maxims of a wide range of subjects presented in a poetic form. This book sets forth the “philosophy of practical life. It is the sign to us that the Bible does…
Wisdom · .UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO — .UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Proverbs 22:18

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Proverbs 22:17-21

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Proverbs 22:18

John Gill on Proverbs 22:18

Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 22:17-21

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Proverbs 22:18

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Proverbs 22:17-21

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Proverbs 22:18

John Gill on Proverbs 22:18

Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 22:17-21

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Proverbs 22:17–end

Rashi on Proverbs 22:18