Week 24 Proverbs 22
One of the bibles I read adds subheadings. The subheadings aren’t part of the bible. They’re just tip-offs the publisher plugged-in to signal key break-points in the text.
One of those subheadings is added just before Proverbs 22:17 and it says Thirty Sayings of the Wise. A couple of verses later Solomon says: I have written thirty sayings for you.
So I’m expecting to read thirty more proverbs. But the chapter ends nine verses later and there are only five. I scan forward through chapter 23 and then 24. I spot another subheading after 24:22: More Sayings of the Wise.
From 22:17 (where Thirty Sayings of the Wise begins) to 24:22 (where Thirty Sayings of the Wise ends) there’s roughly 70 verses. I do a quick count and find 33 proverbs in those 70 verses (I won’t take that number to the bank – it was a quick count).
I check another bible version. It adds subtitles too: Sayings of the Wise. A couple of verses later Solomon asks: have I not written thirty sayings for you? (after 24:22 it adds: Further Sayings of the Wise).
I check another bible version. It doesn’t add subtitles. And Solomon doesn’t say anything about thirty sayings: have I not written to you excellent things?
Hmmm. In English the word ‘thirty’ is quite a bit different from ‘excellent’. There’s likely a technical linguistic explanation but I don’t know about it.
So I move on and just start reading the thirty proverbs.
Note: quotes from Proverbs 22:20a (NLT NIV & NASB)