Proverbs 19:20 (KJV)

What does Proverbs 19:20 mean?

Proverbs 19:20 presents wisdom as something a person can grow into over time by listening to advice and accepting correction. The verse looks beyond the immediate moment to the kind of understanding a person may have later in life.

The saying addresses one person directly, using “thou.” Its two commands, “hear” and “receive,” move from paying attention to being willing to take instruction in.

The Hebrew behind Proverbs 19:20

• “instruction” — מוּסָר (musar): The word can mean discipline or correction as well as teaching. Here, it suggests guidance that may involve being corrected, not just being given information.
• “wise” — חָכַם (ḥakham): The word can carry the sense of becoming wise or gaining good judgment. The verse describes wisdom as a result that lies ahead.
• “end” — אַחֲרִית (aḥarit): The word can refer to what comes afterward or to a later part of life. In “thy latter end,” the KJV points toward the person’s future rather than merely the end of a particular conversation.

Why Proverbs 19:20 matters

• The verse joins advice with correction. “Counsel” can offer direction, while “instruction” can include a response to something already done.
• The verse gives a purpose for its commands: “that thou mayest be wise.” Listening and receiving are presented as ways of gaining judgment, rather than as ends in themselves.
• The nearby sayings place human plans alongside a larger question of what will endure. Verse 21 speaks of the many plans in a person’s heart and contrasts them with “the counsel of the LORD.”