The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 23:29-35
Here follows a mashal ode or song on the subject of drunkenness, which is closely connected with the sin mentioned in the previous lines. read more
Proverbs-23
Spence, H. D. M., etc.
Spence, H. D. M., etc.
The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 23:29-35
The perils of drunkenness I. THE IMMEDIATE EXTERNAL EFFECTS . (Verses29, 30.) Trouble, quarrels, violence, deformity. "No translation or paraphrase can do justice to the concise, abrupt, and energetic manner of the original." "Oh that men should put an enemy in their mouths to steal away their brains! that we should with joy, revel, pleasure, and applause, transform ourselves into beasts!" II. THE ULTIMATE CONSEQUENCES . ( Proverbs 23:32 .) It "bites like a serpent, and... read more
Spence, H. D. M., etc.
The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 23:29-35
(with Proverbs 23:20 , Proverbs 23:21 ) Drunkenness A most striking picture is given as here of the manifold evils of this great curse. In a few strokes Solomon brings before us most, if not all, of its painful and pitiable consequences. Their name is legion, for they are indeed many. I. THE CONTEMPT OF THE SOBER . ( Proverbs 23:20 .) The very word "drunkard," or "wine bibber," is indicative of the deep disregard in which the victim of this vice is held by sober... read more
Spence, H. D. M., etc.
The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 23:30
The answer to the above searching questions is here given. They that tarry long at the wine ( Isaiah 5:11 ), who sit till late hours drinking. They that go to seek mixed wine; i.e. go to the wine house, place of revelry, where they may taste and give their opinion upon "mixed wine," mimsak, wine mingled with certain spices or aromatic substances, or else simply with water, as it was too luscious to be drunk undiluted (see on Proverbs 9:2 ). Septuagint, "those who hunt out where... read more
Spence, H. D. M., etc.
The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 23:31
Look not thou upon the wine when it is red. Be not attracted by its beautiful appearance. The wine of Palestine was chiefly "red," though what we call white wine was not unknown. The Vulgate flavescit points to the latter. When it giveth his colour in the cup. For "color" the Hebrew has "eye," which refers to the sparkling and gleaming which show themselves in wine poured into the cup. It is as though the cup had an eye which glanced at the drinker with a fascination which he did not... read more
Spence, H. D. M., etc.
The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 23:31-32
The danger of strong drink I. IT IS TERRIBLY FASCINATING . 1 . It is beautiful to the eye. The wine sparkles in the cup. 2 . It is palatable. Though children at first shudder at it, as at some unnatural product, the early dislike is easily surmounted, and then nothing can be more attractive. 3 . It is exhilarating. It gives pleasurable excitement, stimulates jaded energies, enlivens conversation, drowns sorrow, and promises still larger enjoyments. 4 . It is... read more
Spence, H. D. M., etc.
The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 23:32
At the last it biteth like a serpent. Wine is like the subtle poison of a serpent, which affects the whole body, and produces the most fatal consequences (comp. Ecclesiasticus 21:2). Nachash is the generic name for any of the larger tribe of snakes ( Genesis 3:1 , etc.); the poisonous nature of its bite was, of course, well known ( Numbers 21:9 ). Stingeth like an adder. The Hebrew word is tsiphoni , which is usually rendered "cockatrice" in the Authorized Version, hut the... read more
Spence, H. D. M., etc.
The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 23:33
The excitement occasioned by wine is now described. Thine eyes shall behold strange women. Ewald, Delitzsch, and others take זָדוֹת to mean "strange things," as affording a better parallel to the "perverse things" of the next clause. In this case the writer intends to denote the fantastic, often dreadful, images produced on the brain by the feverish condition of the inebriated. But the often denounced connection between drunkenness and incontinence, the constant reference to "strange... read more
Spence, H. D. M., etc.
The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 23:34
As he that lieth down in the midst of the sea. The dazed and unconscious condition of a drunkard is described by one familiar with sea life, as in Psalms 104:25 , etc.; Psalms 107:23 , etc. The Hebrew has "in the heart of the sea" ( Jonah 2:4 ), i.e. the depth. Many understand the idea to be that the drunkard is compared to a man asleep in a frail boat, or to one slumbering on board a ship sunk in the trough of the sea. But the "lying" here does not imply sleep, but rather... read more
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The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 23:29
Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? Hebrew, lemi oi, lemi aboi, where oi and aboi are interjections of pain or grief. So Venetian, τίνι αἲ τίνι φεῦ ; Revised Version margin, Who hath Oh ? who hath Alas ? The Vulgate has stumbled at the second expression, which is an ἄπαξ λεγόμενον , and resolving it into two words, translates, Cujus patri vae? Contentions ; the brawling and strife to which drunkenness leads ( Proverbs 20:1 ). Babbling ; שִׂיחַ ( siach ) is... read more