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20 Wine and ·beer [T strong drink; C an alcoholic beverage made from grain] make people ·loud [mockers] and ·uncontrolled [carousers; brawlers];
it is not wise to ·get drunk on [L be led astray by] them.

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On Life and Conduct

20 Wine is a mocker, strong drink a riotous brawler;
And whoever is intoxicated by it is not wise.(A)

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17 Whoever loves pleasure will become poor;
whoever loves wine and ·perfume [oil] will never be rich.

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17 
He who loves [only selfish] pleasure will become a poor man;
He who loves and is devoted to [a]wine and [olive] oil will not become rich.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 21:17 I.e. items associated with lavish feasting and excessive luxury.

20 Don’t ·drink too much [get drunk on] wine
    or ·eat too much food [L stuff yourself with meat].
21 Those who ·drink [get drunk] and ·eat too much [stuff themselves] ·become poor [lose possessions].
    They ·sleep too much [or are in a stupor] and end up wearing rags.

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20 
Do not associate with heavy drinkers of wine,
Or with gluttonous eaters of meat,(A)
21 
For the heavy drinker and the glutton will come to poverty,
And the drowsiness [of overindulgence] will clothe one with rags.

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29 Who ·has trouble [L cries “Woe!”]? Who ·has pain [L cries “Alas!”]?
    Who ·fights [has conflicts]? Who complains?
Who has unnecessary bruises?
    Who has ·bloodshot [glazed] eyes?
30 It is people who ·drink too much [L linger over] wine,
    who ·try out all different kinds of strong drinks [L go in search of the mixing vessel].
31 Don’t stare at the wine when it is red,
    when it sparkles in the cup,
    when it goes down smoothly.
32 Later it bites like a snake
    with poison ·in its fangs [L like a viper].
33 Your eyes will see strange sights,
    and your ·mind will be confused [L heart will speak perverse things].
34 You will ·feel dizzy as if you’re in a storm on [L be like one who lies down in the heart of] the ocean,
    as if you’re on top of a ship’s ·sails [mast].
35 You will think, “They hit me, but ·I’m not hurt [L I feel no pain].
    They beat me up, but I don’t ·remember [know] it.
I wish I could wake up.
    Then I would ·get another drink [L look for it].”

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29 
Who has woe? Who has sorrow?
Who has strife? Who has complaining?
Who has wounds without cause?
Whose eyes are red and dim?
30 
Those who linger long over wine,
Those who go to taste mixed wine.(A)
31 
Do not look at wine when it is red,
When it sparkles in the glass,
When it goes down smoothly.
32 
At the last it bites like a serpent
And stings like a viper.
33 
Your [drunken] eyes will see strange things
And your mind will utter perverse things [untrue things, twisted things].
34 
And you will be [as unsteady] as one who lies down in the middle of the sea,
And [as vulnerable to disaster] as one who lies down on the top of a ship’s mast, saying,
35 
“They struck me, but I was not hurt!
They beat me, but I did not feel it!
When will I wake up?
I will seek more wine.”

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“Kings should not drink wine, Lemuel,
    and rulers should not ·desire [crave] ·beer [T strong drink; C alcoholic beverage made from grain; 20:1; 23:19–21, 29–35].
If they drink, they might forget the ·law [decrees]
    and ·keep the needy from getting their rights [violate the rights of the needy].
Give ·beer [T strong drink; v. 4] to people who are ·dying [perishing]
    and wine to those ·who are sad [who have bitter hearts].
Let them drink and forget their ·need [poverty]
    and remember their ·misery [or hard work] no more [Eccl. 2:24–26; 3:12–14, 22; 5:18–20; 8:15; 9:7–10].

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It is not for kings, O Lemuel,
It is not for kings to drink wine,
Or for rulers to desire strong drink,(A)

Otherwise they drink and forget the law and its decrees,
And pervert the rights and justice of all the afflicted.

Give strong drink [as medicine] to him who is ready to pass away,
And wine to him whose life is bitter.

Let him drink and forget his poverty
And no longer remember his trouble.

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