Wine Is a Mocker

20 Wine (A)is a mocker,
Strong drink is a brawler,
And whoever is led astray by it is not wise.

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20 Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler;
And whosoever [a]erreth thereby is not wise.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 20:1 Or, reeleth

17 He who loves pleasure will be a poor man;
He who loves wine and oil will not be rich.

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17 He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man:
He that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich.

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20 (A)Do not mix with winebibbers,
Or with gluttonous eaters of meat;
21 For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty,
And drowsiness will clothe a man with rags.

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20 Be not among winebibbers,
Among gluttonous eaters of flesh:
21 For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty;
And drowsiness will clothe a man with rags.

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29 (A)Who has woe?
Who has sorrow?
Who has contentions?
Who has complaints?
Who has wounds without cause?
Who (B)has redness of eyes?
30 (C)Those who linger long at the wine,
Those who go in search of (D)mixed wine.
31 Do not look on the wine when it is red,
When it sparkles in the cup,
When it [a]swirls around smoothly;
32 At the last it bites like a serpent,
And stings like a viper.
33 Your eyes will see strange things,
And your heart will utter perverse things.
34 Yes, you will be like one who lies down in the [b]midst of the sea,
Or like one who lies at the top of the mast, saying:
35 “They(E) have struck me, but I was not hurt;
They have beaten me, but I did not feel it.
When shall (F)I awake, that I may seek another drink?

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 23:31 goes around
  2. Proverbs 23:34 Lit. heart

29 Who hath [a]woe? who hath [b]sorrow? who hath contentions?
Who hath complaining? who hath wounds without cause?
Who hath [c]redness of eyes?
30 They that tarry long at the wine;
They that go to [d]seek out mixed wine.
31 Look not thou upon the wine when it is red,
When it sparkleth in the cup,
When it [e]goeth down smoothly:
32 At the last it biteth like a serpent,
And stingeth like an adder.
33 Thine eyes shall behold [f]strange things,
And thy heart shall utter perverse things.
34 Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea,
Or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast.
35 They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not hurt;
They have beaten me, and I felt it not:
When shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 23:29 Hebrew Oh!
  2. Proverbs 23:29 Hebrew Alas!
  3. Proverbs 23:29 Or, darkness
  4. Proverbs 23:30 Or, try
  5. Proverbs 23:31 Or, moveth itself aright
  6. Proverbs 23:33 Or, strange women

(A)It is not for kings, O Lemuel,
It is not for kings to drink wine,
Nor for princes intoxicating drink;
(B)Lest they drink and forget the law,
And pervert the justice of all [a]the afflicted.
(C)Give strong drink to him who is perishing,
And wine to those who are bitter of heart.
Let him drink and forget his poverty,
And remember his misery no more.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 31:5 Lit. sons of affliction

It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine;
Nor for princes [a]to say, Where is strong drink?
Lest they drink, and forget [b]the law,
And pervert the justice due to [c]any that is afflicted.
Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish,
And wine unto the bitter in soul:
Let him drink, and forget his poverty,
And remember his misery no more.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 31:4 Another reading is, to desire strong drink.
  2. Proverbs 31:5 Hebrew that which is decreed.
  3. Proverbs 31:5 Hebrew all the sons of affliction.