29 Who hath wo? who hath sorrow? Who hath contentions? who hath plaint? Who hath wounds without cause? Who hath redness of eyes?
For the quaffer and glutton become poor, And drowsiness clotheth with rags.
Wo `to' those rising early in the morning, Strong drink they pursue! Tarrying in twilight, wine inflameth them!
and be not drunk with wine, in which is dissoluteness, but be filled in the Spirit,
Red `are' eyes with wine, And white `are' teeth with milk!
And Abigail cometh in unto Nabal, and lo, he hath a banquet in his house, like a banquet of the king, and the heart of Nabal `is' glad within him, and he `is' drunk unto excess, and she hath not declared to him anything, less or more, till the light of the morning. And it cometh to pass in the morning, when the wine is gone out from Nabal, that his wife declareth to him these things, and his heart dieth within him, and he hath been as a stone.
And Absalom commandeth his young men, saying, `See, I pray thee, when the heart of Amnon `is' glad with wine, and I have said unto you, Smite Amnon, that ye have put him to death; fear not; is it not because I have commanded you? be strong, yea, become sons of valour.'
and they go out at noon, and Ben-Hadad is drinking -- drunk in the booths, he and the kings, the thirty and two kings, helping him. And the young men of the heads of the provinces go out at the first, and Ben-Hadad sendeth, and they declare to him, saying, `Men have come out of Samaria.' And he saith, `If for peace they have come out -- catch them alive; and if for battle they have come out -- alive catch them.' And these have gone out of the city -- the young men of the heads of the provinces -- and the force that `is' after them, and smite each his man, and Aram fleeth, and Israel pursueth them, and Ben-Hadad king of Aram escapeth on a horse, and the horsemen; and the king of Israel goeth out, and smiteth the horses, and the charioteers, and hath smitten among the Aramaeans a great smiting. And the prophet cometh nigh unto the king of Israel, and saith to him, `Go, strengthen thyself, and know and see that which thou dost, for at the turn of the year the king of Aram is coming up against thee.'
And even these through wine have erred, And through strong drink have wandered, Priest and prophet erred through strong drink, They have been swallowed up of the wine, They wandered because of the strong drink, They have erred in seeing, They have stumbled judicially. For all tables have been full of vomit, Filth -- without place!
For while princes `are' perplexed, And with their drink are drunken, They have been consumed as stubble fully dried.
`And if that servant may say in his heart, My lord doth delay to come, and may begin to beat the men-servants and the maid-servants, to eat also, and to drink, and to be drunken; the lord of that servant will come in a day in which he doth not look for `him', and in an hour that he doth not know, and will cut him off, and his portion with the unfaithful he will appoint.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Proverbs 23
Commentary on Proverbs 23 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 23
Pro 23:1-3
The sin we are here warned against is luxury and sensuality, and the indulgence of the appetite in eating and drinking, a sin that most easily besets us.
Pro 23:4-5
As some are given to appetite (v. 2) so others to covetousness, and those Solomon here takes to task. Men cheat themselves as much by setting their hearts on money (though it seems most substantial) as by setting them on dainties. Observe,
Pro 23:6-8
Those that are voluptuous and given to appetite (v. 2) are glad to be where there is good cheer stirring, and those that are covetous and saving, that they may spare at home, will be glad to get a dinner at another man's table; and therefore both are here advised not to be forward to accept of every man's invitation, but especially not to thrust themselves in uninvited. Observe,
Pro 23:9
We are here directed not to cast pearls before swine (Mt. 7:6) and not to expose things sacred to the contempt and ridicule of profane scoffers. It is our duty to take all fit occasions to speak of divine things; but,
Pro 23:10-11
Note,
Pro 23:12-16
Here is,
Pro 23:17-18
Here is,
Pro 23:19-28
Here is good advice for parents to give to their children; words are put into their mouths, that they may train them up in the way they should go. Here we have,
Pro 23:29-35
Solomon here gives fair warning against the sin of drunkenness, to confirm what he had said, v. 20.