New King James Version
Proverbs 23:34
34Yes, you will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, Or like one who lies at the top of the mast, saying:
Proverbs 23:34 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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.
- New International Version (NIV)You will be like one sleeping on the high seas, lying on top of the rigging.
- English Standard Version (ESV)You will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, like one who lies on the top of a mast.
- New Living Translation (NLT)You will stagger like a sailor tossed at sea, clinging to a swaying mast.
Context of Proverbs 23:34
32At the last it bites like a serpent, And stings like a viper. 33Your eyes will see strange things, And your heart will utter perverse things. Yes, you will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, Or like one who lies at the top of the mast, saying: 35“They have struck me, but I was not hurt; They have beaten me, but I did not feel it. When shall I awake, that I may seek another drink?”
Read all of Proverbs 23Proverbs 23:34 word by word
וְ֭הָיִיתָ כְּשֹׁכֵ֣ב בְּלֶב־יָ֑ם וּ֝כְשֹׁכֵ֗ב בְּרֹ֣אשׁ חִבֵּֽל׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Proverbs 23:34
- 1 Samuel 25:33And blessed is your advice and blessed are you, because you have kept me this day from coming to bloodshed and from avenging myself with my own hand.
- 1 Samuel 30:16And when he had brought him down, there they were, spread out over all the land, eating and drinking and dancing, because of all the great spoil which they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah.
- 2 Samuel 13:28Now Absalom had commanded his servants, saying, “Watch now, when Amnon’s heart is merry with wine, and when I say to you, ‘Strike Amnon!’ then kill him. Do not be afraid. Have I not commanded you? Be courageous and valiant.”
- 1 Kings 16:9Now his servant Zimri, commander of half his chariots, conspired against him as he was in Tirzah drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza, steward of his house in Tirzah.
- 1 Kings 20:16So they went out at noon. Meanwhile Ben-Hadad and the thirty-two kings helping him were getting drunk at the command post.
- Joel 1:5Awake, you drunkards, and weep; And wail, all you drinkers of wine, Because of the new wine, For it has been cut off from your mouth.
- Matthew 24:38For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,
- Luke 17:27They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.
- Luke 21:34“But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:2For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.
- Exodus 15:8And with the blast of Your nostrils The waters were gathered together; The floods stood upright like a heap; The depths congealed in the heart of the sea.
Commentaries on Proverbs 23:34
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 34Lieth down in the midst of the sea - He is utterly regardless of life; which is expressed very forcibly by one in a state of intoxication ascending the shrouds, clasping the mast-head, and there falling asleep; whence, in a few moments, he must either fall down upon the deck and be dashed to pieces, or fall into the sea and be drowned. Reader, if thou be a man given to this appetite, put a knife to thy throat.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15-35Verses 15-35 Another continuous exhortation rather than a collection of maxims. Proverbs 23:16 The teacher rejoices when the disciple‘s heart Proverbs 23:15 receives wisdom, and yet more when his lips can utter it. Reins - See Job 19:27 note. Proverbs 23:17 Envy sinners - Compare in Psalm 37:1; Psalm 73:3; the feeling which looks half-longingly at the prosperity of evil doers. Some connect the verb “envy” with the second clause, “envy not sinners, but…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 29-35Verses 29-35 Solomon warns against drunkenness. Those that would be kept from sin, must keep from all the beginnings of it, and fear coming within reach of its allurements. Foresee the punishment, what it will at last end in, if repentance prevent not. It makes men quarrel. Drunkards wilfully make woe and sorrow for themselves. It makes men impure and insolent. The tongue grows unruly; the heart utters things contrary to reason, religion, and common…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 29-35Saying 18: This saying highlights the foolishness of someone who drinks too much alcohol (see Proverbs 20:1).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 26-3526-35. A solemn warning against whoredom and drunkenness (Ho 4:11). give me--This is the address of that divine wisdom so often presented (Pr 8:1; 9:3, &c.). heart--confidence. observe--keep. my ways--such as I teach you (Pr 3:17; 9:6).Read the comment
Topics related to Proverbs 23:34
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Proverbs 23
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries