New Living Translation
Proverbs 23:34
34You will stagger like a sailor tossed at sea, clinging to a swaying mast.
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 King James Version (NKJV)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:
Context of Proverbs 23:34
32For in the end it bites like a poisonous snake; it stings like a viper. 33You will see hallucinations, and you will say crazy things. You will stagger like a sailor tossed at sea, clinging to a swaying mast. 35And you will say, “They hit me, but I didn’t feel it. I didn’t even know it when they beat me up. When will I wake up so I can look for 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 25:33Thank God for your good sense! Bless you for keeping me from murder and from carrying out vengeance with my own hands.
- 1 Samuel 30:16So he led David to them, and they found the Amalekites spread out across the fields, eating and drinking and dancing with joy because of the vast amount of plunder they had taken from the Philistines and the land of Judah.
- 2 Samuel 13:28Absalom told his men, “Wait until Amnon gets drunk; then at my signal, kill him! Don’t be afraid. I’m the one who has given the command. Take courage and do it!”
- 1 Kings 16:9Then Zimri, who commanded half of the royal chariots, made plans to kill him. One day in Tirzah, Elah was getting drunk at the home of Arza, the supervisor of the palace.
- 1 Kings 20:16About noontime, as Ben-hadad and the thirty-two allied kings were still in their tents drinking themselves into a stupor,
- Joel 1:5Wake up, you drunkards, and weep! Wail, all you wine-drinkers! All the grapes are ruined, and all your sweet wine is gone.
- Matthew 24:38In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat.
- Luke 17:27In those days, the people enjoyed banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat and the flood came and destroyed them all.
- Luke 21:34“Watch out! Don’t let your hearts be dulled by carousing and drunkenness, and by the worries of this life. Don’t let that day catch you unaware,
- 1 Thessalonians 5:2For you know quite well that the day of the Lord’s return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night.
- Exodus 15:8At the blast of your breath, the waters piled up! The surging waters stood straight like a wall; in the heart of the sea the deep waters became hard.
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
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