the Third Week after Easter
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Nova Vulgata
Ecclesiastes 23:34
Bible Study Resources
Concordances:
- Nave'sDictionaries:
- AmericanEncyclopedias:
- InternationalParallel Translations
Et eris sicut dormiens in medio mari, et quasi sopitus gubernator, amisso clavo.
Et eris sicut dormiens in medio mari,
et quasi sopitus gubernator, amisso clavo.
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
thou: 1 Samuel 25:33-38, 1 Samuel 30:16, 1 Samuel 30:17, 2 Samuel 13:28, 1 Kings 16:9, 1 Kings 20:16-22, Joel 1:5, Matthew 24:38, Luke 17:27-29, Luke 21:34, 1 Thessalonians 5:2-7
midst: Heb. heart, Exodus 15:8
Reciprocal: Judges 16:19 - she made Proverbs 6:10 - General Matthew 26:43 - for
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Yea, thou shall be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea,.... Not in the open sea, and the waves of it, there fluctuating and tossed about; nor in an island encompassed by sea; but in a ship at sea, a drunken man reels and tumbles about, just as a ship does at sea; hence the motions and agitations of it, and of the men in it, are compared to the reeling and staggering of a drunken man,
Psalms 107:26;
or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast: where the motion is the greatest. Or all this may be expressive of the dangers which a drunkard is exposed unto, and of his stupidity and insensibility; for though he is in as great danger as one in the circumstances described, in a storm at sea, yet is not sensible of it; which agrees with what follows.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
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 Psalms 37:1; Psalms 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 envy, emulate, the fear of the Lord.”
Proverbs 23:18
Or, For if there is an end (hereafter), thine expectations shall not be cut off. There is an implied confidence in immortality.
Proverbs 23:20
Riotous eaters of flesh - The word is the same as “glutton” in Proverbs 23:21 and Deuteronomy 21:20.
Proverbs 23:21
The three forms of evil that destroy reputation and tempt to waste are brought together.
Drowsiness - Specially the drunken sleep, heavy and confused.
Proverbs 23:26
Observe - Another reading gives, “let thine eyes delight in my ways.”
Proverbs 23:28
As for a prey - Better as in the margin.
The transgressors - Better, the treacherous,” those that attack men treacherously.
Proverbs 23:29
Woe ... sorrow - The words in the original are interjections, probably expressing distress. The sharp touch of the satirist reproduces the actual inarticulate utterances of drunkenness.
Proverbs 23:30
Mixed wine - Wine flavored with aromatic spices, that increase its stimulating properties Isaiah 5:22. There is a touch of sarcasm in “go to seek.” The word, elsewhere used of diligent search after knowledge Proverbs 25:2; Job 11:7; Psalms 139:1, is used here of the investigations of connoisseurs in wine meeting to test its qualities.
Proverbs 23:31
His color - literally, “its eye,” the clear brightness, or the beaded bubbles on which the wine drinker looks with complacency.
It moveth itself aright - The Hebrew word describes the pellucid stream flowing pleasantly from the wineskin or jug into the goblet or the throat (compare Song of Solomon 7:9), rather than a sparkling wine.
Proverbs 23:32
Adder - Said to be the Cerastes, or horned snake.
Proverbs 23:34
The passage is interesting, as showing the increased familiarity of Israelites with the experiences of sea life (compare Psalms 104:25-26; Psalms 107:23-30).
In the midst of the sea - i. e., When the ship is in the trough of the sea and the man is on the deck. The second clause varies the form of danger, the man is in the “cradle” at the top of the mast, and sleeps there, regardless of the danger.
Proverbs 23:35
The picture ends with the words of the drunkard on waking from his sleep. Unconscious of the excesses of the night, his first thought is to return to his old habit.
When shall I awake ... - Better, when I shall awake I will seek it yet again.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Proverbs 23:34. Lieth 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.
