Deuteronomy 28:28

28:28 The Lord will also subject you to madness, blindness, and confusion of mind. ¹ 

Job 15:21-22

15:21 Terrifying sounds fill ²  his ears;

in a time of peace marauders ³  attack him.

15:22 He does not expect ⁴  to escape from darkness; ⁵ 

he is marked for the sword; ⁶ 

Proverbs 23:29-35

23:29 Who has woe? ⁷  Who has sorrow?

Who has contentions? Who has complaints?

Who has wounds without cause? Who has dullness ⁸  of the eyes?

23:30 Those who linger over wine,

those who go looking for mixed wine. ⁹ 

23:31 Do not look on the wine when it is red,

when it sparkles ¹⁰  in the cup,

when it goes down smoothly. ¹¹ 

23:32 Afterward ¹²  it bites like a snake,

and stings like a viper.

23:33 Your eyes will see strange things, ¹³ 

and your mind will speak perverse things.

23:34 And you will be like one who lies down in the midst ¹⁴  of the sea,

and like one who lies down on the top of the rigging. ¹⁵ 

23:35 You will say, ¹⁶  “They have struck me, but I am not harmed!

They beat me, but I did not know it! ¹⁷ 

When will I awake? I will look for another drink.” ¹⁸ 

[28:28]  ¹ tn Heb “heart” (so KJV, NASB).

[15:21]  ² tn The word “fill” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation.

[15:21]  ³ tn The word שׁוֹדֵד (shoded) means “a robber; a plunderer” (see Job 12:6). With the verb bo’ the sentence means that the robber pounces on or comes against him (see GKC 373 §118.f). H. H. Rowley observes that the text does not say that he is under attack, but that the sound of fears is in his ears, i.e., that he is terrified by thoughts of this.

[15:22]  ⁴ tn This is the meaning of the Hiphil imperfect negated: “he does not believe” or “he has no confidence.” It is followed by the infinitive construct functioning as the direct object – he does not expect to return (to escape) from darkness.

[15:22]  ⁵ sn In the context of these arguments, “darkness” probably refers to calamity, and so the wicked can expect a calamity that is final.

[15:22]  ⁶ tn Heb “he is watched [or waited for] by the sword.” G. R. Driver reads it, “he is marked down for the sword” (“Problems in the Hebrew text of Job,” VTSup 3 [1955]: 78). Ewald suggested “laid up for the sword.” Ball has “looks for the sword.” The MT has a passive participle from צָפָה (tsafah, “to observe, watch”) which can be retained in the text; the meaning of the form can then be understood as the result of the inspection (E. Dhorme, Job, 217).

[23:29]  ⁷ sn The eighteenth saying is about excessive drinking. The style changes here as the sage breaks into a vivid use of the imagination. It begins with a riddle describing the effects of drunkenness (v. 29) and gives the answer in v. 30; instructions follow in v. 31, with the consequences described in v. 32; the direct address continues in vv. 33 and 34; and the whole subject is concluded with the drunkard’s own words in v. 35 (M. E. Andrews, “Variety of Expression in Proverbs 23:29-35,” VT 28 [1978]: 102-3).

[23:29]  ⁸ sn The Hebrew word translated “dullness” describes darkness or dullness of the eyes due to intoxication, perhaps “redness” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); NIV, NCV, NLT “bloodshot eyes.” NAB understands the situation differently: “black eyes.”

[23:30]  ⁹ sn The answer to the question posed in v. 29 is obviously one who drinks too much, which this verse uses metonymies to point out. Lingering over wine is an adjunct of drinking more wine; and seeking mixed wine obviously means with the effect or the purpose of drinking it.

[23:31]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “its eye gives.” With CEV’s “bubbling up in the glass” one might think champagne was in view.

[23:31]  ¹¹ tn The expression is difficult, and is suspected of having been added from Song 7:10, although the parallel is not exact. The verb is the Hitpael imperfect of הָלַךְ (halakh); and the prepositional phrase uses the word “upright; equity; pleasing,” from יָשָׁר (yashar). KJV has “when it moveth itself aright”; much more helpful is ASV: “when it goeth down smoothly.” Most recent English versions are similar to ASV. The phrase obviously refers to the pleasing nature of wine.

[23:32]  ¹² tn Heb “its end”; NASB “At the last”; TEV (interpretively) “The next morning.”

[23:33]  ¹³ tn The feminine plural of זָר (zar, “strange things”) refers to the trouble one has in seeing and speaking when drunk.

[23:34]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “heart.” The idiom here means “middle”; KJV “in the midst.”

[23:34]  ¹⁵ sn The point of these similes is to compare being drunk with being seasick. One who tries to sleep when at sea, or even worse, when up on the ropes of the mast, will be tossed back and forth.

[23:35]  ¹⁶ tn The phrase “You will say” is supplied in the translation to make it clear that the drunkard is now speaking.

[23:35]  ¹⁷ sn The line describes how one who is intoxicated does not feel the pain, even though beaten by others. He does not even remember it.

[23:35]  ¹⁸ tn The last line has only “I will add I will seek it again.” The use of אוֹסִיף (’osif) signals a verbal hendiadys with the next verb: “I will again seek it.” In this context the suffix on the verb refers to the wine – the drunkard wants to go and get another drink.