19 Thou, my son, hear and be wise, and direct thy heart in the way. 20 Be not among winebibbers, among riotous eaters of flesh. 21 For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty; and drowsiness clotheth with rags. 22 Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old. 23 Buy the truth, and sell it not; wisdom, and instruction, and intelligence. 24 The father of a righteous [man] shall greatly rejoice, and he that begetteth a wise [son] shall have joy of him: 25 let thy father and thy mother have joy, and let her that bore thee rejoice. 26 My son, give me thy heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways. 27 For a whore is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit. 28 She also lieth in wait as a robber, and increaseth the treacherous among men.
29 Who hath woe? Who hath sorrow? Who contentions? Who complaining? Who wounds without cause? Who redness of eyes? 30 —They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to try mixed wine. 31 Look not upon the wine when it is red, when it sparkleth in the cup, and goeth down smoothly: 32 at the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. 33 Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thy heart shall speak froward things; 34 and thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, and as he that lieth down upon the top of a mast: 35 —''They have smitten me, [and] I am not sore; they have beaten me, [and] I knew it not. When shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.''
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Proverbs 23:19-35
Commentary on Proverbs 23:19-28
(Read Proverbs 23:19-28)
The gracious Saviour who purchased pardon and peace for his people, with all the affection of a tender parent, counsels us to hear and be wise, and is ready to guide our hearts in his way. Here we have an earnest call to young people, to attend to the advice of their godly parents. If the heart be guided, the steps will be guided. Buy the truth, and sell it not; be willing to part with any thing for it. Do not part with it for pleasures, honours, riches, or any thing in this world. The heart is what the great God requires. We must not think to divide the heart between God and the world; he will have all or none. Look to the rule of God's word, the conduct of his providence, and the good examples of his people. Particular cautions are given against sins most destructive to wisdom and grace in the soul. It is really a shame to make a god of the belly. Drunkenness stupifies men, and then all goes to ruin. Licentiousness takes away the heart that should be given to God. Take heed of any approaches toward this sin, it is very hard to retreat from it. It bewitches men to their ruin.
Commentary on Proverbs 23:29-35
(Read Proverbs 23:29-35)
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 civility. It stupifies and besots men. They are in danger of death, of damnation; as much exposed as if they slept upon the top of a mast, yet feel secure. They fear no peril when the terrors of the Lord are before them; they feel no pain when the judgments of God are actually upon them. So lost is a drunkard to virtue and honour, so wretchedly is his conscience seared, that he is not ashamed to say, I will seek it again. With good reason we were bid to stop before the beginning. Who that has common sense would contract a habit, or sell himself to a sin, which tends to such guilt and misery, and exposes a man every day to the danger of dying insensible, and awaking in hell? Wisdom seems in these chapters to take up the discourse as at the beginning of the book. They must be considered as the words of Christ to the sinner.