19 Hear thou, my son, and be wise, And make happy in the way thy heart, 20 Be not thou among quaffers of wine, Among gluttonous ones of flesh, 21 For the quaffer and glutton become poor, And drowsiness clotheth with rags. 22 Hearken to thy father, who begat thee, And despise not thy mother when she hath become old. 23 Truth buy, and sell not, Wisdom, and instruction, and understanding, 24 The father of the righteous rejoiceth greatly, The begetter of the wise rejoiceth in him. 25 Rejoice doth thy father and thy mother, Yea, she that bare thee is joyful. 26 Give, my son, thy heart to me, And let thine eyes watch my ways. 27 For a harlot 'is' a deep ditch, And a strange woman 'is' a strait pit. 28 She also, as catching prey, lieth in wait, And the treacherous among men she increaseth.
29 Who hath wo? who hath sorrow? Who hath contentions? who hath plaint? Who hath wounds without cause? Who hath redness of eyes? 30 Those tarrying by the wine, Those going in to search out mixed wine. 31 See not wine when it showeth itself red, When it giveth in the cup its colour, It goeth up and down through the upright. 32 Its latter end—as a serpent it biteth, And as a basilisk it stingeth. 33 Thine eyes see strange women, And thy heart speaketh perverse things. 34 And thou hast been as one lying down in the heart of the sea, And as one lying down on the top of a mast. 35 'They smote me, I have not been sick, They beat me, I have not known. When I awake—I 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.