PROV 20:1 Interlinear View

20:1 OSHB note: We agree with both BHS 1997 and BHQ on an unexpected reading.

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 10:1–22:16: This is the main collection of Solomon’s proverbs

This section is the main collection of Solomon’s proverbs. It has a very different structure from the longer poetic lectures of chapters 1–9. It consists mostly of individual couplets (two-line poems) that are each one verse in length. With the exception of the title (10:1a), paragraph breaks will not be indicated in the Notes or Display. You may of course choose to start each proverb as a separate paragraph in your translation.

In chapters 10–15, most of these one-verse couplets express a contrast between the two lines. One of the more common contrasts is between the righteous/wise and the wicked/foolish and the different consequences of their conduct.

In chapters 16:1–22:16, more topics are discussed. There is more emphasis on the role of the king and other leaders. In these chapters, there are few proverbs with contrasting lines. Some of the parallel lines are similar in meaning. More frequently, the second line adds to what the first line says or gives an example. Most of the verses have no obvious connection with the previous or following proverbs.UBS (page 214), Fox (page 509), McKane (page 413). Many scholars, including McKane, point out that there are some topical groupings as well as poetic connections. These include the repetition of certain words or sounds. This observation does not deny the individual nature of most of the proverbs in this Section.

Two of the types of proverbs in this section are not found in chapters 1–9. One type contains logical reasoning from the lesser to the greater. See 11:31 for a list of these proverbs. There are also several varieties of complex “better than” proverbs. The most common have a contrasting situation in each line (see 12:9). For other varieties, see 16:16, 19:1, and 21:9.

Many of the proverbs in this section refer to categories of people who share a common trait. For example, they refer to the righteous, the wise, the poor, and the lazy. In Hebrew, some verses use singular forms to refer to these groups of people. Other verses use plural forms. Still others use a combination of singular and plural. See the note on 10:30a–b for one example. For most of these verses, the Notes will not comment on the difference between singular and plural forms. Use a natural way in your language to refer to one or more people who are in the same category.

Many of the proverbs in this section express a general principle in abstract terms. They are not addressed specifically to the readers. For example, 10:2a–b says:

Ill-gotten treasures are of no value,

but righteousness delivers from death.

However, the author intended his readers to understand these proverbs as advice that they should follow. In some languages, authors or speakers give advice more directly, using pronouns such as you^(sing), you^(plur), we^(dual), or we^(incl). See the note on 10:2 for translation suggestions.

Some other headings for this section are:

Proverbs of Solomon (NIV)

The Wise Words of Solomon (NCV)

Here are many wise things that Solomon said

20:1

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

^1a Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler,

^1band whoever is led astray by them is not wise.

The first line describes the parallel results of drinking alcoholic beverages. The second line concludes that getting drunk is not wise.

20:1a

Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler,

People who drink too much wine or beer are mockers. They are noisy and make trouble.
Drinking wine or beer causes people to mock others and make lots of noise.

Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler: The words Wine and strong drink are used here as figures of speech. They represent people who drink wine and hard liquor. Drinking too much causes such people to be mockers and brawlers. If a literal translation of these figures of speech is not clear or natural in your language, some other ways to translate this clause are:

Wine produces mockers; alcohol leads to brawls. (NLT)

People who drink too much wine make fun of others; those who drink too much liquor are noisy.

Wine…strong drink: The word that the BSB translates as Wine refers specifically to an alcoholic drink made from grape juice. For other ways to translate “wine,” see the note on 3:10b. The word that the BSB translates as strong drink refers to other alcoholic drinks. These include beer made from barley and wine made from dates, figs, or pomegranates. Together these two words refer to any kind of intoxicating drink made from grain or fruit.NIDOTTE (H8910), TWOT (#2388a), Waltke (page 126). The alcoholic beverages referred to here were made by fermentation, not by distillation. They contained 7–10 percent alcohol.

a mocker…a brawler: For the first of these parallel terms, see mocker in the Glossary. Also see the note on 19:29a. The word brawler refers to a person who is noisy, disorderly, and aggressive. This kind of person often causes trouble and gets into fights.

Due to the parallelism, no contrast is implied between the results of drinking wine and the results of drinking strong drinks. Drinking either of these beverages can lead to either mocking or brawling or both. In some languages, it may be clearer or more natural to combine or reorder the parallel parts. For example:

Drinking wine or other liquor leads to mocking and rowdy behavior.

If a person has too much to drink, he mocks others and causes trouble.

20:1b

and whoever is led astray by them is not wise.

A person who gets drunk shows a complete lack of wisdom.
It is foolish to get drunk.

and whoever is led astray by them: There are two ways to interpret the phrase that the BSB translates as is led astray by them:In Hebrew, the final prepositional phrase is literally “by it” (singular), as in the NASB. The singular pronoun refers collectively to both wine and beer.

The phrase means “becomes intoxicated/drunk” or “staggers” as a result of drinking alcoholic beverages. For example:
whoever is intoxicated by it (NASB) (CEV, GW, NASB, NCV, NJPS, GNT)
The phrase means “goes astray” or “is deceived”The NJB has “anyone whom it seduces.” UBS (page 415) and Toy (page 383) mention “is deceived” as a possible meaning along with “errs” and “is led astray,” but both think that interpretation (1) is more appropriate in this context. as a result of drinking alcoholic beverages. For example:
whoever goes astray by them (NET) (BSB, ESV, KJV, NET, NIV, NJB, NLT, NRSV)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). This interpretation best fits the context of drinking. It is supported by three of the major lexicons and most of the commentaries used in preparing these Notes.See BDB (#7686), HALOT (#9368), and NIDOTTE (H8706).

is not wise: This phrase may indicate that a person who gets drunk lacks wisdom or that he behaves foolishly. It may also indicate that it is foolish to get drunk. Some other ways to translate 20:1b are:

It’s stupid to get drunk. (GNT)

A person who gets drunk is not wise.

People who are intoxicated from drinking them do foolish things.

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

לֵ֣ץ הַ֭⁠יַּין

mocker (the),wine

This could mean: (1) people who drink too much wine are spoken of as if they were wine itself. Alternate translation: “Someone who drinks too much wine is a mocker” (2) people who drink too much wine act foolishly, which causes others to mock them. Alternate translation: “Someone who drinks too much wine is mocked by others”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

הֹמֶ֣ה שֵׁכָ֑ר

brawler strong_drink

Here Solomon speaks of people who drink too much intoxicating drink as if they were intoxicating drink itself. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “someone who drinks too much intoxicating drink is a brawler”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

שֹׁ֥גֶה

led_astray

Here, staggers refers to someone who staggers because they are intoxicated. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “who staggers drunkenly”

Note 4 topic: writing-pronouns

בּ֝֗⁠וֹ

in/on/over=him/it

Here, it refers to wine and intoxicating drink, both mentioned in the previous clause. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “by drinking too much alcohol”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / litotes

לֹ֣א יֶחְכָּֽם

not wise

Solomon is using a figure of speech here that expresses a strongly positive meaning by using a negative word, not, together with an expression that is the opposite of the intended meaning. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the positive meaning. Alternate translation: “is quite foolish”

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

20:1 OSHB note: We agree with both BHS 1997 and BHQ on an unexpected reading.

Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.

Acknowledgements: The Hebrew text, lemmas, and morphology are all thanks to the OSHB and some of the glosses are from Macula Hebrew.

OET interlinear PROV 20:1

Hebrew word order

Section 10:1–22:16: This is the main collection of Solomon’s proverbs

20:1

20:1a

20:1b

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)