Sunday 2021.10.24
On this First Day of the Biblical Week, I read Proverbs 22 to 24 from the Old Testament using the New King James Version.
Proverbs 23 contains a poetic passage about the perils of being addicted to wine. It concludes with the statement, "When shall I awake, that I may seek another drink?", a poignant reminder of the endless whirlpool into which a drunkard descends.
Proverbs 23:29 - 35 NKJV
Who has woe?
---- Who has sorrow?
Who has contentions?
---- Who has complaints?
Who has wounds without cause?
---- Who has redness of eyes?
Those who linger long at the wine,
---- Those who go in search of mixed wine.
Do not look on the wine when it is red,
---- When it sparkles in the cup,
---- When it swirls around smoothly;
At the last it bites like a serpent,
---- And stings like a viper.
Your eyes will see strange things,
---- And your heart will utter perverse things.
Yes, you will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea,
---- Or like one who lies at the top of the mast, saying:
“They have struck me, but I was not hurt;
---- They have beaten me, but I did not feel it.
When shall I awake, that I may seek another drink?”
