Proverbs 23:34

Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast. YEA, THOU SHALT BE AS HE THAT LIETH DOWN IN THE MIDST (THE HEART) OF THE SEA - fancying himself secure as if he were in the midst of the land; implying the greatness of the danger; also the restlessness of mind and body, so that all things seem to swim around one, as if he were being tossed on the sea. OR AS HE THAT LIETH UPON THE TOP OF A MAST - where there is the greatest agitation....

Verse Proverbs 23:34. _LIETH DOWN IN THE MIDST OF THE SEA_] He is utterly regardless of life; which is expressed very forcibly by one in a state of intoxication ascending the _shrouds_, clasping the mast-head, and there _falling asleep_; whence, in a few moments, he must either fall down upon the deck and be dashed to pieces, or fall into the sea and be drowned. Reader, if thou be a man given to this appetite, put a knife to thy throat....

Another continuous exhortation rather than a collection of maxims. Proverbs 23:16 The teacher rejoices when the disciple’s heart Proverbs 23:15 receives wisdom, and yet more when his lips can utter it. REINS - See Job 19:27 note. Proverbs 23:17 ENVY SINNERS - Compare in Psalms 37:1; Psalms 73:3; the feeling whi

EXPOSITION PROVERBS 23:1 A hexastich closely connected with the last verse of the preceding chapter, as if the warning was addressed to the man of skill whom his talents had made the guest of kings. PROVERBS 23:1 WHEN THOU SITTEST TO EAT WITH A RULER. This, of course, would be a great honour to a man of lowly birth, or to one of the middle class, to whom the manners of courts and palaces were practically unknown. CONSIDER DILIGENTLY WHAT IS BEFORE THEE. So the Vulgate, _Qua apposita sunt ante faciem tuam_;_ _and the Septuagint, Τὰ παρατιθέμενά σοι_. _Take heed lest the unusual dainties on the table tempt thee to excess, which may lead not only to unseemly behavi

YEA, THOU SHALL BE AS HE THAT LIETH DOWN IN THE MIDST OF THE SEA,.... Not in the open sea, and the waves of it, there fluctuating and tossed about; nor in an island encompassed by sea; but in a ship at sea, a drunken man reels and tumbles about, just as a ship does at sea; hence the motions and agitations of it, and of the men in it, are compared to the reeling and staggering of a drunken man, Psalms 107:26; OR AS HE THAT LIETH UPON THE TOP OF A MAST: where the motion is the greatest. Or all this may be expressive of the dangers which a drunkard is exposed unto, and of his stupidity and insensibility; for though he is in as great danger as one in the circumstances described, in a storm at sea, yet is not sensible of it; which agrees with what follows....

CHAPTER 23 INSTRUCTIONS CONTINUED The opening proverbs of this chapter treat of self-restraint in curbing the appetite and give manners to be observed in the presence of a superior. Warnings against riches and their uncertainty are contained in Proverbs 23:4 and Proverbs 23:5. How well it would be if the great mass of professing Christians, and some true believers also, would consider this instruction: “Labor not to be rich.” But this exhortation as well as the exhortation in 1Ti 6:1-10 is overlooked, and many who profess to have their riches in Christ, in the heavenly places and never ending glory, weary themselves with earthly gain, and aim to become wealthy. But riches have wings; they can fly away swiftly as does the eagle when he mounts heavenward. This too is mentioned in the epistle to Timoth

It is possible to take these three verses together as a warning against treachery lurking in the dainties of a royal table. In that case, in Proverbs 23:1 we should render consider diligently what (_mg._) is set before thee, and in Proverbs 23:2 continue, For thou wilt put (_mg.)._ But possibly the general interpretation represented by RV is more suitable, and Proverbs 23:3 has come in by error from Proverbs 23:6, where it more naturally belongs. Proverbs 23:4 f. The uncertainty of riches. The general sense is clear, but the text is

MIDST. Hebrew "heart". TOP. basket: i.e. the look-out basket or cradle on the mast....

_in the midst of the sea_ as if it were a safe resting-place. A strong figure to denote the utter recklessness of danger which excess of drink induces. _upon the top of a mast_ It only weakens the figure to supply here _in the cradle_, or the like; just as it does in the former clause to introduce _on the deck of a ship_. "The rig of an ancient ship was more simple and clumsy than that employed in modern times. Its great feature was one large mast, with one large square sail fastened to a yard of great length," Smith's _Dict. of Bible_, Art. SHIP. The drunkard is as foolhardy as one who should lie down to sleep there. It is difficult to understand how Dean Stanley finds here "a notice rare in any ancient writings, unique in the Hebrew Scriptures, of the well-known signs of sea-sickness" (_Jewish Church_, ii. 186)....

AS HE THAT LIETH UPON THE TOP OF A MAST— The Vulgate renders this, _And as the sleeping pilot, having lost his helm:_ but our translation, which is agreeable to the Hebrew, is by far the strongest and most expressive....