Proverbs 31:6
New International Version
Let beer be for those who are perishing, wine for those who are in anguish!

New Living Translation
Alcohol is for the dying, and wine for those in bitter distress.

English Standard Version
Give strong drink to the one who is perishing, and wine to those in bitter distress;

Berean Standard Bible
Give strong drink to one who is perishing, and wine to the bitter in soul.

King James Bible
Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts.

New King James Version
Give strong drink to him who is perishing, And wine to those who are bitter of heart.

New American Standard Bible
Give intoxicating drink to one who is perishing, And wine to one whose life is bitter.

NASB 1995
Give strong drink to him who is perishing, And wine to him whose life is bitter.

NASB 1977
Give strong drink to him who is perishing, And wine to him whose life is bitter.

Legacy Standard Bible
Give strong drink to him who is perishing, And wine to those whose soul is bitter.

Amplified Bible
Give strong drink [as medicine] to him who is ready to pass away, And wine to him whose life is bitter.

Christian Standard Bible
Give beer to one who is dying and wine to one whose life is bitter.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Give beer to one who is dying and wine to one whose life is bitter.

American Standard Version
Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, And wine unto the bitter in soul:

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
Strong drink is given to mourners and wine to bitter souls,

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Give strong drink to those that are in sorrow, and the wine to drink to those in pain:

Contemporary English Version
Beer and wine are only for the dying or for those who have lost all hope.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Give strong drink to them that are sad: and wine to them that are grieved in mind:

English Revised Version
Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto the bitter in soul:

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Give liquor to a person who is dying and wine to one who feels resentful.

Good News Translation
Alcohol is for people who are dying, for those who are in misery.

International Standard Version
Give liquor to someone who is perishing, and wine to someone who is deeply depressed.

JPS Tanakh 1917
Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, And wine unto the bitter in soul;

Literal Standard Version
Give strong drink to the perishing, | And wine to the bitter in soul,

Majority Standard Bible
Give strong drink to one who is perishing, and wine to the bitter in soul.

New American Bible
Give strong drink to anyone who is perishing, and wine to the embittered;

NET Bible
Give strong drink to the one who is perishing, and wine to those who are bitterly distressed;

New Revised Standard Version
Give strong drink to one who is perishing, and wine to those in bitter distress;

New Heart English Bible
Give strong drink to him who is ready to perish; and wine to the bitter in soul:

Webster's Bible Translation
Give strong drink to him that is ready to perish, and wine to those that are of heavy hearts.

World English Bible
Give strong drink to him who is ready to perish, and wine to the bitter in soul.

Young's Literal Translation
Give strong drink to the perishing, And wine to the bitter in soul,

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Words of King Lemuel
5lest they drink and forget what is decreed, depriving all the oppressed of justice. 6Give strong drink to one who is perishing, and wine to the bitter in soul. 7Let him drink and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.…

Cross References
Job 3:20
Why is light given to the miserable, and life to the bitter of soul,

Job 29:13
The dying man blessed me, and I made the widow's heart sing for joy.

Psalm 104:15
wine that gladdens the heart of man, oil that makes his face to shine, and bread that sustains his heart.

Proverbs 31:7
Let him drink and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.

Isaiah 38:15
What can I say? He has spoken to me, and He Himself has done this. I will walk slowly all my years because of the anguish of my soul.


Treasury of Scripture

Give strong drink to him that is ready to perish, and wine to those that be of heavy hearts.

strong

Psalm 104:15
And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man's heart.

1 Timothy 5:23
Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities.

of heavy hearts or bitter of soul

1 Samuel 1:10
And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore.

1 Samuel 30:6
And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.

2 Kings 4:27
And when she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught him by the feet: but Gehazi came near to thrust her away. And the man of God said, Let her alone; for her soul is vexed within her: and the LORD hath hid it from me, and hath not told me.

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Proverbs 31
1. Lemuel's lesson of chastity and temperance
6. The afflicted are to be comforted and defended
10. The praise and properties of a good wife














(6) Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish.--For this is not waste, but an advantageous use of God's gift. (Comp. St. Paul's advice, 1Timothy 5:23.) It was out of a merciful remembrance of this passage that the pious ladies of Jerusalem used to provide a medicated drink for criminals condemned to be crucified, in order to deaden their pain. This was offered to our Lord (Matthew 27:34), but He would not drink it, as He wished to keep His mind clear to the last, and was willing to drink to the dregs the "cup which His Father had given Him."

Verse 6. - There are cases where strong drink may be properly administered. Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish (Job 29:13; Job 31:19). As a restorative, a cordial, or a medicine, wine may he advantageously used; it has a place in the providential economy of God. "Use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities," was St. Paul's advice to Timothy (1 Timothy 5:23). It is supposed to have been in consideration of the injunction in the text that the ladies of Jerusalem provided for criminals on their way to the place of execution a drink of medicated wine, which might deaden the pain of suffering. This was the draught rejected by Christ, who willed to taste the full bitterness of death (Matthew 27:34; Mark 15:23). The Septuagint has, "to those that are in sorrow;" so the Vulgate, maerentibus, but this makes the two clauses tautological. Wine unto those that be of heavy hearts (Job 3:20). "Wine," says the psalmist, "maketh glad the heart of man" (Psalm 104:15). Says Homer, 'Iliad,' 6:261 -

"Great is the strength
Which generous wine imparts to wearied men."
Wine, says St. Chrysostom ('Hom. in Ephes.,' 19), "has been given us for cheerfulness, not for drunkenness. Wouldest thou know where wine is good? Hear what the Scripture saith, 'Give wine to them, etc. And justly, because it can mitigate asperity and gloominess, and drive away clouds from the brow" (comp. Ecclus. 34 [31]:25, etc.).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Give
תְּנוּ־ (tə·nū-)
Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine plural
Strong's 5414: To give, put, set

strong drink
שֵׁכָ֣ר (šê·ḵār)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 7941: An intoxicant, intensely alcoholic liquor

to one who is perishing,
לְאוֹבֵ֑ד (lə·’ō·w·ḇêḏ)
Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 6: To wander away, lose oneself, to perish

and wine
וְ֝יַיִן (wə·ya·yin)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3196: Wine, intoxication

to the bitter
לְמָ֣רֵי (lə·mā·rê)
Preposition-l | Adjective - masculine plural construct
Strong's 4751: Bitter, bitterness, bitterly

in soul.
נָֽפֶשׁ׃ (nā·p̄eš)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 5315: A soul, living being, life, self, person, desire, passion, appetite, emotion


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OT Poetry: Proverbs 31:6 Give strong drink to him who (Prov. Pro Pr)
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