20:1
Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:
1a
Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler,
1b and 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: 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. (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
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 Berean Standard Bible 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 Berean Standard Bible 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.
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.
-or-
If a person has too much to drink, he mocks others and causes trouble.
20:1b
and whoever is led astray by them: There are two ways to interpret the phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as is led astray by them :
(1) The phrase means “becomes intoxicated/drunk ” or “staggers” as a result of drinking alcoholic beverages. For example:
whoever is intoxicated by it (New American Standard Bible)
(2) The phrase means “goes astray ” or “is deceived” as a result of drinking alcoholic beverages. For example:
whoever goes astray by them (NET Bible)
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.
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. (Good News Translation)
-or-
A person who gets drunk is not wise.
-or-
People who are intoxicated from drinking them do foolish things.
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