“Like vinegar to the teeth, and smoke to the eyes”: This verse is not a contrast between two things. Rather the first line says what something in line 2 is like. It compares the “sluggard” to the effect of “vinegar” on the teeth and “smoke” on the eyes. “Vinegar” refers here to an acidic liquid made from the juice of grapes. In Psa 69.21 (Hebrew verse 22) it occurs in parallel with poison. The effect of drinking this strongly acidic liquid is to irritate the mouth and cause the teeth to feel rough. “Vinegar” is sometimes expressed as “bitter drink.” “Smoke” likewise burns and irritates the eyes.

“So is the sluggard to those who send him”: “The sluggard” refers to a lazy person. See the description in 6.6. The “sluggard” is not a farmer who fails to do the work required to have a suitable life but more likely a servant who is under orders, as seen in the expression “those who send him”. This expression refers to the owner or overseer of the servant who assigns him a job. The laziness of such a servant is as irritating to his owner or employer as vinegar and smoke. Bible en français courant translates “Vinegar irritates the teeth and smoke [irritates] the eyes; in the same way the lazy servant is a source of irritation to his master.”

Some other translations maintain a second person address in this verse: “Don’t try to make a lazy person work for you. That person will make you feel bad, like something bitter in your mouth or smoke that stings your eyes.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Proverbs. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .