“Do not look at wine when it is red”: This line is the command at the center of the whole saying. The negative “Do not” is the marker for a strong warning. The verb “look at” is the common verb for “see” or “look,” but in this context it has the sense of “look with pleasure” or “look with desire for.” Good News Translation captures something of this sense with “Don’t let wine tempt you.” “When it is red” suggests that the wine is an attractive color: “even though it is rich red” (Good News Translation).

“When it sparkles in the cup”: This is the first of two additional clauses that describe what the “wine” in the first line looks like and feels like. “Sparkles” is the rendering of the Hebrew idiom “shows its eye”; it suggests again that the wine is attractive in its appearance. This is expressed in one translation as “lights up.” In some languages it may be more natural to include “in the cup” in the first clause describing wine; for example, “when it is red in the cup.”

“And goes down smoothly”: This describes what the wine feels like to drink. “Smoothly” is derived from the verb “to be straight”: this wine looks so good that it will go straight down the drinker’s throat. Scott and Contemporary English Version express this as “it goes down easily,” but most other English versions say “smoothly.”

In translation it is important that this verse is understood as a strong warning not to drink wine, even though it may look and taste good. Examples of translations that succeed in this are: “Don’t let wine pull [tempt] you, even though it has a nice color and it shines inside the glass and feels good in your throat.” Or : “The red color of wine is beautiful. It shines in the cup and caresses the throat as you drink it. But don’t be deceived by it.”

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 .