אַל־תֵּ֥רֶא יַיִן֮ כִּ֪י יִתְאַ֫דָּ֥ם כִּֽי־יִתֵּ֣ן בכיס עֵינ֑וֹ יִ֝תְהַלֵּ֗ךְ בְּמֵישָׁרִֽים׃
31Do not look at wine when it is red,
when it sparkles in the cup
and goes down smoothly.
For the phrase “Do not look at wine when it is red,” see Ephesians 5:18.
Note that this quote in the New Testament is not taken from the Hebrew Bible but from the Greek Septuagint (LXX) which translates into English as “Do not get drunk from wine.” (Translation by NETS — for the Greek version see the title’s tooltip)
The Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek that are translated as “wine” in English is translated into Pass Valley Yali as “grape juice pressed long ago (= fermented)” or “strong water” (source: Daud Soesilo). In Guhu-Samane it is also translated as “strong water” (source: Ernest L. Richert in The Bible Translator 1965, p. 198ff. ), in Noongar as “liquor” (verbatim: “strong water”) (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang), in Hausa as ruwan inabi or “water of grapes” (with no indication whether it’s alcoholic or not — source: Mark A. Gaddis), in sar as kasə nduú or “grape drink” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin), or in Papantla Totonac and Coyutla Totonac as “a drink like Pulque” (for “Pulque,” see here ) (source: Jacob Loewen in The Bible Translator 1971, p. 169ff. ).
In Swahili, Bible translations try to avoid local words for alcoholic drinks, because “drinking of any alcohol at all was one of the sins most denounced by early missionaries. Hence translators are uncomfortable by the occurrences of wine in the Bible. Some of the established churches which use wine prefer to see church wine as holy, and would not refer to it by the local names used for alcoholic drinks. Instead church wine is often referred to by terms borrowed from other languages, divai (from German, der Wein) or vini/mvinyo (from ltalian/Latin vino/vinum). Several translations done by Protestants have adapted the Swahili divai for ‘wine,’ while those done by Catholics use vini or mvinyo.” (Source: Rachel Konyoro in The Bible Translator 1985, p. 221ff. )
The Swahili divai was in turn borrowed by Sabaot and was turned into tifaayiik and is used as such in the Bible. Kupsabiny, on the other hand, borrowed mvinyo from Swahili and turned it into Finyonik. (Source: Iver Larsen)
In Nyamwezi, two terms are used. Malwa ga muzabibu is a kind of alcohol that people specifically use to get drunk (such as in Genesis 9:21) and ki’neneko is used for a wine made from grapes (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext).
In some Hindi translations (such as the Common Language version, publ. 2015 ), one term (dākharasa दाखरस — grape juice) is used when that particular drink is in the focus (such as in John 2) and another term (madirā मदिरा — “alcohol” or “liquor”) when drunkenness is in the focus (such as in Eph. 5:18).
In Mandarin Chinese, the generic term jiǔ (酒) or “alcohol(ic drink)” is typically used. Exceptions are Leviticus 10:9, Numbers 6:3, Deuteronomy 29:6, Judges 13:4 et al., 1 Samuel 1:15, and Luke 1:15 where a differentiation between weak and strong alcohol is needed. The Mandarin Chinese Union Version (2010) translates that as qīngjiǔ lièjiǔ (清酒烈酒) and dànjiǔ lièjiǔ (淡酒烈酒), both in the form of a Chinese proverb and meaning “light alcohol and strong drink.” (Source: Zetzsche)
See also proceeds from the vine / anything that comes from the grapevine, wine (Japanese honorifics), filled with new wine, and wine (Gen 27:28).
“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 .
23:31
This verse has the actual admonition or warning. It probably describes a typical situation in which a person has a glass of wine in front of him and has already tasted it.
31a Do not gaze at wine while it is red,
31b when it sparkles in the cup
31c and goes down smoothly.
The father advises the young man not to be enticed by the pleasing appearance (31a–b) and taste (31c).
There is an ellipsis (a deliberately omitted clause) in 23:31b–c. In some languages, it may be necessary to supply the command “Do not gaze at wine” from 23:31a. For example:
31b
⌊Do not gaze at wine⌋ when it sparkles in the cup,
31c
⌊Do not gaze at wine⌋ when it goes down smoothly!
23:31a
Do not gaze at wine: In Hebrew, this command is more literally “Do not look at wine.” It implies that the young man should not look or stare longingly at a glass of wine. He should not allow himself to be tempted to drink too much of it.
while it is red: This clause describes the attractive color of the wine. It does not imply that sometimes wine is a different color.
Some other ways to translate this line are:
Do not stare at the redness of the wine
-or-
Don’t let wine tempt you, even though it is rich red (Good News Translation)
Use a natural expression in your language to describe wine that has an enticing or pleasing color.
23:31b
when it sparkles in the cup: The Hebrew idiom that the Berean Standard Bible translates as sparkles is literally “shows its eye.” It probably refers to the way that the wine gleams or reflects in the sides of the cup or glass. Some other ways to translate this line are:
as it lends its color to the cup (Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures)
-or-
How it shines inside the glass!
23:31c
and goes down smoothly: This line may refer to either the smooth taste of the wine or the way that it feels in the mouth or throat when a person drinks or swallows it. Some other ways to translate it are:
How smoothly it slips down the throat! (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
It goes down so easily (Contemporary English Version)
General Comment on 23:31a–c
In some languages, it may be more natural to combine and/or reorder these lines. For example:
Don’t let the sparkle and smooth taste of wine deceive you. (New Living Translation (1996))
Notice that the New Living Translation (1996) has left the phrase “in the cup” implied. Another option is to put this phrase in 23:31a, where the command is first introduced. For example:
31a Do not gaze at the redness of the wine in the cup
31b or the way that it sparkles
31c and feels smooth in the throat
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