Do not gaze at wine while it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly.
Parallel translations
- WEB Don’t look at the wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly.
- KJV Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.
- NKJV Do not look on the wine when it is red, When it sparkles in the cup, When it swirls around smoothly;
- NASB Do not look at wine when it is red, When it sparkles in the cup, When it goes down smoothly;
- NLT Don’t gaze at the wine, seeing how red it is, how it sparkles in the cup, how smoothly it goes down.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Do not be lured by wine's appealing color, sparkle, and smoothness.
Overview
Wine's outward attractiveness conceals its danger, so wisdom warns against being captivated by its appeal. The very qualities that entice, color and smoothness, mask the harm that follows. This teaches discernment that looks past surface allure to true consequence, a discernment Christ cultivates in His people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- 1 Jn 2:16For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world.
- Ps 119:37Turn my eyes away from worthless things; revive me with Your word.
- 2 Sam 11:2One evening David got up from his bed and strolled around on the roof of the palace. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing—a very beautiful woman.
- Mark 9:47And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell,
- Prov 6:25Do not lust in your heart for her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes.
- Matt 5:28–30But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
- Job 33:1“But now, O Job, hear my speech, and listen to all my words.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Wisdom personified, with God before creation and the agent of all things, anticipates Christ 'in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom' — the wisdom of God made flesh.
How Proverbs 23:31 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.