What Does Proverbs 23:29 Mean in the King James?
Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The repeated “Who hath?” reveals intoxication by the harm it spreads through grief, conflict, speech, injury, and the body.
THE MEANING
Grief, disputes, uncontrolled talk, needless wounds, and red eyes gather into one recognizable pattern. The next verse names the person who lingers over wine; this verse shows how that pattern reaches emotions, relationships, speech, and the body.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that drinking’s harm stays private or amounts only to a passing discomfort: the list includes conflict with others, disordered speech, and injury.
THE ROOT
מִדְיָנִים
midyanim
GROWS FROM
דין
to judge, contend, or plead a case
The word for contentions belongs to the language of judgment and disputing a case. The conflict here carries more than noisy disagreement: people become opponents who judge and contend with one another.
ALSO GROWS
dan: he judges
דָּן
This verb shows the root in action: contention moves people into the posture of judging one another.
din: judgment or a legal case
דִּין
This branch reveals the case-like edge inside the quarrels: each dispute can turn into accusation and taking sides.
THE PATTERN
Intoxication becomes visible as it disorders perception and carries harm outward into speech, judgment, and conduct.
Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment.And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;THE THREAD
They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine.The next verse answers the repeated question: it points to those who linger over wine and seek mixed wine. That answer gathers the grief, conflict, speech, wounds, and red eyes into a single portrait.
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