Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Proverbs 23:34
Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast.
34. in the midst of the sea ] as if it were a safe resting-place. A strong figure to denote the utter recklessness of danger which excess of drink induces.
upon the top of a mast ] It only weakens the figure to supply here in the cradle, or the like; just as it does in the former clause to introduce on the deck of a ship. “The rig of an ancient ship was more simple and clumsy than that employed in modern times. Its great feature was one large mast, with one large square sail fastened to a yard of great length,” Smith’s Dict. of Bible, Art. Ship. The drunkard is as foolhardy as one who should lie down to sleep there.
It is difficult to understand how Dean Stanley finds here “a notice rare in any ancient writings, unique in the Hebrew Scriptures, of the well-known signs of sea-sickness” ( Jewish Church, ii. 186).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 34. Lieth down in the midst of the sea] He is utterly regardless of life; which is expressed very forcibly by one in a state of intoxication ascending the shrouds, clasping the mast-head, and there falling asleep; whence, in a few moments, he must either fall down upon the deck and be dashed to pieces, or fall into the sea and be drowned. Reader, if thou be a man given to this appetite, put a knife to thy throat.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
That lieth down to sleep, of which that word is frequently used,
in the midst of the sea; in a ship in the midst of the sea. This phrase notes the temper and condition of the drunkard, the giddiness of his brain, the unquietness of his mind, and especially his extreme danger joined with great security.
The top of a mast; the worst part of the ship, both for its perpetual tossings, and for the hazard of him that sleeps on it.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
Yea, thou shall be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea,…. Not in the open sea, and the waves of it, there fluctuating and tossed about; nor in an island encompassed by sea; but in a ship at sea, a drunken man reels and tumbles about, just as a ship does at sea; hence the motions and agitations of it, and of the men in it, are compared to the reeling and staggering of a drunken man,
Ps 107:26;
or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast: where the motion is the greatest. Or all this may be expressive of the dangers which a drunkard is exposed unto, and of his stupidity and insensibility; for though he is in as great danger as one in the circumstances described, in a storm at sea, yet is not sensible of it; which agrees with what follows.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(34) As he that lieth down in the midst of the sea.And so would inevitably be drowned if he trusted to its smooth, glassy appearance.
As he that lieth upon the top of a mast.Whom every roll of the ship might hurl into the waves. The absolute insensibility of the drunkard to danger is here described. Or it may mean that everything round the drunkard and the ground on which he lies, seem to rock like the waves of the sea, or the masthead of a ship.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
v. 34. Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Pro 23:34. As he that lieth upon the top of a mast The Vulgate renders this, And as the sleeping pilot, having lost his helm: but our translation, which is agreeable to the Hebrew, is by far the strongest and most expressive.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Pro 23:34 Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast.
Ver. 34. Yea, thou shalt be as he, &c. ] Thy brains shall crow, and thou shalt be of Copernicus his opinion, that the earth turns round. Thou shalt also be fearless of the greatest danger, and not refuse to sleep upon a mast pole, dance upon a weather cock, &c.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
midst. Hebrew “heart”.
top = basket: i.e. the look-out basket or cradle on the mast.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
thou: 1Sa 25:33-38, 1Sa 30:16, 1Sa 30:17, 2Sa 13:28, 1Ki 16:9, 1Ki 20:16-22, Joe 1:5, Mat 24:38, Luk 17:27-29, Luk 21:34, 1Th 5:2-7
midst: Heb. heart, Exo 15:8
Reciprocal: Jdg 16:19 – she made Pro 6:10 – General Mat 26:43 – for
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
23:34 And thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the {p} sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast.
(p) In such great danger will you be.