Bible Strands
Proverbs 20:1
Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is led astray by them is not wise.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — An unnamed wisdom teacher addresses a student within a general collection of proverbs (Prov 20:1–19), not a specific narrative moment. The verse stands as a standalone observation, not part of a dialogue.
The words — לֵץ (letz, "mocker") is the same word Proverbs uses for the contemptuous man (Prov 3:34; 13:1), here applied to wine itself as a social aggressor. שֹׁגֶה (shogeh, "staggers") is the verb Isaiah 28:7 uses for priests and prophets reeling from strong drink.
The thread — Isaiah 28:7 uses the identical shogeh for religious leaders who "stagger from wine and stumble from strong drink." Hosea 4:11 lists wine among things that "take away understanding," and Ephesians 5:18 warns against drunkenness that "leads to reckless indiscretion."
Why it lands — The verse does not ban wine; it says the person who is governed by it is not wise. It asks the reader to recognize that the same quality the book is building—wisdom—is the first thing lost at the table.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.
Cross-references
- Ephesians 5:18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to reckless indiscretion. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
- Hosea 4:11 to promiscuity, wine, and new wine, which take away understanding.
- Isaiah 28:7 These also stagger from wine and stumble from strong drink: Priests and prophets reel from strong drink and are befuddled by wine. They stumble because of strong drink, muddled in their visions and stumbling in their judgments.
- Proverbs 31:4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to crave strong drink,
- 1 Corinthians 6:10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.
- Galatians 5:21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
- Habakkuk 2:15 Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbors, pouring it from the wineskin until they are drunk, in order to gaze at their nakedness!
- 2 Samuel 11:13 Then David invited Uriah to eat and drink with him, and he got Uriah drunk. And in the evening Uriah went out to lie down on his cot with his master’s servants, but he did not go home.
- Isaiah 5:22 Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine and champions in mixing strong drink,
- Proverbs 23:29 Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has needless wounds? Who has bloodshot eyes?