Proverbs 23:34

34 You will stagger like a sailor tossed at sea, clinging to a swaying mast.

Proverbs 23:34 Meaning and Commentary

Proverbs 23:34

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, ( Psalms 107:26 Psalms 107:27 ) ; 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.

Proverbs 23:34 In-Context

32 For in the end it bites like a poisonous snake; it stings like a viper.

33 You will see hallucinations, and you will say crazy things.

34 You will stagger like a sailor tossed at sea, clinging to a swaying mast.

35 And you will say, “They hit me, but I didn’t feel it. I didn’t even know it when they beat me up. When will I wake up so I can look for another drink?”