Proverbs 23:27-35

27 A whore is a bottomless pit; a loose woman can get you in deep trouble fast.
28 She'll take you for all you've got; she's worse than a pack of thieves.
29 Who are the people who are always crying the blues? Who do you know who reeks of self-pity? Who keeps getting beat up for no reason at all? Whose eyes are bleary and bloodshot?
30 It's those who spend the night with a bottle, for whom drinking is serious business.
31 Don't judge wine by its label, or its bouquet, or its full-bodied flavor.
32 Judge it rather by the hangover it leaves you with - the splitting headache, the queasy stomach.
33 Do you really prefer seeing double, with your speech all slurred,
34 Reeling and seasick, drunk as a sailor?
35 "They hit me," you'll say, "but it didn't hurt; they beat on me, but I didn't feel a thing. When I'm sober enough to manage it, bring me another drink!"
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.