wine

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The Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek that are translated as “wine” in English is translated into Pass Valley Yali as “grape juice pressed long ago (= fermented)” or “strong water” (source: Daud Soesilo). In Guhu-Samane it is also translated as “strong water” (source: Ernest L. Richert in The Bible Translator 1965, p. 198ff. ), in Noongar as “liquor” (verbatim: “strong water”) (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang), in Hausa as ruwan inabi or “water of grapes” (with no indication whether it’s alcoholic or not — source: Mark A. Gaddis), in sar as kasə nduú or “grape drink” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin), or in Papantla Totonac and Coyutla Totonac as “a drink like Pulque” (for “Pulque,” see here ) (source: Jacob Loewen in The Bible Translator 1971, p. 169ff. ).

In Swahili, Bible translations try to avoid local words for alcoholic drinks, because “drinking of any alcohol at all was one of the sins most denounced by early missionaries. Hence translators are uncomfortable by the occurrences of wine in the Bible. Some of the established churches which use wine prefer to see church wine as holy, and would not refer to it by the local names used for alcoholic drinks. Instead church wine is often referred to by terms borrowed from other languages, divai (from German, der Wein) or vini/mvinyo (from ltalian/Latin vino/vinum). Several translations done by Protestants have adapted the Swahili divai for ‘wine,’ while those done by Catholics use vini or mvinyo.” (Source: Rachel Konyoro in The Bible Translator 1985, p. 221ff. )

The Swahili divai was in turn borrowed by Sabaot and was turned into tifaayiik and is used as such in the Bible. Kupsabiny, on the other hand, borrowed mvinyo from Swahili and turned it into Finyonik. (Source: Iver Larsen)

In Nyamwezi, two terms are used. Malwa ga muzabibu is a kind of alcohol that people specifically use to get drunk (such as in Genesis 9:21) and ki’neneko is used for a wine made from grapes (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext).

In some Hindi translations (such as the Common Language version, publ. 2015 ), one term (dākharasa दाखरस — grape juice) is used when that particular drink is in the focus (such as in John 2) and another term (madirā मदिरा — “alcohol” or “liquor”) when drunkenness is in the focus (such as in Eph. 5:18).

In Mandarin Chinese, the generic term jiǔ (酒) or “alcohol(ic drink)” is typically used. Exceptions are Leviticus 10:9, Numbers 6:3, Deuteronomy 29:6, Judges 13:4 et al., 1 Samuel 1:15, and Luke 1:15 where a differentiation between weak and strong alcohol is needed. The Mandarin Chinese Union Version (2010) translates that as qīngjiǔ lièjiǔ (清酒烈酒) and dànjiǔ lièjiǔ (淡酒烈酒), both in the form of a Chinese proverb and meaning “light alcohol and strong drink.” (Source: Zetzsche)

Click or tap here to see a short video clip about wine in biblical times (source: Bible Lands 2012)

See also proceeds from the vine / anything that comes from the grapevine, wine (Japanese honorifics), filled with new wine, and wine (Gen 27:28).

Translation commentary on Proverbs 20:1

This verse says that it is not sensible to drink alcohol to excess. The person who is under the influence of alcohol does not behave wisely. More detailed warnings against drunkenness are 23.20, 21, 29-35; 31.4-5.

“Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler”: This is a double figure of speech in which the subjects “Wine” and “strong drink” stand for the person who drinks them. Such a person is inclined to speak in an argumentative way (“a mocker” is the same Hebrew word as “scoffers” in the previous verse, 19.29) and to act aggressively (“a brawler”, Contemporary English Version “leads to fights”). In translation it may be necessary to make the drinker rather than the drink the subject of this sentence; for example, “The person who drinks too much wine. . .” or “If you drink too much wine. . ..” Good News Translation “Drinking too much makes you. . .” may also be a good model for some languages.

For “Wine” see 9.2. “Strong drink” is rendered as “beer” by Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch. According to Harris, Archer, and Waltke (
k Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament
k*), “it denotes not just barley beer but any alcoholic beverage prepared from either grain or fruit.”

“Whoever is led astray by it”: The sense of being “deceived” or “overtaken” by drink is a possible meaning of the Hebrew word translated in Revised Standard Version as “led astray”. But the word is literally “staggers” or “is intoxicated” (as used of the reeling and intoxicated priest and prophet in Isa 28.7), which is very appropriate in this context. Scott renders it “staggers drunkenly,” while Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version have simply “get drunk.” Another possibility that is followed by some translations is “if you let it take control of you.”

“Is not wise”: Being or becoming “wise” is what the book of Proverbs is about; but excessive drinking works against this desirable goal. In some languages it may be more natural and effective to express this as “is stupid” (see Good News Translation).

The link between the two lines of this saying is logical: Since excessive drinking has a bad effect, it is not wise to do it. In some languages it may be better to reverse the order of the lines as Contemporary English Version has done; for example, “It’s stupid to get drunk, because drinking too much makes a person argue and fight.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Proverbs. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

complete verse (Proverbs 20:1)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 20:1:

  • Kupsabiny: “Beer makes people despise one another and fight.
    A person who spends all (his) time on beer is a fool/misfit.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Wine causes heckling and liquor brings disputes.
    The one who drinks either of these (wine or liquor)
    does not have wisdom.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Too much drinking of drinks that cause-drunkenness is causing- a man -to-become-foolish. A man who is-getting-drunk is not wise.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “The one who drinks alcoholic-beverage habitually-mocks and habitually-makes-a-racket. The drunkard is mindless.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • English: “Drinking a lot of wine or other strong drinks causes people to start fighting;
    it is foolish to become drunk/intoxicated.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 20:1

20:1

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

1a
Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler,

1b and whoever is led astray by them is not wise.

The first line describes the parallel results of drinking alcoholic beverages. The second line concludes that getting drunk is not wise.

20:1a

Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler: The words Wine and strong drink are used here as figures of speech. They represent people who drink wine and hard liquor. Drinking too much causes such people to be mockers and brawlers. If a literal translation of these figures of speech is not clear or natural in your language, some other ways to translate this clause are:

Wine produces mockers; alcohol leads to brawls. (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
People who drink too much wine make fun of others; those who drink too much liquor are noisy.

Wine…strong drink: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Wine refers specifically to an alcoholic drink made from grape juice. For other ways to translate “wine,” see the note on 3:10b. The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as strong drink refers to other alcoholic drinks. These include beer made from barley and wine made from dates, figs, or pomegranates. Together these two words refer to any kind of intoxicating drink made from grain or fruit.

a mocker…a brawler: For the first of these parallel terms, see mocker in the Glossary. Also see the note on 19:29a. The word brawler refers to a person who is noisy, disorderly, and aggressive. This kind of person often causes trouble and gets into fights.

Due to the parallelism, no contrast is implied between the results of drinking wine and the results of drinking strong drinks. Drinking either of these beverages can lead to either mocking or brawling or both. In some languages, it may be clearer or more natural to combine or reorder the parallel parts. For example:

Drinking wine or other liquor leads to mocking and rowdy behavior.
-or-
If a person has too much to drink, he mocks others and causes trouble.

20:1b

and whoever is led astray by them: There are two ways to interpret the phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as is led astray by them :

(1) The phrase means “becomes intoxicated/drunk ” or “staggers” as a result of drinking alcoholic beverages. For example:

whoever is intoxicated by it (New American Standard Bible)

(2) The phrase means “goes astray ” or “is deceived” as a result of drinking alcoholic beverages. For example:

whoever goes astray by them (NET Bible)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). This interpretation best fits the context of drinking. It is supported by three of the major lexicons and most of the commentaries used in preparing these Notes.

is not wise: This phrase may indicate that a person who gets drunk lacks wisdom or that he behaves foolishly. It may also indicate that it is foolish to get drunk. Some other ways to translate 20:1b are:

It’s stupid to get drunk. (Good News Translation)
-or-
A person who gets drunk is not wise.
-or-
People who are intoxicated from drinking them do foolish things.

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