Verse 29 consists of a series of six questions, all beginning with “Who”. The series of questions is a feature that highlights the theme of the saying. All the questions have the same answer, which is given in the next verse.
“Who has woe? Who has sorrow?”: In Hebrew “woe” and “sorrow” are actually exclamations expressing feelings of despair and pain. Scott tries to express this in his rendering, “Who groans ‘Alas!’? Who cries ‘Woe is me!’?” Good News Translation renders the line “people who are miserable and sorry for themselves”; Contemporary English Version combines the two exclamations into one, “Who is always in trouble?”
“Who has strife? Who has complaining?”: In this context “strife” refers to both words and actions. The same Hebrew term is rendered “disputes” in 18.18 and “quarreling” in 18.19. Here it is rendered as “quarrels” by a number of versions; and Good News Translation expresses it as “causing trouble.” Toy suggests that the drinker gets into difficulties when he quarrels or argues, and his “complaining” or “complaints” (New International Version) follow from that.
“Who has wounds without cause?”: “Wounds” are the “bruises” or “injuries” the person suffers in drunken quarreling or brawling. “Without cause” may mean that the person could have avoided getting those injuries: “Who has needless bruises?” (New International Version). Or it could mean that afterwards he has no idea how he got them: “Who gets the bruises without knowing why?” (Revised English Bible).
“Who has redness of eyes?”: The condition described here as “redness of eyes” is caused by too much drinking and is more naturally expressed in English as “Whose eyes are bloodshot?” (Revised English Bible). In other languages there will generally be well-known and suitable expressions such as “Their eyes are always red.”
“Those who tarry long over wine”: To “tarry long over wine” means to “stay for a long time drinking” or “. . . late into the night drinking.” Revised English Bible expresses this as “linger late over their wine” and New Jerusalem Bible “linger over wine too long.” The underlying sense is that these are “people who drink too much” (Good News Translation).
“Those who go to try mixed wine”: This does not refer to another group of people but is another description of the same group. “Mixed wine” is literally “mixture,” and we have no information about what this referred to. Some suggest that it was wine to which spices were added; Revised English Bible renders the word “spiced liquor.” The verbal expression “go to try” represents the Hebrew “going about to search for,” in the sense of wanting to try or to taste other drinks. New International Version renders this expression “who go to sample. . .,” and New Jerusalem Bible “ever on the look-out for. . ..” See also Good News Translation.
For some languages it may not be natural to have the series of questions in verse 29 followed by the answer in verse 30, so a model that reverses the order of the verses may be helpful. Good News Translation gives one such model but uses an English construction (“Show me. . ., and I will show you. . .”) which other languages may not be able to follow. A typical translation in another language goes like this: “If you look at the drinker, the person who is always trying out new drinks, you will see that he always feels bad, and says, ‘Oh! I’m so confused!’ He always causes trouble, and argues about things. He has bruises on his body, and his eyes are always red.”
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 .
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