Onomatopoeia

(Proverbs 23:29 KJV)  Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?

Drinking causes “sorrow” (17).  Adam Clarke suggests that this is a case of onomatopoeia.  For those who have been texting and forgotten the big words, that is a literary devise in which a word duplicates the sound it is describing, such as “hiss”.  Clarke suggests that this word, used only here in the Old Testament is meant to convey the sound of misery coming from someone who is in the grip of alcohol.

I heard it in a different context and about a different drug but to paraphrase, “Booze does not let you have a good time, it makes you think you are having a good time.”  One of the sad truths is that too much alcohol leaves a trail behind it and usually the trail is not desirable.

At times I wonder if I have missed something.  The beer in the mug, the whiskey with the warm light shining through it, the smiling crowds of drinkers, make me wonder if I should try it.  Proverbs reminds me of the potential for misery.

So?  Who you gonna believe, the beer commercial or the word of God?  You would think that would be a no-brainer, but I don’t see the liquor stores closing down.