At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.
At last intoxicating drink harms like the bite of a serpent and the sting of an adder, however appealing it looks at first. The drink in view is fermented and intoxicating drink, including wine, cider, liquor and strong drink, whose use leads to drunkenness and other great evils and is forbidden. Its harm often begins gradually by cultivating a taste for stimulants and weakening resolve, so there is no safe moderate use and complete abstinence is the only safety. It enslaves and degrades its victim, clouds the God-given powers, and brings woe and death to body and mind by destroying reason and shortening life. The verse also pictures how cherished sin and ambitious pursuit of worldly gain may seem harmless at first yet at last poison the one who holds them and those connected with him.
Wine's Deceptive Final Harm
Wine can look appealing at first while hiding a deadly end, when at last it harms like a serpent's bite and an adder's sting. Its attractive appearance conceals its final harm, and its danger may not be apparent at first before it brings painful consequences. The drink in view is fermented and intoxicating drink, including wine, cider, liquor and strong drink. Its use leads to drunkenness and other great evils and is forbidden.
Its harm may begin gradually and seem harmless, as wine and cider cultivate a taste for stimulants, disorder the nervous system and weaken resolve until the person is led toward drunkenness and ruin. Tampering with the temptation leads downward, so there is no safe moderate use. Complete abstinence without even one drop is the only safety.
It brings degradation and slavery, so that the victim cannot escape the snare even when he recognizes his misery, and it clouds the God-given powers. It brings painful consequences, harm and woe to body and mind, destroying reason, damaging people, shortening their lives and working death. Liquor can destroy a person's reason and lead to death even when given in a small amount to someone recovering from illness, and gratifying perverted appetite for wine and strong drink works death.
Sin's Serpent-Like Harm
The verse shows that wrongdoing in general may seem harmless for a time, yet at last it wounds with a poisonous and painful effect like a serpent's bite and an adder's sting. To walk deliberately into evil practices or to place oneself in the way of temptation while expecting to be kept from corruption is as reckless as hugging a viper to the bosom. It is no less foolish than swallowing poison while expecting an antidote to save from its power.
A sin that is cherished will at last turn and harm the one who cherishes it, and its venom can also reach those connected with that person. What is won by ambitious striving after worldly gain can become just such a bite, turning into a source of great evil that leads on to perdition. The same treachery appears when a person speaks smoothly and professes sympathy while secretly acting to harm with the hidden deadliness of a serpent's bite.
At last intoxicating drink harms like the bite of a serpent and the sting of an adder, however appealing it looks at first. The drink in view is fermented and intoxicating drink, including wine, cider, liquor and strong drink, whose use leads to drunkenness and other great evils and is forbidden. Its harm often begins gradually by cultivating a taste for stimulants and weakening resolve, so there is no safe moderate use and complete abstinence is the only safety. It enslaves and degrades its victim, clouds the God-given powers, and brings woe and death to body and mind by destroying reason and shortening life. The verse also pictures how cherished sin and ambitious pursuit of worldly gain may seem harmless at first yet at last poison the one who holds them and those connected with him.
Wine's Deceptive Final Harm
Wine can look appealing at first while hiding a deadly end, when at last it harms like a serpent's bite and an adder's sting. Its attractive appearance conceals its final harm, and its danger may not be apparent at first before it brings painful consequences. The drink in view is fermented and intoxicating drink, including wine, cider, liquor and strong drink. Its use leads to drunkenness and other great evils and is forbidden.
Its harm may begin gradually and seem harmless, as wine and cider cultivate a taste for stimulants, disorder the nervous system and weaken resolve until the person is led toward drunkenness and ruin. Tampering with the temptation leads downward, so there is no safe moderate use. Complete abstinence without even one drop is the only safety.
It brings degradation and slavery, so that the victim cannot escape the snare even when he recognizes his misery, and it clouds the God-given powers. It brings painful consequences, harm and woe to body and mind, destroying reason, damaging people, shortening their lives and working death. Liquor can destroy a person's reason and lead to death even when given in a small amount to someone recovering from illness, and gratifying perverted appetite for wine and strong drink works death.
Sin's Serpent-Like Harm
The verse shows that wrongdoing in general may seem harmless for a time, yet at last it wounds with a poisonous and painful effect like a serpent's bite and an adder's sting. To walk deliberately into evil practices or to place oneself in the way of temptation while expecting to be kept from corruption is as reckless as hugging a viper to the bosom. It is no less foolish than swallowing poison while expecting an antidote to save from its power.
A sin that is cherished will at last turn and harm the one who cherishes it, and its venom can also reach those connected with that person. What is won by ambitious striving after worldly gain can become just such a bite, turning into a source of great evil that leads on to perdition. The same treachery appears when a person speaks smoothly and professes sympathy while secretly acting to harm with the hidden deadliness of a serpent's bite.