Proverbs 23:35

They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.

Proverbs 23:35 (KJV)

Context

Proverbs 23:35 closes a longer warning against drunkenness that begins in Proverbs 23:29. The surrounding verses list the sorrows, wounds, and confusion that come from lingering over wine. Verse 32 compares the drink to a serpent’s bite, and verse 34 pictures a drunkard lying helpless as if on a ship’s mast. This final verse gives the drunkard’s own words, showing how addiction deceives the mind.

Meaning

The speaker says he has been stricken and beaten, yet he feels no pain. The phrase “I was not sick” means he was not seriously injured, or at least he does not perceive the harm. His question, “When shall I awake?” shows he wants only to sleep off the wine’s effect. His last words, “I will seek it yet again,” reveal the tragic compulsion of addiction. He plans to return to the very thing that hurt him.

This verse exposes the self-deception of sin. The drunkard minimizes the damage done to him and remains determined to repeat the behavior. His numbness to pain is not strength; it is bondage. The wine has dulled his awareness of consequences, so he cannot see the danger he is in.

Biblical connections

The stubborn refusal to receive correction appears also in Jeremiah 5:3, where the people harden their faces against reproof. Like the drunkard, they do not feel the warning blows. Both passages show how sin can make a person insensitive to discipline and blind to its own destructive path.

Application

This verse warns believers to examine any habit that dulls spiritual sensitivity. A person may ignore the wounds of sin, asking when the discomfort will pass, while planning to return to the same behavior. Honesty about one’s condition is the first step toward change. Heeding warnings early can prevent the deeper harm that comes from repeated disobedience.

Reflection

The drunkard’s words are a mirror for every heart. Sin promises pleasure but delivers pain, and it numbs the soul so the pain is not felt. True freedom begins when a person admits the hurt and turns from the source of harm. God offers deliverance to those who stop seeking the wine and start seeking Him.