Proverbs 31:6 (KJV)

What does Proverbs 31:6 mean?

Proverbs 31:6 presents wine and strong drink as a comfort for people facing death or deep distress. The verse places their suffering alongside the earlier warning about rulers drinking, making a distinction between a person in anguish and a king responsible for judgment.

King Lemuel’s mother addresses these words to her son as part of her instruction to him. “Ready to perish” pictures someone near death, while “heavy hearts” describes people weighed down by sorrow. Verse 7 connects the drink with a temporary escape from poverty and misery.

The Hebrew behind Proverbs 31:6

• “strong drink” — שֵׁכָר (shēkār): The word refers to an intoxicating drink. The Hebrew term covers a drink other than wine, which is named separately in the verse.
• “hearts” — נֶפֶשׁ (nephesh): The word can refer to a person’s life or inner self. Here, together with “heavy,” the phrase describes people in deep distress.

Why Proverbs 31:6 matters

• The setting concerns the use of drink in contrasting situations. Verses 4–5 warn that a king who drinks may forget the law and fail people who need a fair hearing; verse 6 turns attention to people in severe trouble.
• The comfort described has a specific character. Verse 7 says the drink lets a person “forget his poverty” and “remember his misery no more,” presenting relief from awareness of suffering rather than a change in circumstances.
• The passage returns to the king’s responsibility toward vulnerable people. Verses 8–9 tell him to speak for those unable to speak for themselves and to judge the poor and needy fairly.