20:1 Synthetic. Inebriation is condemned in 23:29–35 and 31:4–5. Here the drinks that produce it are personified: wine and strong drink (perhaps beer).

20:2 Synthetic. For verse 2a see 19:12a. The point of the comparison is the roar of a lion, which like royal wrath produces panic. The meaning of verse 2b is uncertain.

20:3 Antithetic. The idiomatic expression in verse 3a is literally, “sit (or dwell) from” (NIV, avoid). The precise meaning of Hebrew ytglʿ (quick to quarrel) is uncertain (cf. 17:24; 18:1).

20:4 Synthetic. Winter, from October on, would be the season for plowing. The sluggard’s expectation for the harvest will be disappointed, and probably he can expect nothing from others.

20:5 Synthetic. Deep waters is ambivalent (cf. 18:4). If it is understood merely as profound (rat…