Footnote

a This is not to suggest that the Bible endorses the idea of drowning one’s problems in alcohol. The scripture is merely speaking of the appropriateness of giving intoxicating liquor to a person about to die, to help him to forget his trouble. Note also that in the previous verses kings were counseled not to drink wine or intoxicating liquor when officiating, lest they “forget what is decreed and pervert the cause of any of the sons of affliction.”​—Proverbs 31:4, 5.