The question exposes the self-destructive cycle of addiction by letting the drunkard voice his own bewildered recognition that he has been harmed yet remains numb, and that his first thought upon waking is to return to what enslaves him. By framing this as a question rather than statement, the text captures the confused, 循-looping thought pattern of someone whose judgment has been compromised.

No direct response is given. The question hangs in the air as the drunkard’s own testimony against himself, completing the wisdom poem’s vivid warning. The implied answer, that he will immediately seek another drink, demonstrates the tragic cycle.

The drunkard’s question captures the tragic irony of addiction in a single moment of twisted clarity. He recognizes he has been harmed, struck, beaten, yet reports feeling nothing, demonstrating alcohol’s numbing effect on both body and judgment. The Hebrew structure presents this as reported speech, “you will say,” giving readers a window into the addicted mind. Rather than resolve to avoid further harm, he asks when he will awake, not for deliverance but for opportunity to drink again. The question form rather than statement emphasizes the compulsive, unreasoned nature of his desire. This is not deliberation but enslavement dressed as choice. The wisdom teacher lets the drunkard condemn himself from his own mouth, making the warning against excess unmistakably clear through the horror of a man who cannot stop even when he knows he should.