He that is born to be hanged shall never be drowned.

The proverb presents death as predetermined: someone fated to die in one way cannot meet their end in another. Escaping drowning is therefore treated as a consequence of fate, not proof of lasting safety.

Its reassurance is deliberately grim. A person may survive an immediate danger, but the proverb implies that survival says nothing about whether a different, appointed death awaits them.

Use it as a wry response to a narrow escape, especially one involving water, when the point is that surviving one danger does not mean escaping fate. The reference to hanging gives it a dark tone, so it is poorly suited to comforting someone in distress.