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What the Bible Says About Drunkenness

Overview

The Bible addresses drunkenness across 52 verses, drawn from both the Old and New Testaments. These passages cluster most in Proverbs, Isaiah and Jeremiah. Closely related themes include Wine, Young Men, Sin (1) and Impenitence. Figures whose stories touch this theme include Belshazzar and Nebuchadnezzar.

Key Bible verses about drunkenness

Old Testament

Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 21:20

And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard.

Deuteronomy 21:21

And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.

Deuteronomy 29:19

And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst: imagination: or, stubbornness drunkenness: Heb. the drunken to the thirsty

Deuteronomy 29:20

The LORD will not spare him, but then the anger of the LORD and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the LORD shall blot out his name from under heaven.

Deuteronomy 29:21

And the LORD shall separate him unto evil out of all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in this book of the law: are: Heb. is

Proverbs

Proverbs 23:20

Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh: of flesh: Heb. of their flesh

Proverbs 23:21

For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.

Proverbs 23:29

Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?

Proverbs 23:30

They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine.

Proverbs 23:31

Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.

Proverbs 23:32

At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. an: or, a cockatrice

Proverbs 23:33

Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things.

Proverbs 23:34

Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast. the midst: Heb. the heart of the sea

Proverbs 23:35

They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again. I felt: Heb. I knew it not

Proverbs 31:4

It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink:

Proverbs 31:5

Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted. prevert: Heb. alter of any: Heb. of all the sons of affliction

Proverbs 31:6

Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts. of: Heb. bitter of soul

Proverbs 31:7

Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.

Isaiah

Isaiah 5:11

Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them! inflame: of, pursue

Isaiah 5:12

And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the LORD, neither consider the operation of his hands.

Isaiah 28:1

Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower, which are on the head of the fat valleys of them that are overcome with wine! overcome: Heb. broken

Isaiah 28:2

Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one, which as a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, as a flood of mighty waters overflowing, shall cast down to the earth with the hand.

Isaiah 28:3

The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, shall be trodden under feet: under: Heb. with feet

Isaiah 28:7

But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment.

Isaiah 28:8

For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean.

Isaiah 51:21

Therefore hear now this, thou afflicted, and drunken, but not with wine:

Isaiah 51:22

Thus saith thy Lord the LORD, and thy God that pleadeth the cause of his people, Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou shalt no more drink it again:

Isaiah 51:23

But I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee; which have said to thy soul, Bow down, that we may go over: and thou hast laid thy body as the ground, and as the street, to them that went over.

Jeremiah

Jeremiah 25:15

For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it.

Jeremiah 25:16

And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them.

Jeremiah 25:27

Therefore thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Drink ye, and be drunken, and spue, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you.

Jeremiah 25:28

And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ye shall certainly drink.

Jeremiah 51:7

Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD'S hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad.

Jeremiah 51:8

Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed.

Jeremiah 51:9

We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country: for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies.

New Testament

People in the Bible and drunkenness

Biblical figures whose stories intersect with this theme.

In the Bible dictionary

Studying drunkenness for yourself

  • Begin with Deuteronomy 21:20, then read the passages below in canonical order.
  • Compare how Proverbs, Isaiah and Jeremiah each treat the theme.
  • Consider the lives of Belshazzar and Nebuchadnezzar and how their stories intersect with it.
  • Widen the study to related themes: Wine, Young Men, Sin (1) and Impenitence.

Frequently asked questions

What does the Bible say about drunkenness?

The Bible addresses drunkenness across 52 verses, drawn from both the Old and New Testaments. These passages cluster most in Proverbs, Isaiah and Jeremiah. Closely related themes include Wine, Young Men, Sin (1) and Impenitence. Figures whose stories touch this theme include Belshazzar and Nebuchadnezzar.

How many Bible verses are about drunkenness?

The Bible references drunkenness in 52 verses (King James Version).

Where does the Bible first mention drunkenness?

In canonical order, the first of these passages is Deuteronomy 21:20: “And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard.”

Which people in the Bible are associated with drunkenness?

Belshazzar and Nebuchadnezzar.

Preach & teach

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