Drunkenness in the Bible

30 passages of the Berean Standard Bible, line by line, from Nave’s Topical Bible.

Sayings

Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawlerProv 20:1
The verses
Prov 20:1Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is led astray by them is not wise.
Who has bloodshot eyes? Those who linger over wineProv 23:29–35
The verses
Prov 23:29–35Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has needless wounds? Who has bloodshot eyes? Those who linger over wine, who go to taste mixed drinks. Do not gaze at wine while it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly. In the end it bites like a snake and stings like a viper. Your eyes will see strange things, and your mind will utter perversities. You will be like one sleeping on the high seas or lying on the top of a mast: “They struck me, but I feel no pain! They beat me, but I did not know it! When can I wake up to search for another drink?”
The drunkard and the glutton will come to povertyProv 23:20–21
The verses
Prov 23:20–21Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat. For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe them in rags.
It is not for kings to drink wineProv 31:4–7
The verses
Prov 31:4–7It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to crave strong drink, lest they drink and forget what is decreed, depriving all the oppressed of justice. Give strong drink to one who is perishing, and wine to the bitter in soul. Let him drink and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.
Woe to those who rise early in pursuit of strong drinkIsa 5:11–12
The verses
Isa 5:11–12Woe to those who rise early in the morning in pursuit of strong drink, who linger into the evening, to be inflamed by wine. At their feasts are the lyre and harp, tambourines and flutes and wine. They disregard the actions of the LORD and fail to see the work of His hands.
“Heroes in drinking wine and champions in mixing strong drink”Isa 5:22
The verses
Isa 5:22Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine and champions in mixing strong drink,
Priests and prophets reel from strong drinkIsa 28:7–8
The verses
Isa 28:7–8These also stagger from wine and stumble from strong drink: Priests and prophets reel from strong drink and are befuddled by wine. They stumble because of strong drink, muddled in their visions and stumbling in their judgments. For all their tables are covered with vomit; there is not a place without filth.
“Tomorrow will be like today, only far better!”Isa 56:12
The verses
Isa 56:12“Come, let me get the wine, let us imbibe the strong drink, and tomorrow will be like today, only far better!”
Wine takes away understandingHos 4:11
The verses
Hos 4:11Promiscuity, wine, and new wine take away understanding.
Drinking wine by the bowlfulAmos 6:6
The verses
Amos 6:6You drink wine by the bowlful and anoint yourselves with the finest oils, but you fail to grieve over the ruin of Joseph.
Woe to him who gets his neighbors drunkHab 2:15
The verses
Hab 2:15Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbors, pouring it from the wineskin until they are drunk, in order to gaze at their nakedness!
Those who get drunk, get drunk at night1 Thess 5:7
The verses
1 Thess 5:7For those who sleep, sleep at night; and those who get drunk, get drunk at night.
Do not get drunk on wineEph 5:18, Rom 13:13, Luke 21:34
The verses
Eph 5:18Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to reckless indiscretion. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
Rom 13:13Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy.
Luke 21:34But watch yourselves, or your hearts will be weighed down by dissipation, drunkenness, and the worries of life—and that day will spring upon you suddenly like a snare.

In the Law

Parents may accuse a son before the elders: “a glutton and a drunkard”Deut 21:20
The verses
Deut 21:20and say to the elders, “This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious; he does not obey us. He is a glutton and a drunkard.”
Priests drink no wine when they enter the Tent of MeetingLev 10:9
The verses
Lev 10:9“You and your sons are not to drink wine or strong drink when you enter the Tent of Meeting, or else you will die; this is a permanent statute for the generations to come.
A Nazirite abstains from wine and strong drinkNum 6:3
The verses
Num 6:3he is to abstain from wine and strong drink. He must not drink vinegar made from wine or strong drink, and he must not drink any grape juice or eat fresh grapes or raisins.

Examples

Noah plants a vineyard and becomes drunkGen 9:20–21
The verses
Gen 9:20–21Now Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard. But when he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and uncovered himself inside his tent.
Lot’s daughters get their father drunkGen 19:32–33
The verses
Gen 19:32–33Come, let us get our father drunk with wine so we can sleep with him and preserve his line.” So that night they got their father drunk with wine, and the firstborn went in and slept with her father; he was not aware when she lay down or when she got up.
Nabal, very drunk at his feast, hears nothing until morning1 Sam 25:36–37
The verses
1 Sam 25:36–37When Abigail returned to Nabal, there he was in the house, holding a feast fit for a king, in high spirits and very drunk. So she told him nothing until morning light. In the morning when Nabal was sober, his wife told him about these events, and his heart failed within him and he became like a stone.
David gets Uriah drunk, but Uriah does not go home2 Sam 11:13
The verses
2 Sam 11:13Then David invited Uriah to eat and drink with him, and he got Uriah drunk. And in the evening Uriah went out to lie down on his cot with his master’s servants, but he did not go home.
Absalom waits until Amnon’s heart is merry with wine2 Sam 13:28
The verses
2 Sam 13:28Now Absalom had ordered his young men, “Watch Amnon until his heart is merry with wine, and when I order you to strike Amnon down, you are to kill him. Do not be afraid. Have I not commanded you? Be courageous and valiant!”
King Elah is killed by Zimri while getting drunk1 Kgs 16:9–10
The verses
1 Kgs 16:9–10However, while Elah was in Tirzah getting drunk in the house of Arza the steward of his household there, Elah’s servant Zimri, the commander of half his chariots, conspired against him. So in the twenty-seventh year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Zimri went in, struck Elah down, and killed him. And Zimri reigned in his place.
Ben-hadad and 32 kings drink in their tents at noon1 Kgs 20:16
The verses
1 Kgs 20:16They marched out at noon while Ben-hadad and the 32 kings allied with him were in their tents getting drunk.
Xerxes, merry with wine, summons Queen VashtiEsth 1:10–11
The verses
Esth 1:10–11On the seventh day, when the king’s heart was merry with wine, he ordered the seven eunuchs who served him—Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carkas— to bring Queen Vashti before him, wearing her royal crown, to display her beauty to the people and officials. For she was beautiful to behold.
Belshazzar drinks from the vessels of the Jerusalem templeDan 5:1–4
The verses
Dan 5:1–4Later, King Belshazzar held a great feast for a thousand of his nobles, and he drank wine with them. Under the influence of the wine, Belshazzar gave orders to bring in the gold and silver vessels that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king could drink from them, along with his nobles, his wives, and his concubines. Thus they brought in the gold vessels that had been taken from the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king drank from them, along with his nobles, his wives, and his concubines. As they drank the wine, they praised their gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone.

Wrongly thought drunk

Eli thinks Hannah, praying silently, is drunk1 Sam 1:13–15
The verses
1 Sam 1:13–15Hannah was praying in her heart, and though her lips were moving, her voice could not be heard. So Eli thought she was drunk and said to her, “How long will you be drunk? Put away your wine!” “No, my lord,” Hannah replied. “I am a woman oppressed in spirit. I have not had any wine or strong drink, but I have poured out my soul before the LORD.
Jesus is called “a glutton and a drunkard”Matt 11:19
The verses
Matt 11:19The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at this glutton and drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is vindicated by her actions.”
At Pentecost: “They are drunk on new wine!”Acts 2:13–15
The verses
Acts 2:13–15But others mocked them and said, “They are drunk on new wine!” Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, lifted up his voice, and addressed the crowd: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen carefully to my words. These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It is only the third hour of the day!

Sources

From Nave’s Topical Bible (Orville J. Nave, 1896; public domain): subjects chosen, lines shortened and put into modern words, lines of interpretation left out; each verse checked.

Berean Standard Bible · Public domain