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101 Bible Verses about Drunkards
I want to talk to you about something that might be hitting close to home: the struggle with alcohol. It can lead us down some pretty rough paths, hurting ourselves and those around us. It's important to really think about the ripple effect our choices have, you know? We have to own our actions.
If you're finding yourself in situations where alcohol is taking control, please know there's support out there. Don't hesitate to reach out and get the help you need to stay safe and healthy.
From my perspective, alcoholism, like any addiction, is a form of idolatry. Anything we turn to instead of God to fill that deep need in our hearts becomes an idol, and ultimately, a spiritual chain.
I want to share something that can truly set you free from this struggle. It's the power of Christ's blood. I believe it's strong enough to cleanse you, detoxify you, and make you a new person. There's real freedom waiting for you.
who steal, who are greedy, who get drunk, who assail people with contemptuous language, who rob — none of them will share in the Kingdom of God.
Don’t get drunk with wine, because it makes you lose control. Instead, keep on being filled with the Spirit —
Wake up, drunkards, and weep! wail, all you who drink wine, because the juice of the grape will be withheld from your mouth.
for both drunkard and glutton will become poor — drowsiness will clothe them with rags.
Stay sober, stay alert! Your enemy, the Adversary, stalks about like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
What is good is not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.
If we acknowledge our sins, then, since he is trustworthy and just, he will forgive them and purify us from all wrongdoing.
Don’t gaze at the red wine as it gives its color to the cup. It may glide down smoothly now;
It is not for kings, L’mu’el, not for kings to drink wine; it is not for rulers to ask, “Where can I find strong liquor?”
And it is perfectly evident what the old nature does. It expresses itself in sexual immorality, impurity and indecency;
Mark my words — I, Sha’ul, tell you that if you undergo b’rit-milah the Messiah will be of no advantage to you at all!
involvement with the occult and with drugs; in feuding, fighting, becoming jealous and getting angry; in selfish ambition, factionalism, intrigue
and envy; in drunkenness, orgies and things like these. I warn you now as I have warned you before: those who do such things will have no share in the Kingdom of God!
Woe to those who get up early to pursue intoxicating liquor; who stay up late at night, until wine inflames them.
They have lutes and lyres, drums and flutes, and wine at their parties; but they pay no attention to how Adonai works and never look at what his hands have made.
Don’t be one of those who guzzle wine or of those who eat meat to excess,
for both drunkard and glutton will become poor — drowsiness will clothe them with rags.
Who has misery? Who has regret? Who fights and complains all the time? Who gets bruised for no good reason? Who has bloodshot eyes?
Don’t be greedy for his delicacies, for they are deceptive food.
Those who spend their time over wine, those always trying out mixed drinks.
Don’t gaze at the red wine as it gives its color to the cup. It may glide down smoothly now;
but in the end, it bites like a serpent — yes, it strikes like a poisonous snake.
Your eyes will see peculiar things, your mind will utter nonsense.
You will feel as if lying on the waves of the sea or sprawled on top of the mast —
“They hit me, but I didn’t feel it! They beat me up, and I didn’t even know it! When will I wake up? . . . I’ll go get another drink.”
For you have spent enough time already living the way the pagans want you to live — in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, wild parties and forbidden idol-worship.
Likewise, the shammashim must be of good character, people whose word can be trusted. They must not give themselves to excessive drinking or be greedy for dishonest gain.
It is not for kings, L’mu’el, not for kings to drink wine; it is not for rulers to ask, “Where can I find strong liquor?”
For they may drink, then forget what has been decreed, and pervert the justice due to the poor.
“But keep watch on yourselves, or your hearts will become dulled by carousing, drunkenness and the worries of everyday living, and that Day will be sprung upon you suddenly like a trap!
Let us live properly, as people do in the daytime — not partying and getting drunk, not engaging in sexual immorality and other excesses, not quarrelling and being jealous.
Instead, clothe yourselves with the Lord Yeshua the Messiah; and don’t waste your time thinking about how to provide for the sinful desires of your old nature.
No, what I wrote you was not to associate with anyone who is supposedly a brother but who also engages in sexual immorality, is greedy, worships idols, is abusive, gets drunk or steals. With such a person you shouldn’t even eat!
Give strong liquor to one who is perishing, wine to the deeply depressed;
let him drink, forget his poverty and cease to remember his troubles.
and envy; in drunkenness, orgies and things like these. I warn you now as I have warned you before: those who do such things will have no share in the Kingdom of God!
Happy are you, land, when your king is well-born, and your princes eat at the proper time, in order to stay strong, not to get drunk!
The proverbs of Shlomo: A wise son is a joy to his father, but a foolish son is a grief to his mother.
You prepare a table for me, even as my enemies watch; you anoint my head with oil from an overflowing cup.
and he starts beating up his fellow servants and spends his time eating and drinking with drunkards;
But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is taking his time coming,’ and starts bullying the men- and women-servants, and eating and drinking, getting drunk,
then his master will come on a day when the servant isn’t expecting him, at a time he doesn’t know in advance; his master will cut him in two and put him with the disloyal.
for the Kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, shalom and joy in the Ruach HaKodesh.
because as you eat your meal, each one goes ahead on his own; so that one stays hungry while another is already drunk!
I searched my mind for how to gratify my body with wine and, with my mind still guiding me with wisdom, how to pursue foolishness; my object was to find out what was the best thing for people to do during the short time they have under heaven to live.
Dear friends, I urge you as aliens and temporary residents not to give in to the desires of your old nature, which keep warring against you;
Woe to the haughty crown of Efrayim’s drunks, to the fading flower of its proud splendor, located at the head of the rich valley belonging to people overcome by wine!
so that [one has to use nursery rhymes]? — Tzav la-tzav, tzav la-tzav, kav la-kav, kav la-kav z‘eir sham, z‘eir sham [Precept by precept, precept by precept, line by line, line by line, a little here, a little there].
So with stammering lips, in a foreign accent, [Adonai] will speak to this people.
He once told this people, “It’s time to rest, the exhausted can rest, now you can relax” — but they wouldn’t listen.
So now the word of Adonai for them comes “precept by precept, precept by precept, line by line, line by line, a little here, a little there,” so that when they walk, they stumble backward, and are broken, trapped and captured!
So listen to the word of Adonai, you scoffers, composing taunts for this people in Yerushalayim:
Because you said, “We made a covenant with death, we made a contract with Sh’ol. When the raging flood passes through, it will not touch us. For we have made lies our refuge and hid ourselves in falsehoods” —
therefore here is what Adonai Elohim says: “Look, I am laying in Tziyon a tested stone, a costly cornerstone, a firm foundation-stone; he who trusts will not rush here and there.
I will make justice the plumbline and righteousness the plumb-bob; hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, water will overflow the hiding place,
your covenant with death will be annulled, and your contract with Sh’ol will not stand. When the raging flood passes through, you will be trampled down by it.
As often as it passes through, it will take you, for it will pass through every morning, day after day, night after night; understanding the message will be sheer terror.”
Adonai has someone strong and powerful. He comes like a hailstorm, a destructive tempest, like a flood of water, rushing, overwhelming; with his hand he hurls them to the ground.
For, [as the saying goes,] “The bed is too short for a person to stretch, and the blanket too narrow [to protect him from cold] even if he crams himself in.”
For Adonai will arise, as at Mount P’ratzim, and storm with rage, as in the Giv‘on Valley; so he can do his deed, his strange deed, and perform his task, his alien task.
Therefore, now, stop your scoffing, or your bonds will be further tightened; for I have heard from Adonai Elohim-Tzva’ot that destruction is decreed for the whole land.
Listen and hear my voice; pay attention, and hear what I say:
Does a farmer sowing keep plowing forever? Does he never stop breaking up and harrowing his land?
No — when he finishes levelling it, he scatters his dill-seed, sows his cumin, puts wheat in rows, barley where it belongs, and plants buckwheat around the edges;
because his God has taught him this, has given him instruction.
Dill must not be threshed with a sledge or cartwheels driven over cumin; rather, dill one beats with a stick and cumin with a flail.
When crushing grain for bread, one doesn’t thresh it forever; one drives the horse and cart wheels over it but doesn’t crush it to powder.
This too comes from Adonai-Tzva’ot — his counsel is wonderful, his wisdom great.
The haughty crown of Efrayim’s drunks is trampled underfoot;
Well, whatever you do, whether it’s eating or drinking or anything else, do it all so as to bring glory to God.
In other words, do not let yourselves be conformed to the standards of the ‘olam hazeh. Instead, keep letting yourselves be transformed by the renewing of your minds; so that you will know what God wants and will agree that what he wants is good, satisfying and able to succeed.
Stop drinking water; instead, use a little wine for the sake of your digestion and because of your frequent illnesses.
Folly appeals to one who lacks sense, but a person of discernment goes straight ahead.
Don’t you know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one wins the prize? So then, run to win!
Now every athlete in training submits himself to strict discipline, and he does it just to win a laurel wreath that will soon wither away. But we do it to win a crown that will last forever.
Accordingly, I don’t run aimlessly but straight for the finish line; I don’t shadow-box but try to make every punch count.
I treat my body hard and make it my slave so that, after proclaiming the Good News to others, I myself will not be disqualified.
for he will be great in the sight of Adonai. He is never to drink wine or other liquor, and he will be filled with the Ruach HaKodesh even from his mother’s womb.
Still, the fact that everyone can eat and drink and enjoy the good that results from all his work, is a gift of God.
Therefore, put to death the earthly parts of your nature — sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed (which is a form of idolatry);
Brothers, suppose someone is caught doing something wrong. You who have the Spirit should set him right, but in a spirit of humility, keeping an eye on yourselves so that you won’t be tempted too.
My son, if you stop heeding discipline, you will stray from the principles of knowledge.
He who controls his temper is better than a war hero, he who rules his spirit better than he who captures a city.
Don’t let my heart turn to anything evil or allow me to act wickedly with men who are evildoers; keep me from eating their delicacies.
I tell you, I will not drink this ‘fruit of the vine’ again until the day I drink new wine with you in my Father’s Kingdom.”
I exhort you, therefore, brothers, in view of God’s mercies, to offer yourselves as a sacrifice, living and set apart for God. This will please him; it is the logical “Temple worship” for you.
Don’t you know that you people are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?
in God I trust; I have no fear; what can mere humans do to me?
God, I have made vows to you; I will fulfill them with thank offerings to you.
The Son of Man came, eating freely and drinking wine — so they say, ‘Aha! A glutton and a drunkard! A friend of tax-collectors and sinners!’ Well, the proof of wisdom is in the actions it produces.”
The Son of Man has come eating and drinking; and you say, ‘Aha! A glutton and a drunkard! A friend of tax-collectors and sinners!’
When you sit down to dine with a ruler, think carefully about who is before you.
Don’t move the ancient boundary stone or encroach on the land of the fatherless;
for their Redeemer is strong; he will take up their fight against you.
Apply your mind to discipline and your ears to words of knowledge.
Don’t withhold discipline from a child — if you beat him with a stick, he won’t die!
If you beat him with a stick, you will save him from Sh’ol.
My son, if your heart is wise, then my own heart too is glad;
my inmost being rejoices when your lips say what is right.
Don’t envy sinners, but follow the example of those who always fear God;
for then you will have a future; what you hope for will not be cut off.
You, my son: listen, be wise, and set your mind on the right way.
If you have a big appetite, put a knife to your throat!
Don’t be one of those who guzzle wine or of those who eat meat to excess,
for both drunkard and glutton will become poor — drowsiness will clothe them with rags.
Listen to your father, who gave you life; and don’t despise your mother when she gets old.
Buy the truth, don’t sell it, also wisdom, discipline and discernment.
A righteous person’s father will be filled with joy; yes, he whose son is wise will rejoice in him.
So let your father and mother be glad; let her who gave you birth rejoice.
My son, give me your heart; let your eyes observe my ways.
A prostitute is a deep ditch, and a forbidden woman like a narrow well.
She lies in wait to snatch her prey and adds to the number of faithless men.
Who has misery? Who has regret? Who fights and complains all the time? Who gets bruised for no good reason? Who has bloodshot eyes?
Don’t be greedy for his delicacies, for they are deceptive food.
For the old nature wants what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit wants what is contrary to the old nature. These oppose each other, so that you find yourselves unable to carry out your good intentions.
“Come, I’ll get some wine, we’ll fill up on good, strong liquor! Tomorrow will be like today; in fact, it will be even better!”
But the doubter comes under condemnation if he eats, because his action is not based on trust. And anything not based on trust is a sin.
I didn’t mean the sexually immoral people outside your community, or the greedy, or the thieves or the idol-worshippers — for then you would have to leave the world altogether!
Whoever loves wisdom brings joy to his father, but a patron of prostitutes wastes his wealth.
So we who are strong have a duty to bear the weaknesses of those who are not strong, rather than please ourselves.
And again it says, “Gentiles, rejoice with his people.”
And again, “Praise Adonai, all Gentiles! Let all peoples praise him!”
And again, Yesha‘yahu says, “The root of Yishai will come, he who arises to rule Gentiles; Gentiles will put their hope in him.”
May God, the source of hope, fill you completely with joy and shalom as you continue trusting, so that by the power of the Ruach HaKodesh you may overflow with hope.
Now I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you are full of goodness, filled with knowledge and well able to counsel each other.
But on some points I have written you quite boldly by way of reminding you about them, because of the grace God has given me
to be a servant of the Messiah Yeshua for the Gentiles, with the priestly duty of presenting the Good News of God, so that the Gentiles may be an acceptable offering, made holy by the Ruach HaKodesh.
In union with the Messiah Yeshua, then, I have reason to be proud of my service to God;
for I will not dare speak of anything except what the Messiah has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience by my words and deeds,
through the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit of God. So from Yerushalayim all the way to Illyricum I have fully proclaimed the Good News of the Messiah.
Each of us should please his neighbor and act for his good, thus building him up.
Unload your burden on Adonai, and he will sustain you. He will never permit the righteous to be moved.
If you find honey, eat only what you need; for if you eat too much of it, you may throw it up;
And it is perfectly evident what the old nature does. It expresses itself in sexual immorality, impurity and indecency;
Whoever stops up his ears at the cry of the poor will himself cry, but not be answered.
As people who obey God, do not let yourselves be shaped by the evil desires you used to have when you were still ignorant.
“Everything is permitted,” you say? Maybe, but not everything is helpful. “Everything is permitted?” Maybe, but not everything is edifying.
But there are others reeling from wine, staggering about because of strong liquor; cohen and prophet reel from strong liquor, they are confused by wine. Led astray by strong liquor, they err in their visions and stumble when judging.
Having one’s mind controlled by the old nature is death, but having one’s mind controlled by the Spirit is life and shalom.
I treat my body hard and make it my slave so that, after proclaiming the Good News to others, I myself will not be disqualified.
He clothed himself with cursing as routinely as with his coat; May it enter inside him as easily as water, as easily as oil into his bones.
They no longer sing as they drink their wine, strong liquor tastes bitter to those drinking it.
You, my son: listen, be wise, and set your mind on the right way.
If you have a big appetite, put a knife to your throat!
Don’t be one of those who guzzle wine or of those who eat meat to excess,
for both drunkard and glutton will become poor — drowsiness will clothe them with rags.
May those who gloat over my distress be disgraced and humiliated. May those who aggrandize themselves at my expense be covered with shame and confusion.
Then I’ll say to myself, “You’re a lucky man! You have a big supply of goods laid up that will last many years. Start taking it easy! Eat! Drink! Enjoy yourself!”’