105 Bible Verses about Drunkenness

The Bible offers a lot of guidance about alcohol. Leviticus 10:9¹ says, "You and your sons are not to drink wine or other fermented drink whenever you go into the tent of meeting, or you will die. This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come." This passage doesn't mean we can't ever have a drink. Alcohol itself isn't sinful.

However, the Bible is very clear that we should steer clear of drunkenness and addiction. Ephesians 5:18² tells us, "Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit." And 1 Corinthians 6:12³ reminds us, "‘I have the right to do anything,’ you say—but not everything is beneficial. ‘I have the right to do anything’—but I will not be mastered by anything."

So, think about it. While enjoying a drink might not be wrong in itself, it's important to be mindful and make sure it's not controlling you. It's about living a life that honors God and allows the Holy Spirit to guide you.

And be not drunken with wine, wherein is riot, but be filled with the Spirit;

Let us walk becomingly, as in the day; not in revelling and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and jealousy.

nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink no wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing:

Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that tarry late into the night, till wine inflame them!

Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the understanding.

Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler;\par\tab And whosoever erreth thereby is not wise.

Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish,\par\tab And wine unto the bitter in soul:

It is good not to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor {\i to do anything} whereby thy brother stumbleth.

envyings, drunkenness, revellings, and such like; of which I forewarn you, even as I did forewarn you, that they who practise such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Woe unto him that giveth his neighbor drink, {\i to thee} that addest thy venom, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!

For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty;\par\tab And drowsiness will clothe {\i a man} with rags.

Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are {\i these}: fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousies, wraths, factions, divisions, parties,envyings, drunkenness, revellings, and such like; of which I forewarn you, even as I did forewarn you, that they who practise such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink;

Deacons in like manner {\i must be} grave, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre;

Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions?\par\tab Who hath complaining? who hath wounds without cause?\par\tab Who hath redness of eyes?They that tarry long at the wine;\par\tab They that go to seek out mixed wine.Look not thou upon the wine when it is red,\par\tab When it sparkleth in the cup,\par\tab When it goeth down smoothly:At the last it biteth like a serpent,\par\tab And stingeth like an adder.Thine eyes shall behold strange things,\par\tab And thy heart shall utter perverse things.Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea,\par\tab Or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast.They have stricken me, {\i shalt thou say}, and I was not hurt;\par\tab They have beaten me, and I felt it not:\par\tab When shall I awake?\par\tab I will seek it yet again.\par

Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that tarry late into the night, till wine inflame them!And the harp and the lute, the tabret and the pipe, and wine, are {\i in} their feasts; but they regard not the work of Jehovah, neither have they considered the operation of his hands.\par

Be not among winebibbers,\par\tab Among gluttonous eaters of flesh:For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty;\par\tab And drowsiness will clothe {\i a man} with rags.

Be sober, be watchful: your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour,

He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle,\par\tab And herb for the service of man;\par\tab That he may bring forth food out of the earth,And wine that maketh glad the heart of man,\par\tab {\i And} oil to make his face to shine,\par\tab And bread that strengtheneth man's heart.

It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine;\par\tab Nor for princes {\i to say}, Where is strong drink?Lest they drink, and forget the law,\par\tab And pervert the justice {\i due} to any that is afflicted.

But take heed to yourselves, lest haply your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that day come on you suddenly as a snare:

but as it is, I wrote unto you not to keep company, if any man that is named a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such a one no, not to eat.

Whoso loveth correction loveth knowledge;\par\tab But he that hateth reproof is brutish.

Their sorrows shall be multiplied that give gifts for another {\i god}:\par\tab Their drink-offerings of blood will I not offer,\par\tab Nor take their names upon my lips.

And even these reel with wine, and stagger with strong drink; the priest and the prophet reel with strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they stagger with strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment.

Then the Lord awaked as one out of sleep,\par\tab Like a mighty man that shouteth by reason of wine.And he smote his adversaries backward:\par\tab He put them to a perpetual reproach.

They grope in the dark without light;\par\tab And he maketh them to stagger like a drunken man.\par

Happy art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness!

and shall begin to beat his fellow-servants, and shall eat and drink with the drunken;

When thou sittest to eat with a ruler,\par\tab Consider diligently him that is before thee;And put a knife to thy throat,\par\tab If thou be a man given to appetite.Be not desirous of his dainties;\par\tab Seeing they are deceitful food.

A cheerful heart is a good medicine;\par\tab But a broken spirit drieth up the bones.

But if that servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and the maidservants, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken;

And be not drunken with wine, wherein is riot, but be filled with the Spirit;speaking one to another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord;giving thanks always for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father;

Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish,\par\tab And wine unto the bitter in soul:Let him drink, and forget his poverty,\par\tab And remember his misery no more.

They that sit in the gate talk of me;\par\tab And {\i I am} the song of the drunkards.

Whoso loveth wisdom rejoiceth his father;\par\tab But he that keepeth company with harlots wasteth his substance.

Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

that aged women likewise be reverent in demeanor, not slanderers nor enslaved to much wine, teachers of that which is good;

for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

And wine that maketh glad the heart of man,\par\tab {\i And} oil to make his face to shine,\par\tab And bread that strengtheneth man's heart.

Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler;\par\tab And whosoever erreth thereby is not wise.The terror of a king is as the roaring of a lion:\par\tab He that provoketh him to anger sinneth {\i against} his own life.

But I say unto you, I shall not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.}\par

I searched in my heart how to cheer my flesh with wine, my heart yet guiding {\i me} with wisdom, and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what it was good for the sons of men that they should do under heaven all the days of their life.

They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it.

For the time past may suffice to have wrought the desire of the Gentiles, and to have walked in lasciviousness, lusts, winebibbings, revellings, carousings, and abominable idolatries:

Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye,\par\tab Neither desire thou his dainties:For as he thinketh within himself, so is he:\par\tab Eat and drink, saith he to thee;\par\tab But his heart is not with thee.The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up,\par\tab And lose thy sweet words.

Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are {\i these}: fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,

{\b {\i A Psalm} of David.}\par\par\tab Fret not thyself because of evil-doers,\par\tab Neither be thou envious against them that work unrighteousness.For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,\par\tab And wither as the green herb.

And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.\par

The proverbs of Solomon.\par\par\tab A wise son maketh a glad father;\par\tab But a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.

For my life is spent with sorrow,\par\tab And my years with sighing:\par\tab My strength faileth because of mine iniquity,\par\tab And my bones are wasted away.

Be no longer a drinker of water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities.

Let us walk becomingly, as in the day; not in revelling and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and jealousy.But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to {\i fulfil} the lusts {\i thereof}.\par

Judgments are prepared for scoffers,\par\tab And stripes for the back of fools.\par

They have stricken me, {\i shalt thou say}, and I was not hurt;\par\tab They have beaten me, and I felt it not:\par\tab When shall I awake?\par\tab I will seek it yet again.\par

Thy word have I laid up in my heart,\par\tab That I might not sin against thee.

And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy good in all his labor, is the gift of God.

I can do all things in him that strengtheneth me.

{\b {\i A Psalm} of David.}\par\par\tab Bless Jehovah, O my soul;\par\tab And all that is within me, {\i bless} his holy name.Bless Jehovah, O my soul,\par\tab And forget not all his benefits:

Or know ye not that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which ye have from God? and ye are not your own;for ye were bought with a price: glorify God therefore in your body.\par

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

My son, forget not my law;\par\tab But let thy heart keep my commandments:For length of days, and years of life,\par\tab And peace, will they add to thee.

In whose eyes a reprobate is despised,\par\tab But who honoreth them that fear Jehovah;\par\tab He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not;

Therefore let us also, seeing we are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,looking unto Jesus the author and perfecter of {\i our} faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising shame, and hath sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Know ye not that ye are a temple of God, and {\i that} the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?If any man destroyeth the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, and such are ye.\par

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High\par\tab Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.I will say of Jehovah, He is my refuge and my fortress;\par\tab My God, in whom I trust.

He that is slow to anger is of great understanding;\par\tab But he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly.

Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

Heaviness in the heart of a man maketh it stoop;\par\tab But a good word maketh it glad.

For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite.

Beloved, I beseech you as sojourners and pilgrims, to abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;

And if thy right eye causeth thee to stumble, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not thy whole body be cast into hell.And if thy right hand causeth thee to stumble, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not thy whole body go into hell.

Can a man take fire in his bosom,\par\tab And his clothes not be burned?Or can one walk upon hot coals,\par\tab And his feet not be scorched?So he that goeth in to his neighbor's wife;\par\tab Whosoever toucheth her shall not be unpunished.

For if because of meat thy brother is grieved, thou walkest no longer in love. Destroy not with thy meat him for whom Christ died.

Know ye not that they that run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? Even so run; that ye may attain.And every man that striveth in the games exerciseth self-control in all things. Now they {\i do it} to receive a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.I therefore so run, as not uncertainly; so fight I, as not beating the air:but I buffet my body, and bring it into bondage: lest by any means, after that I have preached to others, I myself should be rejected.\par

For the bishop must be blameless, as God's steward; not self-willed, not soon angry, no brawler, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre;

He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty;\par\tab And he that ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a city.

But they that are minded to be rich fall into a temptation and a snare and many foolish and hurtful lusts, such as drown men in destruction and perdition.

Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.}

Keep thy heart with all diligence;\par\tab For out of it are the issues of life.

Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down;\par\tab For Jehovah upholdeth him with his hand.

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, {\i which is} your spiritual service.And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.\par

Incline my heart unto thy testimonies,\par\tab And not to covetousness.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

The merciful man doeth good to his own soul;\par\tab But he that is cruel troubleth his own flesh.

For the fool will speak folly, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise profaneness, and to utter error against Jehovah, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and to cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.

{\b {\i A Psalm} of David.}\par\par\tab Unto thee, O Jehovah, do I lift up my soul.O my God, in thee have I trusted,\par\tab Let me not be put to shame;\par\tab Let not mine enemies triumph over me.

Apply thy heart unto instruction,\par\tab And thine ears to the words of knowledge.Withhold not correction from the child;\par\tab {\i For} if thou beat him with the rod, he will not die.Thou shalt beat him with the rod,\par\tab And shalt deliver his soul from Sheol.

And that servant, who knew his lord's will, and made not ready, nor did according to his will, shall be beaten with many {\i stripes};but he that knew not, and did things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few {\i stripes}. And to whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required: and to whom they commit much, of him will they ask the more.\par

envyings, drunkenness, revellings, and such like; of which I forewarn you, even as I did forewarn you, that they who practise such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

In nothing be anxious; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.\par

{\b NUN.}\par\par\tab Thy word is a lamp unto my feet,\par\tab And light unto my path.

Be not deceived: Evil companionships corrupt good morals.

Follow after peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no man shall see the Lord:

rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing stedfastly in prayer;

Ye therefore shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.}\par

The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of wisdom;\par\tab And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

so then let us not sleep, as do the rest, but let us watch and be sober.

Hast thou found honey? eat so much as is sufficient for thee,\par\tab Lest thou be filled therewith, and vomit it.

And I will delight myself in thy commandments,\par\tab Which I have loved.

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey the lusts thereof:neither present your members unto sin {\i as} instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves unto God, as alive from the dead, and your members {\i as} instruments of righteousness unto God.

And let us not be weary in well-doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

Great peace have they that love thy law;\par\tab And they have no occasion of stumbling.

no brawler, no striker; but gentle, not contentious, no lover of money;

Prayer