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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.
People who rob other people. People who want many things for themselves. Drunks. People who insult other people. People who deceive other people to take things from them. None of these people will receive the good things of God's kingdom.
Do not drink too much wine so that you become drunk. That will destroy your life. Instead, let God's Spirit fill you.
Do not be a friend of people who become drunk. Do not be a friend of greedy people who eat too much.
Wake up and weep, you people who have drunk too much wine! Everyone who likes to drink wine, cry loudly! Weep, because your new wine has disappeared. Nothing remains for you to drink!
People who are like that soon become poor. They sleep too much, and their clothes have holes in them.
Think seriously about how you live. Watch carefully for danger. Remember that the devil is your enemy. He wants to hurt you. He walks about like a hungry lion. He is looking for someone to kill and then eat!
It is better not to eat meat or drink wine if that will cause another believer to be upset. Do not do anything that he might think is wrong.
Instead, we should agree that we have done wrong things and tell that to God. Then God will forgive us for our sins. He always does what he has promised to do. He always does what is right. He will forgive us and he will make us clean again, whatever bad things we may have done.
So do not even look at that beautiful red wine! Do not think about the pleasure it would give to you.
Listen, Lemuel. Kings should not drink lots of wine. They should not want strong drink.
If you drink too much wine or strong drink, you do stupid things and you fight. It is not wise to become drunk.
Everyone knows the kinds of bad things that human nature wants to do. People have sex with people that they are not married to. They do things that are bad and disgusting.Listen carefully! I, Paul, tell you this. If you allow someone to circumcise you, then Christ will be worth nothing to you.They worship idols. They do magic to hurt other people. They become enemies and they fight one another. They are jealous of other people. They become very angry. They want to please themselves and to be important. They cause trouble. They divide people into separate groups.They want things that belong to other people. They are drunks. They have wild parties. And they like to do many other bad things like these. So I warn you again, as I have already warned you before. People who continue to do these bad things will not receive the blessings of the kingdom of God.
It will be bad for you people who like to get up early to start drinking. You continue to drink late into the night, until you are very drunk.You have wild parties with plenty of music and wine. You make music with your lyres, harps, tambourines and flutes. But you do not understand the things that the Lord is doing. You do not see the things that he has made.
Do not be a friend of people who become drunk. Do not be a friend of greedy people who eat too much.People who are like that soon become poor. They sleep too much, and their clothes have holes in them.
—18— People who drink too much wine have many problems. Do you see someone who is in trouble? Someone who is very sad? Someone who argues or complains all the time? Do you see someone with wounds on his body for no reason, or someone with red eyes? Then you are looking at someone who likes to drink wine until late at night. He is someone who likes to try different drinks.Do not want his special food for yourself. He may be trying to deceive you.So do not even look at that beautiful red wine! Do not think about the pleasure it would give to you.In the end, it will bite you, like a snake with its poison.Your eyes will see strange things. Your mind will be confused so that you say crazy things.You will roll about, like a man who tries to sleep on a ship in a storm.You will say, ‘Somebody must have hit me, but I do not remember what happened. I need to wake up soon and have another drink.’
You have already had enough time in your life to do bad things. Those are the kinds of things that people who do not know God like to do. You did many evil things that your bodies wanted to do. You had sex in a wrong way. You often became drunk. You went to wild parties where you drank too much alcohol. You also worshipped useless idols.
In the same way, deacons must live good lives, so that people respect them. They must not be hypocrites. They must not drink too much wine. They must not want to get a lot of money for themselves.
Listen, Lemuel. Kings should not drink lots of wine. They should not want strong drink.When kings drink alcohol, they forget to obey the law. They take away justice for helpless people.
The Lord holds a cup of punishment in his hand. It is full of wine, with spices in it. The Lord pours out his anger from this cup. All the wicked people in the world will have to drink it. They will drink all of it, so that none remains.
But be careful how you live! Do not eat or drink too much. Do not fill your minds with thoughts about what you need to live. If you do, that day will come as a surprise. It will catch you suddenly like a trap!
We should live in a good way, as people live in the light of day. We should not go to wild parties and become drunk. We must not have sex with anyone that we are not married to. We must not do wrong things with our bodies. We must not quarrel. We must not be jealous of other people.Instead, live with the Lord Jesus Christ as your guide. Do not even think about the bad things that your weak human nature wants to do.
When I wrote to you before, I was writing about people who say that they are believers. If they say that, but they have sex in a wrong way, do not be friends with them. It is the same if they want many things for themselves. They may worship idols. They may insult people. They may often get drunk. They may deceive people and rob them. If anyone in your own group does things like that, do not even agree to eat a meal with them.
Give strong drink to people who are dying. Give wine to people who are very upset.Then they can forget how poor they are, or how sad they are.
They want things that belong to other people. They are drunks. They have wild parties. And they like to do many other bad things like these. So I warn you again, as I have already warned you before. People who continue to do these bad things will not receive the blessings of the kingdom of God.
But if a country's ruler belongs to a good family, that country will be a happy place. Its leaders only enjoy parties at the proper time. They control themselves and they do not become drunk.
These are the proverbs of Solomon. A wise child makes his father happy. But a foolish child causes his mother to be sad.
You prepare a feast for me while my enemies watch. You put olive oil on my head. You bless me so much that my cup is completely full.
Do you want to know the right way to live? Then you must accept it when people warn you that you have done something wrong. Only stupid people hate it when people warn them.
Then he begins to hit the other servants. He eats too much and he drinks too much. He meets with other people who become drunk.
But another servant might say to himself, “My master is very late. He will not come yet.” Then he begins to hit the other servants, both the men and the women. He eats too much, and he drinks too much. He becomes drunk.Then the master of that servant will come home and he will surprise the servant. The servant did not think that his master would come home on that day or at that time. Then the master will punish that servant very much. He will put the servant with those people who do not obey him.
We belong to God's kingdom. The things that we eat and drink are not really important. These things are important: We should do what is right. We should have peace in our minds. We should be truly happy. God's Holy Spirit helps us to live like this.
When you are ready to eat, each of you eats your own meal. You do not wait for anyone else. As a result, one of you may be hungry, while another person becomes drunk.
Even if you only eat a little of his food, it will make you sick. All your nice words to him will be useless.
I thought about wine. If I drink a lot of wine, I thought that might make me happy. I might enjoy foolish things. I used wisdom to think about this. People only live for a short time on the earth. I thought this might be the best way for people to enjoy life.
My friends, remember that you are really strangers in this world. You do not belong here. So I am telling you not to do the bad things that your bodies may want to do. Those bad things fight against what is good for your soul.
It will be very bad for Ephraim's beautiful city, Samaria! The people who live there drink too much wine and they become drunk. They are proud of their great city. It is on a hill above a valley where many good things grow. It is like a beautiful flower, but it will be beautiful no more and it will die. He teaches us one rule at a time, one line at a time. He says it several times, a little bit here, a little bit there.’So now the Lord will use foreign enemies to speak to these people. He will speak to them in a strange language.In the past, the Lord said to them, ‘This is a place where you can rest when you are tired. It is a place where you can be safe.’ But his people refused to listen.So the Lord's message will seem to them like, ‘One rule at a time, one line at a time, a little bit here, a little bit there.’ So as they try to move forward, they will fall over. An enemy will hurt them, and he will catch them in a trap.So listen to the Lord's message, you leaders in Jerusalem who rule these people. Do not laugh at what the Lord is doing.You boast, ‘We have made a covenant with death. Yes, we have made an agreement with Sheol. When trouble comes to our city like a deep flood of water, we will be safe. We trust in our lies to keep us safe.’So the Almighty Lord says this: ‘Look! I am putting a special stone in Zion. It is a valuable stone, because it makes a strong foundation at the corner of my building. Anyone who continues to trust will never become disappointed.Justice and righteousness will make that foundation strong and true. But if you trust in lies, a storm of ice will destroy your safe place. A flood of water will destroy the place where you are hiding.I will stop your covenant with death. Your agreement with Sheol will not continue. When trouble comes like a deep flood of water, it will drown you.A flood of punishment will come again and again, and it will carry you away. It will come every morning, and all through the day and the night.’ When you understand this message from the Lord, you will be very afraid.Look! The Lord God is sending a strong and powerful army to attack it. It comes like a strong storm of ice. Its wind destroys everything. It is like rain that pours down and causes a flood. He will knock down Ephraim's great city to the ground with his great power! You will not be able to rest, like a tall person who tries to sleep on a short bed. Your blanket will not cover your whole body.But the Lord will do a great thing, like he did at Mount Perazim. He will be very angry, as he was in the Gibeon Valley. He will do something that is very wonderful and strange.So do not laugh at me when I warn you. If you do not listen, your punishment will become even worse. The Lord Almighty has told me what he has decided. He has decided to destroy the whole land.So listen carefully to my message. Hear what I am saying!A farmer ploughs the ground because he wants to plant seeds in it. He does not continue to plough for ever.When he has prepared the ground, he plants many different seeds. He plants dill and cumin. He plants wheat, barley and different grains in their proper places. God teaches the farmer and he tells him the right thing to do.After the harvest, the farmer knows how to remove seeds from dill or from cumin. He will not pull a heavy iron weight over dill. He will not run the wheels of a cart over cumin. Instead, he will hit them with a light stick.When he crushes grain to make flour for bread, he does not do it for a long time. He drives the wheels of his cart over the grain, but he does not let his horses crush it. The Lord Almighty causes farmers to know all that. His ideas are very wise, and he shows us how to live in a wise way.The drunk people of Samaria think that their city is great. But their enemies will knock it down and walk all over it.
Whatever you are doing, give honour to God. That includes when you eat food, or when you drink anything.
He speaks a message of peace, but he is really thinking about war. His words are easy to listen to, but they hurt like sharp knives.
If you obey the law, you are a wise child. But if you make friends with greedy people, you will make your parents ashamed.
Do not become like the people who belong to this world. But let God completely change the way that you think, so that you live differently. Then you will understand what God wants you to do. You will know what is good. You will know what pleases God. You will know what is completely right.
I know that you often become ill. So do not drink only water, but drink a little wine. This will help your stomach to keep well.
Stupid people are happy when they do foolish things. But wise people walk on a straight path.
Anyone who loves only pleasure will become poor. People who love wine and big feasts will never become rich.
Think about how people run in a race. All the runners run, but only one of them receives the prize. You must run like that, to win the race.People who run in races prepare their bodies well. They make themselves work very hard. They do this so that they will win a prize that will quickly become spoiled. But we work hard to receive a prize that will never become spoiled.Because of that, I do not run without any purpose. I do not fight like someone who only hits the air.I make my body do what I want it to do. I make it like my slave. I have told God's message to other people. Now I do not want to lose the prize myself. So I try very hard to obey the rules of the race.
John will be a very important person who serves the Lord God. He must never drink anything with alcohol in it. From the time when he is born, the Holy Spirit will live in him.
—21— A wise man is better than a brave soldier. If a man learns knowledge, he will become stronger.
People should be happy to eat and to drink. They should enjoy the work that they do. All these things are gifts from God.
Your old nature likes to do bad things that belong to this earth. But your old nature is dead, so do not do these bad things any more. Do not have sex with someone that you are not married to. Do not think bad, disgusting thoughts. Do not want to have sex in a wrong way. Do not want to do any kinds of bad things. Do not want to have many things for yourselves. That shows that you worship those things as your idol.
Foolish people always do what seems right to them. But wise people listen to advice from others.
My friends, if you see that someone among you is doing something wrong, you must warn them. Those of you who have God's Spirit should warn that person. Show them how to live in a good way. But you must be kind and patient with them. Be very careful yourselves, so that it does not cause you to do wrong things too.
My child, never stop learning about what is right. If you stop learning, you will soon forget what you already know.
A person who is patient is better than a brave soldier. If you can control your anger, you can win any battle.
Do not let my mind want evil things. Do not let me join with wicked people, to do the same bad things that they do. I do not even want to eat their good food.
I tell you this. I will not drink wine again until I drink it with you in my Father's kingdom. Then it will be new wine.’
He gives drink to people who are thirsty. He gives plenty of good things to hungry people.
My Christian friends, God has been very kind to us. Because of that, I really want you to serve God with your whole life. Offer your bodies to him like a sacrifice that continues to live. Serve him with everything that you have, and that will please him. That is the true way to worship God.
You surely know that you are like God's own house, the temple. As God's people, God's Spirit lives in you.
A silly person will believe anything. But a careful person will think before he does anything.
I have made special promises to you, God, and I will do what I have promised. I will offer to you a sacrifice to say ‘thank you’.You have saved my life from death. You keep me safe so that I do not fall. As a result, I will serve you, God, as you give me light to live here on earth.
Then I, the Son of Man, came. I eat meals with other people and I drink wine. So people say about me, “Look at him! He eats too much and he drinks too much. He is a friend of bad people and men who take taxes from people.” God is wise. The good things that he does show that he is right.’
Then I, the Son of Man, came. I eat meals with other people and I drink wine. So you say about me, “Look at this man! He eats too much and he drinks too much. He is a friend of bad people and men who take taxes from people.”
—6— When you sit down to eat a meal with a ruler, be careful how you eat.—10— Never move a stone that has always shown the border of someone's land. Do not take for yourself the fields of people who have no family to help them.God himself will be the relative who helps them. He will speak against you in court.—11— Listen carefully to your teacher and study well. Then you will learn knowledge.—12— Remember to warn your children when they do something wrong. If you punish them with a stick, you will not kill them.Punishment may save them from death.—13— My child, if you become wise, I will be happy.When I hear you speak true words, it will make me very happy.—14— Do not be jealous of sinners. Always respect the Lord and obey him in everything that you do.Then you will be happy in future days. What you hope for will surely happen.—15— Listen to me, my child. Learn to be wise and to live in a good way.Even if you enjoy your food, do not eat too much of it.Do not be a friend of people who become drunk. Do not be a friend of greedy people who eat too much.People who are like that soon become poor. They sleep too much, and their clothes have holes in them.—16— Listen to your father. You would not be alive without him. Continue to respect your mother when she becomes old.Truth, wisdom, good teaching and knowledge are valuable things. Buy them for yourself. Do not sell them.The father of a righteous person will be very happy. He will be proud of a wise child.So make your father and your mother proud of you. Do things that will make your mother happy.—17— Listen to me carefully, my son. Watch how I live.Prostitutes are a dangerous trap for men. Women who are not faithful to their husbands can cause men to fall into danger, like a deep well.They are like robbers who wait to attack people. They take more and more men away from their wives.—18— People who drink too much wine have many problems. Do you see someone who is in trouble? Someone who is very sad? Someone who argues or complains all the time? Do you see someone with wounds on his body for no reason, or someone with red eyes? Then you are looking at someone who likes to drink wine until late at night. He is someone who likes to try different drinks.Do not want his special food for yourself. He may be trying to deceive you.
The things that your human nature wants to do are completely different from the things that God's Spirit wants. The things that God's Spirit wants are completely different from the things that our human nature wants. Our own thoughts fight against what God's Spirit wants us to do. As a result, you are not free to do the things that you really want to do.
They say to each other, “Come! We must go and find more wine to drink! We can drink as much beer as we want! Tomorrow we can do it all again! It might be even better than today!” ’
But someone else may not be sure whether it is right to eat certain kinds of food. If that person does eat that kind of food, he shows that he is guilty. He has not trusted God that it is right for him to do that. Whatever things we do, we must believe that they are right. If we do not trust God that something is right, then it is a sin.
If you lend money to a wicked person, he will not give it back to you. But righteous people are kind to others and they give things freely.
But I was not talking about people who do not know God. Those people have sex in wrong ways. They want many things to please themselves. They deceive people and they rob them. They worship idols. You could never keep away from all people like that, unless you left this world!
A man who loves wisdom makes his father happy. But anyone who is a friend of prostitutes is wasting his father's money.
Some of us trust God with strong faith. We must help those believers whose faith is weaker. We must be patient with them. We should not only do things that will please ourselves.It says also in the Bible: ‘Be very happy, you Gentiles! Praise God together with his people.’ It also says this: ‘Praise the Lord God, all you Gentiles. All people, from every country, should say how great he is.’ God's prophet Isaiah says this: ‘The root of Jesse will arrive. He will come to rule the Gentiles. The Gentiles will trust him to save them.’ God is the one who causes us to hope for good things. I pray that God will bless you very much. I pray that he will cause you to be happy and to have peace in your minds. He will do this because you believe in him. As a result, God's Holy Spirit will make you strong with his power, so that you hope even more certainly.My Christian friends, I myself am completely sure about you. I know that you are good in every way. You know everything about God's message. You are able to teach one another what is right.But I still needed to write this letter to you. I have written to you strongly about some things, so that you would remember them. God has kindly chosen me to serve him in this way.I am a servant of Christ Jesus among the Gentiles, to tell them God's good news. Like a priest, I offer the Gentiles to God, so that he will accept them. The Holy Spirit has made them a pure offering that pleases God.So I am proud about the way that I serve God, because I belong to Christ Jesus.But I will only speak about the work that Christ has let me do. He has used the message that I have spoken and the things that I have done. As a result, the Gentiles have obeyed God.They have seen miracles and great things as God's Holy Spirit worked powerfully among them. In this way, I have told the good news about Christ to many people. I have done this all the way from Jerusalem as far as Illyricum. Instead, each of us should do things that will please other believers. We should help them to trust God more strongly.
And as for wicked people, you, God, will send them to their graves. They will go down into the deep hole of death while they are still young. That is what will happen to those cruel people, who kill and cheat others. But I will trust in you, God.
When you find honey, never eat more than you need. If you eat too much, you will become very sick.
Everyone knows the kinds of bad things that human nature wants to do. People have sex with people that they are not married to. They do things that are bad and disgusting.
If you refuse to listen when poor people ask for help, you too will receive no help when you need it.
Obey God, like good children who obey their father. Before you knew the true message about Christ, you very much wanted to do bad things. But now you should not agree to live in that bad way.
Some of you might say, ‘We are free to do anything that we want to do!’ But I tell you that not everything is good for you to do. You might say, ‘We are free to do anything!’ But not everything helps us to be strong as believers.
But now wine causes the leaders in Ephraim to become drunk. They cannot walk in a straight line because they drink too much beer. Beer causes the priests and the prophets to fall over. Wine confuses their minds. When they see visions, they cannot understand them. When they judge people, they cannot decide what is right.
People who let their human thoughts rule them will die. But people who think about what God's Spirit wants will have life with God. They will have peace inside themselves.
I make my body do what I want it to do. I make it like my slave. I have told God's message to other people. Now I do not want to lose the prize myself. So I try very hard to obey the rules of the race.
He always cursed others, as he always put on clothes. So those curses have become like his food and drink. May they go deep inside him, like olive oil that goes into his bones.
A foolish person is happy when he does wicked things. But a wise person enjoys doing things that are right.
—15— Listen to me, my child. Learn to be wise and to live in a good way.Even if you enjoy your food, do not eat too much of it.Do not be a friend of people who become drunk. Do not be a friend of greedy people who eat too much.People who are like that soon become poor. They sleep too much, and their clothes have holes in them.
Punish those people who are happy when I have troubles. Make them ashamed and confused! Bring down those proud people who laugh at me. Make them feel very ashamed.
Then the Lord God woke up, like someone had woken him from sleep. He shouted loudly, like a soldier who has drunk a lot of wine.
Then I will say to myself, ‘You have plenty of things stored safely. These will be enough for you for many years. Now you can live an easy life. Eat and drink as much as you want. Enjoy yourself.’ ”