The Bible on Alcohol

Song of Solomon 5:

1 I have entered my garden, O my sister, my bride;

I have gathered my myrrh with my balsam spice.

I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey;

I have drunk my wine and my milk!

Eat, friends, and drink!

Drink freely, O lovers!

(NET Bible®)

Deuteronomy 7:

12 If you obey these ordinances and are careful to do them, the LORD your God will faithfully keep covenant with you as he promised your ancestors.

13 He will love and bless you, and make you numerous. He will bless you with many children, with the produce of your soil, your grain, your new wine, your oil, the offspring of your oxen, and the young of your flocks in the land which he promised your ancestors to give you.

Deuteronomy 11:

13 Now, if you pay close attention to my commandments that I am giving you today and love the LORD your God and serve him with all your mind and being,

Deu 11:14 then he promises, "I will send rain for your land in its season, the autumn and the spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine, and olive oil.

(NET Bible®, underlining mine)

Deuteronomy 33:

27 The everlasting God is a refuge,

and underneath you are his eternal arms;

he has driven out enemies before you,

and has said, "Destroy!"

28 Israel lives in safety,

the fountain of Jacob is quite secure,

in a land of grain and new wine;

indeed, its heavens rain down dew.

(NET Bible®)

Deuteronomy 28:

15 "But if you ignore the LORD your God and are not careful to keep all his commandments and statutes I am giving you today, then all these curses will come upon you in full force:

16 You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the field.

17 Your basket and your mixing bowl will be cursed.

18 Your children will be cursed, as well as the produce of your soil, the calves of your herds, and the lambs of your flocks.

…

30 You will be engaged to a woman and another man will rape her. You will build a house but not live in it. You will plant a vineyard but not even begin to use it.

…

38 "You will take much seed to the field but gather little harvest, because locusts will consume it.

39 You will plant vineyards and cultivate them, but you will not drink wine or gather in grapes, because worms will eat them.

(NET Bible®, underlining mine)

Deuteronomy 15:

11 There will never cease to be some poor people in the land; therefore, I am commanding you to make sure you open your hand to your fellow Israelites who are needy and poor in your land.

12 If your fellow Hebrew — whether male or female — is sold to you and serves you for six years, then in the seventh year you must let that servant go free.

13 If you set them free, you must not send them away empty-handed.

14 You must supply them generously from your flock, your threshing floor, and your winepress — as the LORD your God has blessed you, you must give to them.

15 Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you; therefore, I am commanding you to do this thing today.

(NET Bible®, underlining mine)

Proverbs 20:

1 Wine is a mocker and strong drink is a brawler;

whoever goes astray by them is not wise.

Proverbs 23:

20 Do not spend time among drunkards,

among those who eat too much meat,

21 because drunkards and gluttons become impoverished,

and drowsiness clothes them with rags.

Proverbs 26:

9 Like a thorn that goes into the hand of a drunkard,

so is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.

10 Like an archer who wounds at random,

so is the one who hires a fool or hires any passer-by.

11 Like a dog that returns to its vomit,

so a fool repeats his folly.

(NET Bible®)

Deuteronomy 21:

18 If a person has a stubborn, rebellious son who pays no attention to his father or mother, and they discipline him to no avail,

19 his father and mother must seize him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his city.

20 They must declare to the elders of his city, "Our son is stubborn and rebellious and pays no attention to what we say — he is a glutton and drunkard."

21 Then all the men of his city must stone him to death. In this way you will purge out wickedness from among you, and all Israel will hear about it and be afraid.

(NET Bible®, underlining mine)

Ecclesiastes 10:

16 Woe to you, O land, when your king is childish,

and your princes feast in the morning!

17 Blessed are you, O land, when your king is the son of nobility,

and your princes feast at the proper time — with self-control and not in drunkenness.

18 Because of laziness the roof caves in,

and because of idle hands the house leaks.

19 Feasts are made for laughter,

and wine makes life merry,

but money is the answer for everything.

(NET Bible®)

Proverbs 23:

29 Who has woe? Who has sorrow?

Who has contentions? Who has complaints?

Who has wounds without cause? Who has dullness of the eyes?

30 Those who linger over wine,

those who go looking for mixed wine.

31 Do not look on the wine when it is red,

when it sparkles in the cup,

when it goes down smoothly.

32 Afterward it bites like a snake,

and stings like a viper.

33 Your eyes will see strange things,

and your mind will speak perverse things.

34 And you will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea,

and like one who lies down on the top of the rigging.

35 You will say, "They have struck me, but I am not harmed!

They beat me, but I did not know it!

When will I awake? I will look for another drink."

(NET Bible®)

Isaiah 19:

14 The LORD has made them undiscerning;

they lead Egypt astray in all she does,

so that she is like a drunk sliding around in his own vomit.

Isaiah 24:

19 The earth is broken in pieces,

the earth is ripped to shreds,

the earth shakes violently.

20 The earth will stagger around like a drunk;

it will sway back and forth like a hut in a windstorm.

Its sin will weigh it down,

and it will fall and never get up again.

21 At that time the LORD will punish

the heavenly forces in the heavens

and the earthly kings on the earth

(NET Bible®)

Jeremiah 48:

25 Moab's might will be crushed. Its power will be broken. I, the LORD, affirm it!

26 "Moab has vaunted itself against me.

So make him drunk with the wine of my wrath

until he splashes around in his own vomit,

until others treat him as a laughingstock.

(NET Bible®)

Numbers 6:

1 Then the LORD spoke to Moses:

2 "Speak to the Israelites, and tell them, 'When either a man or a woman takes a special vow, to take a vow as a Nazirite, to separate himself to the LORD,

3 he must separate himself from wine and strong drink, he must drink neither vinegar made from wine nor vinegar made from strong drink, nor may he drink any juice of grapes, nor eat fresh grapes or raisins.

4 All the days of his separation he must not eat anything that is produced by the grapevine, from seed to skin.

5 " 'All the days of the vow of his separation no razor may be used on his head until the time is fulfilled for which he separated himself to the LORD. He will be holy, and he must let the locks of hair on his head grow long.

6 " 'All the days that he separates himself to the LORD he must not contact a dead body.

7 He must not defile himself even for his father or his mother or his brother or his sister if they die, because the separation for his God is on his head.

8 All the days of his separation he must be holy to the LORD.

…

(NET Bible®)

Act 18:

18 Paul, after staying many more days in Corinth, said farewell to the brothers and sailed away to Syria accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. He had his hair cut off at Cenchrea because he had made a vow.

(NET Bible®)

Matthew 11:

16 "To what should I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces who call out to one another,

17 'We played the flute for you, yet you did not dance;

we wailed in mourning, yet you did not weep.'

18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon!'

19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look at him, a glutton and a drunk, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' But wisdom is vindicated by her deeds."

(NET Bible®)

John 2:

1 Now on the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there,

2 and Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding.

3 When the wine ran out, Jesus' mother said to him, "They have no wine left."

4 Jesus replied, "Woman, why are you saying this to me? My time has not yet come."

5 His mother told the servants, "Whatever he tells you, do it."

6 Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washing, each holding twenty or thirty gallons.

7 Jesus told the servants, "Fill the water jars with water." So they filled them up to the very top.

8 Then he told them, "Now draw some out and take it to the head steward," and they did.

9 When the head steward tasted the water that had been turned to wine, not knowing where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), he called the bridegroom

10 and said to him, "Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the cheaper wine when the guests are drunk. You have kept the good wine until now!"

11 Jesus did this as the first of his miraculous signs, in Cana of Galilee. In this way he revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him.

(NET Bible®, underlining mine)

Matthew 9:

16 No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, because the patch will pull away from the garment and the tear will be worse.

17 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the skins burst and the wine is spilled out and the skins are destroyed. Instead they put new wine into new wineskins and both are preserved."

(NET Bible®)

Acts 2:

6 When this sound occurred, a crowd gathered and was in confusion, because each one heard them speaking in his own language.

7 Completely baffled, they said, "Aren't all these who are speaking Galileans?

8 And how is it that each one of us hears them in our own native language?

9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and the province of Asia,

10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene, and visitors from Rome,

11 both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs — we hear them speaking in our own languages about the great deeds God has done!"

12 All were astounded and greatly confused, saying to one another, "What does this mean?"

13 But others jeered at the speakers, saying, "They are drunk on new wine!"

14 But Peter stood up with the eleven, raised his voice, and addressed them: "You men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, know this and listen carefully to what I say.

15 In spite of what you think, these men are not drunk, for it is only nine o'clock in the morning.

(NET Bible®, underlining mine)

Ephesians 5:

15 Therefore be very careful how you live — not as unwise but as wise,

16 taking advantage of every opportunity, because the days are evil.

17 For this reason do not be foolish, but be wise by understanding what the Lord's will is.

18 And do not get drunk with wine, which is debauchery, but be filled by the Spirit,

19 speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music in your hearts to the Lord,

20 always giving thanks to God the Father for each other in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

21 and submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

(NET Bible®)

1 Timothy 3:

1 This saying is trustworthy: "If someone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a good work."

2 The overseer then must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, an able teacher,

3 not a drunkard, not violent, but gentle, not contentious, free from the love of money.

4 He must manage his own household well and keep his children in control without losing his dignity.

5 But if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for the church of God?

6 He must not be a recent convert or he may become arrogant and fall into the punishment that the devil will exact.

7 And he must be well thought of by those outside the faith, so that he may not fall into disgrace and be caught by the devil's trap.

Titus 1:

6 An elder must be blameless, the husband of one wife, with faithful children who cannot be charged with dissipation or rebellion.

7 For the overseer must be blameless as one entrusted with God's work, not arrogant, not prone to anger, not a drunkard, not violent, not greedy for gain.

8 Instead he must be hospitable, devoted to what is good, sensible, upright, devout, and self-controlled.

(NET Bible®, underlining mine)

1 Corinthians 5:

9 I wrote you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people.

10 In no way did I mean the immoral people of this world, or the greedy and swindlers and idolaters, since you would then have to go out of the world.

11 But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who calls himself a Christian who is sexually immoral, or greedy, or an idolater, or verbally abusive, or a drunkard, or a swindler. Do not even eat with such a person.

12 For what do I have to do with judging those outside? Are you not to judge those inside?

13 But God will judge those outside. Remove the evil person from among you.

(NET Bible®, underlining mine)

1 Corinthians 6:

9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! The sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, passive homosexual partners, practicing homosexuals,

10 thieves, the greedy, drunkards, the verbally abusive, and swindlers will not inherit the kingdom of God.

(NET Bible®)

1 Timothy 5:

21 Before God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, I solemnly charge you to carry out these commands without prejudice or favoritism of any kind.

22 Do not lay hands on anyone hastily and so identify with the sins of others. Keep yourself pure.

23 (Stop drinking just water, but use a little wine for your digestion and your frequent illnesses.)

24 The sins of some people are obvious, going before them into judgment, but for others, they show up later.

25 Similarly good works are also obvious, and the ones that are not cannot remain hidden.

(NET Bible®)

1 Corinthians 6:

19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?

20 For you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body.

(NET Bible®)

Exodus 29:

39 The first lamb you are to prepare in the morning, and the second lamb you are to prepare around sundown.

40 With the first lamb offer a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a fourth of a hin of oil from pressed olives, and a fourth of a hin of wine as a drink offering.

Numbers 28:

6 It is a continual burnt offering that was instituted on Mount Sinai as a pleasing aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD.

:7 " 'And its drink offering must be one quarter of a hin for each lamb. You must pour out the strong drink as a drink offering to the LORD in the holy place.

…

11 " 'On the first day of each month you must offer as a burnt offering to the LORD two young bulls, one ram, and seven unblemished lambs a year old,

12 with three-tenths of an ephah of finely ground flour mixed with olive oil as a grain offering for each bull, and two-tenths of an ephah of finely ground flour mixed with olive oil as a grain offering for the ram,

13 and one-tenth of an ephah of finely ground flour mixed with olive oil as a grain offering for each lamb, as a burnt offering for a pleasing aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD.

14 For their drink offerings, include half a hin of wine with each bull, one-third of a hin for the ram, and one-fourth of a hin for each lamb. This is the burnt offering for each month throughout the months of the year.

(NET Bible®, underlining mine)

Philippians 2:

17 But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice together with all of you.

(NET Bible®)

Numbers 18:

8 The LORD spoke to Aaron, "See, I have given you the responsibility for my raised offerings; I have given all the holy things of the Israelites to you as your priestly portion and to your sons as a perpetual ordinance.

9 Of all the most holy offerings reserved from the fire this will be yours: Every offering of theirs, whether from every grain offering or from every purification offering or from every reparation offering which they bring to me, will be most holy for you and for your sons.

10 You are to eat it as a most holy offering; every male may eat it. It will be holy to you.

11 "And this is yours: the raised offering of their gift, along with all the wave offerings of the Israelites. I have given them to you and to your sons and daughters with you as a perpetual ordinance. Everyone who is ceremonially clean in your household may eat of it.

12 "All the best of the olive oil and all the best of the wine and of the wheat, the first fruits of these things that they give to the LORD, I have given to you.

13 And whatever first ripe fruit in their land they bring to the LORD will be yours; everyone who is ceremonially clean in your household may eat of it.

14 "Everything devoted in Israel will be yours.

(NET Bible®, underlining mine)

Deuteronomy 14:

22 You must be certain to tithe all the produce of your seed that comes from the field year after year.

23 In the presence of the LORD your God you must eat from the tithe of your grain, your new wine, your olive oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the place he chooses to locate his name, so that you may learn to revere the LORD your God always.

24 When he blesses you, if the place where he chooses to locate his name is distant,

25 you may convert the tithe into money, secure the money, and travel to the place the LORD your God chooses for himself.

26 Then you may spend the money however you wish for cattle, sheep, wine, beer, or whatever you desire. You and your household may eat there in the presence of the LORD your God and enjoy it.

(NET Bible®, underlining mine)

Leviticus 10:

8 Then the LORD spoke to Aaron,

9 "Do not drink wine or strong drink, you and your sons with you, when you enter into the Meeting Tent, so that you do not die, which is a perpetual statute throughout your generations,

10 as well as to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean,

(NET Bible®)

1 Corinthians 6:

13 "Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, but God will do away with both." The body is not for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.

14 Now God indeed raised the Lord and he will raise us by his power.

15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Should I take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never!

16 Or do you not know that anyone who is united with a prostitute is one body with her? For it is said, "The two will become one flesh."

17 But the one united with the Lord is one spirit with him.

18 Flee sexual immorality! "Every sin a person commits is outside of the body" — but the immoral person sins against his own body.

19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?

20 For you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body.

(NET Bible®)

Deuteronomy 23:

17 There must never be a sacred prostitute among the young women of Israel nor a sacred male prostitute among the young men of Israel.

18 You must never bring the pay of a female prostitute or the wage of a male prostitute into the temple of the LORD your God in fulfillment of any vow, for both of these are abhorrent to the LORD your God.

(NET Bible®)

Leviticus 21:

10 " 'The high priest — who is greater than his brothers, on whose head the anointing oil is poured, who has been ordained to wear the priestly garments — must neither dishevel the hair of his head nor tear his garments.

11 He must not go where there is any dead person; he must not defile himself even for his father and his mother.

12 He must not go out from the sanctuary and must not profane the sanctuary of his God, because the dedication of the anointing oil of his God is on him. I am the LORD.

13 He must take a wife who is a virgin.

14 He must not marry a widow, a divorced woman, or one profaned by prostitution; he may only take a virgin from his people as a wife.

15 He must not profane his children among his people, for I am the LORD who sanctifies him.' "

(NET Bible®)

Matthew 5:

29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away! It is better to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into hell.

30 If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away! It is better to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into hell.

(NET Bible®)