The Bible contains numerous passages that provide guidance and warnings regarding the consumption of alcohol. In this collection of scriptures, we find a compelling compilation of 75 verses that condemn the drinking of alcoholic beverages and highlight the potential dangers and consequences associated with it. These verses span across different books of the Bible, offering a consistent message that urges caution and sobriety.
From the accounts of biblical figures who fell into immorality and trouble due to their drunkenness to the divine commandments given to priests and leaders to abstain from alcohol, the Scriptures present a clear stance on the matter. Let us delve into these verses as we explore the Bible’s wisdom on the subject of drinking.
75 Biblical Warnings against the Drinking of Alcohol
What are the 75 Scripture Warnings against the Drinking of Alcohol?
Genesis 9:20-26 (KJV)
“And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard: And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without. And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father’s nakedness. And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him. And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.”
Genesis 19:30-38 (KJV)
“And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters. And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth: Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. And they made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father.”
Leviticus 10:9-11 (KJV)
“Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations: And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean; And that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the LORD hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses.”
Numbers 6:3 (KJV)
“He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried.”
Deuteronomy 21:20 (KJV)
“And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.”
Deuteronomy 29:5-6 (KJV)
“And I have led you forty years in the wilderness: your clothes are not waxen old upon you, and thy shoe is not waxen old upon thy foot. Ye have not eaten bread, neither have ye drunk wine or strong drink: that ye might know that I am the Lord your God.”
Deuteronomy 32:33 (KJV)
“Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps.”
Judges 13:4, 7, 14 (KJV)
“Now, therefore, beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing. But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death. She may not eat of anything that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink nor eat any unclean thing: all that I commanded her let her observe.”
1 Samuel 1:14-15 (KJV)
“And Eli said unto her, How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee. And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the LORD.”
1 Samuel 25:32-38 (KJV)
“And it came to pass, as she rode on the ass, that she came down by the covert of the hill, and, behold, David and his men came down against her; and she met them. Now David had said, Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow hath in the wilderness so that nothing was missed of all that pertained unto him: and he hath requited me evil for good. So and more also do God unto the enemies of David, if I leave of all that pertain to him by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall. And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and lighted off the ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, And fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be: and let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine audience, and hear the words of thine handmaid. Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, even Nabal: for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him: but I thine handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send. Now therefore, my lord, as the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, seeing the LORD hath withholden thee from coming to shed blood, and from avenging thyself with thine own hand, now let thine enemies, and they that seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal.”
2 Samuel 11:13 (KJV)
“And when David had called him, he did eat and drink before him; and he made him drunk: and at even he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but went not down to his house.”
2 Samuel 13:28-29 (KJV)
“Now Absalom had commanded his servants, saying, Mark ye now when Amnon’s heart is merry with wine, and when I say unto you, Smite Amnon; then kill him, fear not: have not I commanded you? be courageous, and be valiant. And the servants of Absalom did unto Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king’s sons arose, and every man gat him up upon his mule, and fled.”
1 Kings 16:8-10 (KJV)
“In the twenty and sixth year of Asa king of Judah began Elah the son of Baasha to reign over Israel in Tirzah, two years. And his servant Zimri, captain of half his chariots, conspired against him, as he was in Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza steward of his house in Tirzah. And Zimri went in and smote him, and killed him, in the twenty and seventh year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in his stead.”
1 Kings 20:12-21 (KJV)
“And it came to pass, when Ben-hadad heard this message, as he was drinking, he and the kings in the pavilions, that he said unto his servants, Set yourselves in array. And they set themselves in array against the city. And, behold, there came a prophet unto Ahab king of Israel, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou seen all this great multitude? behold, I will deliver it into thine hand this day; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD. And Ahab said, By whom? And he said, Thus saith the LORD, Even by the young men of the princes of the provinces. Then he said, Who shall order the battle? And he answered, Thou. Then he numbered the young men of the princes of the provinces, and they were two hundred and thirty-two: and after them he numbered all the people, even all the children of Israel, being seven thousand. And they went out at noon. But Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in the pavilions, he and the kings, the thirty and two kings that helped him. And the young men of the princes of the provinces went out first; and Ben-hadad sent out, and they told him, saying, There are men come out of Samaria. And he said, Whether they be come out for peace, take them alive; or whether they be come out for war, take them alive. So these young men of the princes of the provinces came out of the city, and the army which followed them. And they slew every one his man: and the Syrians fled; and Israel pursued them: and Ben-hadad the king of Syria escaped on an horse with the horsemen.”
Esther 1:5-12 (KJV)
“And when these days were expired, the king made a feast unto all the people that were present in Shushan the palace, both unto great and small, seven days, in the court of the garden of the king’s palace; Where were white, green, and blue, hangings, fastened with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rings and pillars of marble: the beds were of gold and silver, upon a pavement of red, and blue, and white, and black, marble. And they gave them drink in vessels of gold, (the vessels being diverse one from another,) and royal wine in abundance, according to the state of the king. And the drinking was according to the law; none did compel: for so the king had appointed to all the officers of his house, that they should do according to every man’s pleasure. Also, Vashti the queen made a feast for the women in the royal house which belonged to the king Ahasuerus. On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven chamberlains that served in the presence of Ahasuerus the king, to bring Vashti the queen before the king with the crown royal, to show the people and the princes her beauty: for she was fair to look on. But the queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s commandment by his chamberlains: therefore was the king very wroth, and his anger burned in him.
Psalm 75:8 (KJV)
“For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is full of mixture; and he poureth out of the same: but the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out, and drink them.”
Proverbs 4:17 (KJV)
“For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.”
Proverbs 20:1 (KJV)
“Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.”
Proverbs 23:19-20 (KJV)
Be not among Winebibbers: “Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way. Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh.”
Proverbs 23:21 (KJV)
“For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.”
Proverbs 23:29-30 (KJV)
“Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine.”
Proverbs 23:31 (KJV)
“Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.”
Proverbs 23:32 (KJV)
“At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.”
Proverbs 23:33 (KJV)
“Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things.”
Proverbs 23:34 (KJV)
“Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast.”
Proverbs 23:35 (KJV)
“They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.”
Proverbs 31:4-5 (KJV)
“It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink: Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert justice of any of the afflicted.”
Proverbs 31:6-7 (KJV)
“Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts. Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.”
Ecclesiastes 2:3 (KJV)
“I sought in mine heart to give myself unto wine, yet acquainting mine heart with wisdom; and to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was that good for the sons of men, which they should do under the heaven all the days of their life.”
Ecclesiastes 10:17 (KJV)
“Blessed 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!”
Isaiah 5:11-12 (KJV)
“Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them! And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the LORD, neither considers the operation of his hands.”
Isaiah 5:22 (KJV)
“Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink.”
Isaiah 19:14 (KJV)
“The LORD hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst thereof: and they have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof, as a drunken man staggereth in his vomit.”
Isaiah 22:12-13 (KJV)
“And in that day did the Lord GOD of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth: And behold joy and gladness, slaying oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh, and drinking wine: let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we shall die.”
Isaiah 24:9 (KJV)
The Desolation of Drunkards: “They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it.”
Isaiah 28:1 (KJV)
“Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower, which are on the head of the fat valleys of them that are overcome with wine!”
Isaiah 28:3 (KJV)
“The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, shall be trodden under feet.”
Isaiah 28:7 (KJV)
“But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment.”
Isaiah 28:8 (KJV)
“For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean.”
Isaiah 56:9-12 (KJV)
“All ye beasts of the field, come to devour, yea, all ye beasts in the forest. His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter. Come ye, say they, I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and to morrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant.”
Jeremiah 35:2-14 (KJV)
“Go unto the house of the Rechabites and speak unto them, and bring them into the house of the LORD… And I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites pots full of wine, and cups, and I said unto them, Drink ye wine… But they said, We will drink no wine: for Jonadab the son of Rechab our father commanded us, saying, Ye shall drink no wine… Thus have we obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab our father in all that he hath charged us, to drink no wine all our days.”
Ezekiel 44:21 (KJV)
“Neither shall any priest drink wine when they enter into the inner court.”
Daniel 1:5-17 (KJV)
“But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank… prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink… And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king’s meat… As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.”
Daniel 5:1 (KJV)
“Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand.”
Daniel 5:2-3 (KJV)
“They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone. In the same hour came forth fingers of a man’s hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace.”
Daniel 5:4 (KJV)
“They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.”
Daniel 5:23 (KJV) – Belshazzar’s Judgment: “But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified.”
Hosea 4:11 (KJV)
“Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart.”
Hosea 7:5 (KJV)
“In the day of our king the princes have made him sick with bottles of wine; he stretched out his hand with scorners.”
Joel 1:5 (KJV)
“Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine, for it is cut off from your mouth.”
Joel 3:3 (KJV)
“They have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink.”
Amos 2:8 (KJV)
“And they lay themselves down upon clothes laid to pledge by every altar, and they drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god.”
Amos 2:12 (KJV)
“But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink, and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not.”
Micah 2:11 (KJV)
“If a man walking in the spirit and falsehood do lie, saying, I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink; he shall even be the prophet of this people.”
Nahum 1:10 (KJV)
“For while they be folden together as thorns, and while they are drunken as drunkards, they shall be devoured as stubble fully dry.”
Habakkuk 2:5 (KJV)
“Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people.”
Habakkuk 2:15 (KJV)
“Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!”
Habakkuk 2:16 (KJV)
“Thou art filled with shame for glory: drink thou also, and let thy foreskin be uncovered: the cup of the LORD’S right hand shall be turned unto thee, and shameful spewing shall be on thy glory.”
Matthew 24:48-51 (KJV)
“But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; And shall begin to smite his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Luke 1:15 (KJV)
“For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb.”
Luke 12:45 (KJV)
“But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken.”
Luke 21:34 (KJV)
“And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.”
Romans 13:13 (KJV)
“Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.”
Romans 14:21 (KJV)
“It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor anything whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.”
1 Corinthians 5:11 (KJV)
“But now I have written unto you not to keep company if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such a one no not to eat.”
1 Corinthians 6:10 (KJV)
“Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.”
Galatians 5:21 (KJV)
“Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”
Ephesians 5:18 (KJV)
“And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;”
1 Thessalonians 5:6-7 (KJV)
“Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.”
1 Timothy 3:2-3 (KJV)
“A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;”
1 Timothy 3:8 (KJV)
“Likewise must the deacons be grave, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre;”
1 Timothy 3:11 (KJV)
“Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things.”
Titus 1:7-8 (KJV)
“For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre; But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate;”
Titus 2:2-3 (KJV)
“That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience. The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;”
1 Peter 4:3-4 (KJV)
“For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries: Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you:”
Proverbs 31:4-5 (KJV)
“It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink: Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.”
Isaiah 28:7 (KJV)
“But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment.”
Hosea 4:11 (KJV)
“Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart.”
Habakkuk 2:15 (KJV)
“Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!”
Ephesians 5:18 (KJV)
“And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.”
1 Peter 5:8 (KJV)
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.”
Conclusion
The collection of 75 scripture warnings against the drinking of alcohol leaves us with a profound understanding of the Bible’s perspective on this topic. Throughout the Old and New Testaments, we witness the detrimental effects of alcohol on individuals, families, and societies. From the loss of judgment and wisdom to the destruction of relationships and the erosion of moral values, the Scriptures consistently caution against the perils of intoxication. These verses call for temperance, self-control, and the pursuit of a life that is pleasing to God. As believers, we are encouraged to heed these warnings, cultivating lives of sobriety, discernment, and spiritual clarity. By embracing the biblical teachings on alcohol, we can strive to honor God, protect ourselves and others, and pursue lives that are marked by righteousness and wisdom.