Wine is the most common alcoholic beverage mentioned in biblical literature.
According to biblical texts, wine, Non-grape wine, and beer played an important part in the daily life of the inhabitants of ancient Israel. On the other hand, many biblical verses forbid the excessive consumption of wine (leading to 'drunkeness'), and a few verses, even forbid it outright.The table below lists 75 biblical verses which at the very least, cast doubt on the permissibility of consuming wine and alcohol.
1. Noah became drunk; the result
was immorality and family trouble
Noah began to be a man of the soil, and he planted a vineyard. He drank of the wine and became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside.
GENESIS 9:20-26
2. Lot was so drunk he did not
know what he was doing; this led to immorality
Come, let us make our father [Lot] drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve offspring from our father. So they made their father [Lot] drink wine that night. And the firstborn went in and lay with her father.
GENESIS 19:30-38
3. God commanded priests not to
drink so that they could tell the difference between the holy and the unholy
Drink no wine or strong drink, you or your sons with you, when you go into the tent of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations. You are to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean.
LEVITICUS 10:9-11
4. The Nazarites were told to eat or
drink nothing from the grape vine
He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink. He shall drink no vinegar made from wine or strong drink and shall not drink any juice of grapes or eat grapes, fresh or dried.
NUMBERS 6:3
5. A drunken son was stubborn
and rebellious
And they shall say to 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 21:20
6. God gave no grape juice to
Israel nor did they have intoxicating drink in the wilderness
I have led you forty years in the wilderness. Your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandals have not worn off your feet. You have not eaten bread, and you have not drunk wine or strong drink, that you may know that I am the Lord your God.
DEUTERONOMY 29:5-6
7. Intoxicating wine is like the
poison of serpents, the cruel venom of asps
Their wine is the poison of serpents and the cruel venom of asps.
DEUTERONOMY 32:33
8. Samson was to be a Nazarite
for life. His mother was told not to drink wine or
strong drink
Now therefore, please be careful not to drink wine or similar drink, and not to eat anything unclean.
JUDGES 13:4
9. Accused, Hannah said she drank no wine
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 1:14-15
10. Nabal died after a drunken
spree
Nabal's heart was merry within him, for he was very drunken: wherefore she told him nothing, less or more, until the morning light. But it came to pass in the morning, when the wine was gone out of Nabal, and his wife had told him these things, that his heart died within him, and he became as a stone.
1 SAMUEL 25:36-37
11. By getting Uriah drunk, David
hoped to cover his sin
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 11:13
12. Amnon was drunk when he
was killed
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.
2 SAMUEL 13:28-29
13. The king was drinking himself
into drunkenness when he was assassinated
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.
1 KINGS 16:8-10
14. Ben-Hadad and 32 other kings
were drinking when they were attacked and defeated by the Israelites
And they went out at noon. But Benhadad was drinking himself drunk in the pavilions, he and the kings, the thirty and two kings that helped him ... And they slew every one his man:
1 KINGS 20:16-21
15. The king gave each one all the
drink he wanted. The king was intoxicated when he
commanded the queen to come
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.
ESTHER 1:5-12
16. The Lord's anger is pictured as
mixed wine poured out and drunk by the wicked
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.
PSALMS 75:8
17. Alcoholic drink is called the wine
of violence
For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.
PROVERBS 4:17
18. Wine is a mocker, strong drink is
raging
Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.
PROVERBS 20:1
19. A wise person will not be
among the drinkers of alcoholic beverages
Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way. Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh:
PROVERBS 23:19-20
20. Drunkenness causes poverty
For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.
PROVERBS 23:21
21. Drinking causes woe, sorrow,
fighting, babbling, wounds without cause and red
eyes
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 23:29-30
22. God instructs not to look at
intoxicating drinks
Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.
PROVERBS 23:31
23. Alcoholic drinks bite like a
serpent, sting like an adder
At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.
PROVERBS 23:32
24. Alcohol causes the drinker to
have strange and adulterous thoughts, produces
willfulness, and prevents reformation
Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things.
PROVERBS 23:33
25. Alcohol makes the drinker
unstable
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 23:34
26. Alcohol makes the drinker
insensitive to pain so he does not perceive it as a
warning. Alcohol is habit forming
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 23:35
27. Kings, Princes, and others who
rule and judge must not drink alcohol. Alcohol perverts good judgment
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.
PROVERBS 31:4-5
28. Strong drink could be given to
those about to perish or those in pain. Better
anesthetics are available today
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.
PROVERBS 31:6-7
29. The king tried everything,
including intoxicating drink, to see if it satisfied. It did not
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 2:3
30. A land is blessed when its
leaders do not drink
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
31. Woe to those who get up early to
drink and stay up late at night to get drunk
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 consider the operation of his hands.
ISAIAH 5:11-12
32. Woe to "champion" drinkers and
"experts" at mixing drinks
Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink:
ISAIAH 5:22
33. Drunken men stagger in their
vomit
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 19:14
34. The Israelites choose to drink;
their future looks hopeless to them
And behold joy and gladness, slaying oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh, and drinking wine: let us eat and drink; for to morrow we shall die.
ISAIAH 22:12-13
35. Drinkers cannot escape the
consequences when God judges
They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it.
ISAIAH 24:9
36. God pronounces woe on the
drunkards of Ephraim
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 28:1
37. Proud drunkards shall be trodden
down
The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, shall be trodden under feet:
ISAIAH 28:3
38. Priests and prophets stagger and
reel from beer and wine, err in vision, and stumble
in judgment
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 28:7
39. Drinkers' tables are covered with
vomit and filth
For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean.
ISAIAH 28:8
40. Drinkers seek their own gain and
expect tomorrow to be just like today
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.
ISAIAH 56:9-12
41. The Rechabites drank no
grape juice or intoxicating wine and were blessed
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, neither ye, nor your sons for ever:
JEREMIAH 35:5-6
42. Again God instructed the priests
not to drink wine
Neither shall any priest drink wine, when they enter into the inner court.
EZEKIEL 44:21
43. Daniel refused the king's
intoxicating wine and was blessed for it along with his
abstaining friends
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: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.
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 therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.
DANIEL 1:8
44. Belshazzar, ruler of Babylon; led his
people in drinking
Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand.
Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand.
DANIEL 5:1
45. The king, along with his nobles,
wives, and concubines, drank from the goblets which
had been taken from God's temple
Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank [wine] in them.
Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them.
DANIEL 5:3
46. Drinking wine was combined with
praising false gods
They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.
They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.
DANIEL 5:4
47. God sent word to Belshazzar that
punishment would be swift for the evil he had
committed
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:
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
DANIEL 5:23
48. Intoxicating wine takes away
intelligence
Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart.
HOSEA 4:11
49. God reproves princes for drinking
In the day of our king the princes have made him sick with bottles of wine; he stretched out his hand with scorners.
HOSEA 7:5
50. Drunkards awake to see God's
judgment
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 1:5
51. The enemy is judged for selling girls for
wine
And 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.
JOEL 3:3
52. Unrighteous acts of Israel included
the drinking of wine which had been taken for the
payment of fines
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 2:8
53. Israel is condemned for forcing
Nazarites to drink wine
But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink; and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not.
AMOS 2:12
54. Israelites are eager to follow false
teachers who prophesy plenty of intoxicating drinks
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.
MICAH 2:11
55. The drunkards of Nineveh will be
destroyed by God
For while they be folden together as thorns, and while they are drunken as drunkards, they shall be devoured as stubble fully dry.
NAHUM 1:10
56. A man is betrayed by wine
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 2:5
57. Woe to him that gives his
neighbor drink
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 2:15
58. Drinking leads to shame
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.
HABAKKUK 2:16
59. A drinking servant is
unprepared for his Lord's return
But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, 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.
But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, 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.
MATTHEW 24:48-51
60. John the Baptist drank neither grape
juice nor wine
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.
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 1:15
61. Christ warned against drunkenness
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;
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 12:45
62. Drunkenness will cause a person not
to be ready for the Lord's return
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.
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.
LUKE 21:34
63. Do not walk in drunkenness or
immorality
Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.
ROMANS 13:13
64. Do not do anything that will hurt
your testimony as a believer
It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.
ROMANS 14:21
65. If a Christian brother is a
drinker, do not associate with him
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 idolator, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.
1 CORINTHIANS 5:11
66. Drunkards will not inherit the
kingdom of God
Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
1 CORINTHIANS 6:10
67. Acts of the sinful nature, such as
drunkenness, will prohibit a person from inheriting
the kingdom of God
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.
GALATIANS 5:21
68. In contrast to being drunk with
wine, the believer is to be filled with the Spirit
And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
EPHESIANS 5:18
69. Christians are to be alert
and self-controlled, belonging to the day. Drunkards
belong to the night and darkness
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 THESSALONIANS 5:6-7
70. Bishops, elders are to be
temperate, sober, and not near any wine
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 3:2-3
71. Deacons are to be worthy of
respect and not drinkers
Likewise must the deacons be grave, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre;
1 TIMOTHY 3:8
72. Deacons' wives are to be
temperate and sober
Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things.
1 TIMOTHY 3:11
73. An overseer is to be disciplined
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 1:7-8
74. The older men and older women of
the church are to be temperate and not addicted to
wine
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;
TITUS 2:2-3
75. The past life of drunkenness and
carousing has no place in the Christian's life
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:
1 PETER 4:3-4
CREDIT
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_in_the_Bible
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_views_on_alcohol
171-alcohol-75-reasons
| Author: Guest • Updated: 05 Sep 2026 • 29,200 views | 3 hrs ago |
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What is Jewish Law?Jewish Law (Halakha) is the collective body of Jewish religious laws derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandments (mitzvot), subsequent Talmudic and rabbinic law, and the customs and traditions compiled in the many books such as the Shulchan Aruch. Halakha is often translated as "Jewish law", although a more literal translation might be "the way to behave" or "the way of walking". The word derives from the root that means "to behave" (also "to go" or "to walk"). Halakha guides not only religious practices and beliefs, but also numerous aspects of day-to-day life.
What is Alcohol?Alcohol is a psychoactive and toxic substance primarily known for its use in alcoholic beverages, with the most common form being ethanol. It's a depressant that affects the central nervous system, causing a range of effects from intoxication to addiction and various health problems.
What is Judaism?Judaism encompasses the religion, philosophy, culture and way of life of the Jewish people. Judaism is a monotheistic religion, with the Torah as its foundational text (part of the larger text known as the Tanakh or Hebrew Bible), and supplemental oral tradition represented by later texts such as the Midrash and the Talmud. Judaism is considered by religious Jews to be the expression of the covenantal relationship that God established with the Children of Israel. Judaism includes a wide corpus of texts, practices, theological positions, and forms of organization. Within Judaism there are a variety of movements, most of which emerged from Rabbinic Judaism, which holds that God revealed his laws and commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai in the form of both the Written and Oral Torah. The Jews are an ethnoreligious group and include those born Jewish and converts to Judaism. In 2012, the world Jewish population was estimated at about 14 million, or roughly 0.2% of the total world population. About 42% of all Jews reside in Israel and about 42% reside in the United States and Canada, with most of the remainder living in Europe.
