They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it.
Parallel translations
- WEB They will not drink wine with a song. Strong drink will be bitter to those who drink it.
- BSB They no longer sing and drink wine; strong drink is bitter to those who consume it.
- NKJV They shall not drink wine with a song; Strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.
- NASB They do not drink wine with song; Intoxicating drink is bitter to those who drink it.
- NLT Gone are the joys of wine and song; alcoholic drink turns bitter in the mouth.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
They no longer drink wine with singing, and strong drink turns bitter to the drinker. Pleasure itself loses its sweetness.
Overview
Even drink, sought for comfort, becomes bitter in a judged world. The merry songs that accompanied feasting are gone. The verse depicts the emptiness of seeking joy in created pleasures when God has withdrawn His blessing.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Eccl 9:7Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works.
- Isa 5:22Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink:
- Ps 69:12They that sit in the gate speak against me; and I was the song of the drunkards.
- Isa 5:11–12Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them!
- Isa 5:20Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
- Amos 8:10And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning of an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day.
- Amos 8:3And the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord GOD: there shall be many dead bodies in every place; they shall cast them forth with silence.
- Eph 5:18–19And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
- Amos 6:5–7That chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of musick, like David;
- Zech 9:15The LORD of hosts shall defend them; and they shall devour, and subdue with sling stones; and they shall drink, and make a noise as through wine; and they shall be filled like bowls, and as the corners of the altar.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 24:9 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.