Woe to those who rise early in the morning in pursuit of strong drink, who linger into the evening, to be inflamed by wine.
Parallel translations
- WEB Woe to those who rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; who stay late into the night, until wine inflames them!
- 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!
- NKJV Woe to those who rise early in the morning, That they may follow intoxicating drink; Who continue until night, till wine inflames them!
- NASB Woe to those who rise early in the morning so that they may pursue intoxicating drink, Who stay up late in the evening so that wine may inflame them!
- NLT What sorrow for those who get up early in the morning looking for a drink of alcohol and spend long evenings drinking wine to make themselves flaming drunk.
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
A woe falls on those who pursue strong drink from dawn till late into the night. It condemns lives consumed by indulgence rather than devotion to God.
Overview
The relentless drinking pictures a people enslaved to pleasure, with no time or thought for the Lord. Such intemperance is not merely physical excess but a sign of spiritual indifference. The woe sets up the next verse's charge that their revelry blinds them to God's works.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Prov 23:29–30Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has needless wounds? Who has bloodshot eyes?
- Rom 13:13Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy.
- Prov 20:1Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is led astray by them is not wise.
- Isa 5:22Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine and champions in mixing strong drink,
- Eccl 10:16–17Woe to you, O land whose king is a youth, and whose princes feast in the morning.
- Isa 28:7–8These also stagger from wine and stumble from strong drink: Priests and prophets reel from strong drink and are befuddled by wine. They stumble because of strong drink, muddled in their visions and stumbling in their judgments.
- Hab 2:15Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbors, pouring it from the wineskin until they are drunk, in order to gaze at their nakedness!
- Gal 5:21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
- Luke 21:34But watch yourselves, or your hearts will be weighed down by dissipation, drunkenness, and the worries of life—and that day will spring upon you suddenly like a snare.
- 1 Th 5:6–7So then, let us not sleep as the others do, but let us remain awake and sober.
- 1 Cor 6:10nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.
- Isa 28:1Woe to the majestic crown of Ephraim’s drunkards, to the fading flower of his glorious splendor, set on the summit above the fertile valley, the pride of those overcome by wine.
- Hos 7:5–6The princes are inflamed with wine on the day of our king; so he joins hands with those who mock him.
- Prov 23:32In the end it bites like a snake and stings like a viper.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 5:11 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.