Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink:
Parallel translations
- WEB Woe to those who are mighty to drink wine, and champions at mixing strong drink;
- BSB Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine and champions in mixing strong drink,
- NKJV Woe to men mighty at drinking wine, Woe to men valiant for mixing intoxicating drink,
- NASB Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine, And valiant men in mixing intoxicating drink,
- NLT What sorrow for those who are heroes at drinking wine and boast about all the alcohol they can hold.
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 pride themselves as champions at drinking and mixing strong drink. It mocks a society that boasts in indulgence rather than righteousness.
Overview
Calling drunkards 'mighty' and 'champions' bitterly satirizes a culture that celebrates what should shame it. This excess is not merely personal vice but, as the next verse shows, fuels the corruption of justice. The woe ties self-indulgence to the perversion of the courts.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Isa 5:11Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them!
- Hab 2:15Woe 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!
- Isa 28:7But 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.
- Isa 56:12Come 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.
- Prov 23:19–20Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way.
- Isa 28:1–3Woe 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!
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 5:22 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.