“Come, let me get the wine, let us imbibe the strong drink, and tomorrow will be like today, only far better!”
Parallel translations
- WEB “Come,” say they, “I will get wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and tomorrow will be as today, great beyond measure.”
- KJV 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.
- NKJV “Come,” one says, “I will bring wine, And we will fill ourselves with intoxicating drink; Tomorrow will be as today, And much more abundant.”
- NASB “Come,” they say, “let’s get wine, and let’s drink heavily of intoxicating drink; And tomorrow will be like today, only more so.”
- NLT “Come,” they say, “let’s get some wine and have a party. Let’s all get drunk. Then tomorrow we’ll do it again and have an even bigger party!”
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
The corrupt leaders invite one another to drink and presume tomorrow will be even better. It matters because it portrays the reckless complacency of those indifferent to God and judgment.
Overview
Caught up in self-indulgence and false security, these leaders carouse and assume endless prosperity. Their presumption ignores the judgment God has announced. This complacent 'eat, drink, for tomorrow is sure' attitude is the opposite of the watchful, righteous living God commands, and it invites the very ruin it dismisses.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Ps 10:6He says to himself, “I will not be moved; from age to age I am free of distress.”
- Prov 27:1Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.
- Luke 12:19–20Then I will say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take it easy. Eat, drink, and be merry!”’
- Isa 5:22Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine and champions in mixing strong drink,
- Hos 4:11Promiscuity, wine, and new wine take away understanding.
- 1 Cor 15:32If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for human motives, what did I gain? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”
- Prov 23:35“They struck me, but I feel no pain! They beat me, but I did not know it! When can I wake up to search for another drink?”
- Titus 1:7As God’s steward, an overseer must be above reproach—not self-absorbed, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not greedy for money.
- 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.
- Amos 6:3–6You dismiss the day of calamity and bring near a reign of violence.
- Luke 12:45–46But suppose that servant says in his heart, ‘My master will be a long time in coming,’ and he begins to beat the menservants and maidservants, and to eat and drink and get drunk.
- Jer 18:18Then some said, “Come, let us make plans against Jeremiah, for the law will never be lost to the priest, nor counsel to the wise, nor an oracle to the prophet. Come, let us denounce him and pay no heed to any of his words.”
- Isa 22:13–14But look, there is joy and gladness, butchering of cattle and slaughtering of sheep, eating of meat and drinking of wine: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”
- 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.
- Isa 5:11Woe to those who rise early in the morning in pursuit of strong drink, who linger into the evening, to be inflamed by wine.
- Matt 24:49–51And he begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards.
- Prov 31:4–5It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to crave strong drink,
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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 56:12 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.