“Come,” say they, “I will get wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and tomorrow will be as today, great beyond measure.”
Parallel translations
- 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.
- BSB “Come, let me get the wine, let us imbibe the strong drink, and tomorrow will be like today, only far better!”
- 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 in his heart, “I shall not be shaken. For generations I shall have no trouble.”
- Prov 27:1Don’t boast about tomorrow; for you don’t know what a day may bring.
- Luke 12:19–20I will tell my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years. Take your ease, eat, drink, be merry.”’
- Isa 5:22Woe to those who are mighty to drink wine, and champions at mixing strong drink;
- Hos 4:11Prostitution, wine, and new wine take away understanding.
- 1 Cor 15:32If I fought with animals at Ephesus for human purposes, what does it profit me? If the dead are not raised, then “let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”
- Prov 23:35“They hit me, and I was not hurt! They beat me, and I don’t feel it! When will I wake up? I can do it again. I can find another.”
- Titus 1:7For the overseer must be blameless, as God’s steward; not self-pleasing, not easily angered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for dishonest gain;
- Luke 21:34“So be careful, or your hearts will be loaded down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that day will come on you suddenly.
- Amos 6:3–6Those who put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near;
- Luke 12:45–46But if that servant says in his heart, ‘My lord delays his coming,’ and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken,
- Jer 18:18Then they said, “Come, and let us devise devices against Jeremiah; for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, and let us strike him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words.”
- Isa 22:13–14and behold, joy and gladness, killing cattle and killing sheep, eating meat and drinking wine: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we will die.”
- Isa 28:7–8They also reel with wine, and stagger with strong drink. The priest and the prophet reel with strong drink. They are swallowed up by wine. They stagger with strong drink. They err in vision. They stumble in judgment.
- Isa 5:11Woe 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!
- Matt 24:49–51and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eat and drink with the drunkards,
- Prov 31:4–5It is not for kings, Lemuel; it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes to say, ‘Where is 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.