“You and your descendants must never drink wine or any other alcoholic drink before going into the Tabernacle. If you do, you will die. This is a permanent law for you, and it must be observed from generation to generation.
Parallel translations
- WEB “You and your sons are not to drink wine or strong drink whenever you go into the Tent of Meeting, or you will die. This shall be a statute forever throughout your generations.
- KJV Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations:
- BSB “You and your sons are not to drink wine or strong drink when you enter the Tent of Meeting, or else you will die; this is a permanent statute for the generations to come.
- NKJV “Do not drink wine or intoxicating drink, you, nor your sons with you, when you go into the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations,
- NASB “Do not drink wine or strong drink, neither you nor your sons with you, when you come into the tent of meeting, so that you do not die—it is a permanent statute throughout your generations—
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
Priests must not drink wine or strong drink when serving in the Tent, on pain of death. Those who minister before God must do so with clear-headed reverence.
Overview
Coming right after Nadab and Abihu's transgression, this command (which some connect to their failure) requires that priests serve sober and self-controlled, never careless before the holy God. It is a 'statute forever' for the priesthood. The principle that ministers must be sober and reverent carries into the New Testament's qualifications for leaders (1 Timothy 3:2-3).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Luke 1:15For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he will drink no wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.
- 1 Tim 3:3not a drinker, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous;
- Isa 28:7They 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.
- Ezek 44:21Neither shall any of the priests drink wine, when they enter into the inner court.
- Eph 5:18Don’t be drunken with wine, in which is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,
- 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;
- Num 6:3he shall separate himself from wine and strong drink. He shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of fermented drink, neither shall he drink any juice of grapes, nor eat fresh grapes or dried.
- 1 Tim 3:8Servants, in the same way, must be reverent, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for money;
- 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?’
- Hos 4:11Prostitution, wine, and new wine take away understanding.
- Prov 20:1Wine is a mocker, and beer is a brawler. Whoever is led astray by them is not wise.
- Num 6:20and the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before Yahweh. This is holy for the priest, together with the breast that is waved and the thigh that is offered. After that the Nazirite may drink wine.
- 1 Tim 5:23Be no longer a drinker of water only, but use a little wine for your stomach’s sake and your frequent infirmities.
- Jer 35:5–6I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites bowls full of wine, and cups; and I said to them, “Drink wine!”
- Lev 3:17“‘It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwellings, that you shall eat neither fat nor blood.’”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Every sacrifice, every priest, and every day of atonement points beyond itself to the one perfect offering and the great High Priest who, by his own blood, makes the unclean holy once for all.
How Leviticus 10:9 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.