strong drink is bitter to those who consume it.
Strong drink, often referring to fermented beverages like beer or other alcoholic drinks, was typically associated with merriment and relaxation (Proverbs 31:6-7). Here, its bitterness signifies a change in perception and experience due to the surrounding circumstances. This bitterness can symbolize the consequences of sin and the resulting divine judgment, where what once brought pleasure now brings discomfort or regret. This transformation from sweetness to bitterness can also be seen as a metaphor for the fleeting nature of earthly pleasures when contrasted with the eternal consequences of turning away from God. The imagery of bitterness is echoed in other scriptures, such as Revelation 8:11, where the waters become bitter, symbolizing judgment and calamity.

“They no longer sing and drink wine” (Isaiah 24:9a).

• Isaiah pictures a sweeping judgment in which normal celebrations vanish. Where music and wine once flowed freely, there is now a haunting silence.

• This is not a minor inconvenience—it is a signal that God has withdrawn His blessing of joy. Compare Isaiah 16:10 (“Joy and gladness are taken away… no one treads out wine in the presses”) and Jeremiah 7:34 (“I will remove from them the sounds of joy and gladness”).

• The verse follows a long list of calamities in Isaiah 24:4-8 that describe the land “mourning” under the weight of human sin. When people reject God’s ways, even ordinary festivities dry up. Joel 1:5, 16 echoes the same theme: drinkers wake to find the wine cut off and the fields desolate.

• Revelation 18:22-23 shows the ultimate fulfillment: in Babylon’s fall, music, trade, and weddings cease. Isaiah 24 points to that final collapse while also speaking to every smaller judgment along the way.

• Taken literally, the silence and empty wine cups warn that sin has tangible, societal consequences—what once brought warmth and fellowship can be stripped away overnight.

“Strong drink is bitter to those who consume it” (Isaiah 24:9b).

• The drink itself has not changed; what changes is the drinker’s experience. What was sweet becomes “bitter,” a vivid reversal of God’s intended blessing (Psalm 104:15 affirms wine “gladdens the heart of man”).

• Proverbs 20:1 cautions that wine can mock and strong drink can lead astray, but Isaiah describes something deeper: even if people keep drinking, they can no longer dull the pain or recreate lost joy. Amos 8:10 similarly speaks of turning “festivals into mourning” and “songs into lamentation.”

• God’s curse transforms pleasure into punishment. Lamentations 3:15 confesses, “He has filled me with bitterness.” In Revelation 8:11 the star called Wormwood makes the waters bitter, and “many people died from the bitter waters.” Isaiah’s image aligns with this pattern: the very substance people trust for comfort becomes a source of misery.

• The phrase underscores personal accountability. Everyone who keeps reaching for strong drink in defiance of God finds only bitterness. Isaiah 5:22 warns against “heroes in drinking wine,” reminding us that no amount of bravado can shield a heart from divine judgment.

Isaiah 24:9 captures the collapse of a society under God’s righteous judgment. Songs fade, wine runs out, and what was once delightful turns harsh. The verse stands as a literal, historical warning and a timeless spiritual lesson: when people persist in sin, God can lift the joys of everyday life, making even their chosen comforts taste bitter. Yet the chapter’s bleakness drives us to long for the coming reign of Christ (Isaiah 24:23), where true, lasting joy will never be taken away.