Drunkenness is a state of intoxication resulting from the excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages. The Bible addresses the issue of drunkenness in various passages, warning against its dangers and the moral and spiritual decline it can cause. The Scriptures consistently portray drunkenness as a behavior that leads to negative consequences and is contrary to a life of righteousness and self-control.

Old Testament References

1. Proverbs 20:1 · "Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is led astray by them is not wise." This verse highlights the deceptive nature of alcohol and its potential to lead individuals away from wisdom.

2. Proverbs 23:29-35 · This passage vividly describes the woes and consequences of excessive drinking, including sorrow, strife, and physical ailments. It warns against lingering over wine and being captivated by its allure.

3. Isaiah 5:11-12 · "Woe to those who rise early in the morning to pursue strong drink, who linger into the evening to be inflamed by wine." The prophet Isaiah condemns those who prioritize drinking over righteousness and justice.

4. Habakkuk 2:15 · "Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbors, pouring it from the wineskin until they are drunk, so that he can gaze on their nakedness." This verse speaks against using alcohol to exploit or take advantage of others.

New Testament References

1. Luke 21:34 · "But 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." Jesus warns His followers to be vigilant and avoid the distractions and moral decay associated with drunkenness.

2. Romans 13:13 · "Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy." The Apostle Paul exhorts believers to live honorably, avoiding behaviors that lead to moral compromise.

3. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 · "Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual acts, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God." Drunkenness is listed among the behaviors that are inconsistent with inheriting God's kingdom.

4. Ephesians 5:18 · "Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to reckless indiscretion. Instead, be filled with the Spirit." Paul contrasts the effects of drunkenness with the filling of the Holy Spirit, urging believers to seek spiritual fulfillment rather than physical intoxication.

5. Galatians 5:19-21 · "The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God." Drunkenness is included in the list of sinful behaviors that are contrary to living by the Spirit.

The Bible's teachings on drunkenness emphasize the importance of self-control, wisdom, and living a life that honors God. Believers are encouraged to avoid the pitfalls of excessive drinking and to pursue a life led by the Spirit, characterized by righteousness and holiness.Deuteronomy 21:20,21
And they shall say to the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard.
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Deuteronomy 29:19-21
And it come to pass, when he hears the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of my heart, to add drunkenness to thirst:
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1 Samuel 1:14
And Eli said to her, How long will you be drunken? put away your wine from you.
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Psalm 69:12
They that sit in the gate speak against me; and I was the song of the drunkards.
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Proverbs 20:1
Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whoever is deceived thereby is not wise.
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Proverbs 21:17
He that loves pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loves wine and oil shall not be rich.
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Proverbs 23:20,21,29-35
Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh:
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Proverbs 31:4-7
It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink:
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Isaiah 5:11,12,22
Woe to them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them!
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Isaiah 19:14
The LORD has mingled a perverse spirit in the middle thereof: and they have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof, as a drunken man staggers in his vomit.
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Isaiah 24:9,11
They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it.
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Isaiah 28:1,3,7,8
Woe 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!
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Isaiah 56:12
Come you, 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.
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Jeremiah 25:27
Therefore you shall say to them, Thus said the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Drink you, and be drunken, and spew, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you.
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Hosea 4:11
Prostitution and wine and new wine take away the heart.
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Hosea 7:5,14
In the day of our king the princes have made him sick with bottles of wine; he stretched out his hand with scorners.
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Joel 1:5
Awake, you drunkards, and weep; and howl, all you drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth.
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Joel 3:3
And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink.
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Amos 2:8,12
And they lay themselves down on clothes laid to pledge by every altar, and they drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god.
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Amos 6:1,6
Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came!
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Micah 2:11
If a man walking in the spirit and falsehood do lie, saying, I will prophesy to you of wine and of strong drink; he shall even be the prophet of this people.
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Nahum 1:10
For while they be entwined together as thorns, and while they are drunken as drunkards, they shall be devoured as stubble fully dry.
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Habakkuk 2:15-17
Woe to him that gives his neighbor drink, that put your bottle to him, and make him drunken also, that you may look on their nakedness!
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Matthew 24:49
And shall begin to smite his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
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Luke 12:45
But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delays his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken;
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Luke 21:34
And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come on you unawares.
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Romans 13:13
Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.
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Galatians 5:19-21
Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
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Ephesians 5:18
And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
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1 Thessalonians 5:7,8
For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.
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Introduction
... congregation, but for the Christian layman in general. ... with the rude "gluttony and
drunkenness," luxury in ... of the New Testament Scriptures concerning the way ...
//christianbookshelf.org/luther/a treatise on good works/introduction.htm

Concerning Salutations and Recreations, &C.
... professors, such as are swearing, drunkenness, whoredom, riotousness ... one, make void
this general prohibition of ... to interpret the holy scriptures according to ...
/.../proposition xv concerning salutations and.htm

Faustus Denies that the Prophets Predicted Christ. Augustin Proves ...
... in His passion, as in the drunkenness of the ... still deny that Christ is foretold in
the Scriptures. ... When Faustus, instead of the vague general accusation which ...
/.../faustus denies that the prophets.htm

Letter xxxvi. (AD 396. )
... those things concerning which the divine Scriptures have laid ... it is lawful to indulge
in drunkenness on the ... was speaking there of fasting in general, but not ...
/.../augustine/the confessions and letters of st/letter xxxvi a d 396.htm

The Works of Philo that have Come Down to Us.
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On Drunkenness; [424] and ... titles in Mangey) under the one general title, but ...
/.../pamphilius/church history/chapter xviii the works of philo.htm

The Seventh Book
... of the judgment of God, than that the general who boasted ... So the words of the Holy
Scriptures concerning Saul and ... men who are subject to drunkenness are free ...
//christianbookshelf.org/salvian/on the government of god/the seventh book.htm

The Analogy Between the Two Advents of Christ.
... With what truth then did the Scriptures declare that ... their gods as guilty of drunkenness,
thefts, quarrels and ... The general skepticism of his countrymen seems to ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/pink/the redeemers return/10 the analogy between the.htm

Evil Habits and Injurious Indulgences.
... They are included, however, in the general term "lust ... called drunkenness, and the
Scriptures class drunkenness with the ... is not found in the Scriptures, but its ...
//christianbookshelf.org/orr/the gospel day /chapter xiv evil habits and.htm

On Sin in Believers
... the state of believers in general, when he ... yea, through all the Holy Scriptures;
almost all ... namely, cleansed from "fornication, idolatry, drunkenness," and all ...
/.../wesley/sermons on several occasions/sermon 13 on sin in.htm

A Summary of Experience and a Body of Divinity
... of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether ... dregs of evil, delivering them
from drunkenness, and dishonesty ... ways of entrance; but in general it first ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 30 1884/a summary of experience and.htm

Is being drunk in the Spirit a biblical experience? | GotQuestions.org

What does the Bible say about drinking alcohol / wine? Is it a sin for a Christian to drink alcohol / wine? | GotQuestions.org

What is the meaning of debauchery? | GotQuestions.org

Drunkenness: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

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