Yesaya 19:14

19:14 The Lord has made them undiscerning; ¹ 

they lead Egypt astray in all she does,

so that she is like a drunk sliding around in his own vomit. ² 

Yesaya 56:10-12

56:10 All their watchmen ³  are blind,

they are unaware. ⁴ 

All of them are like mute dogs,

unable to bark.

They pant, ⁵  lie down,

and love to snooze.

56:11 The dogs have big appetites;

they are never full. ⁶ 

They are shepherds who have no understanding;

they all go their own way,

each one looking for monetary gain. ⁷ 

56:12 Each one says, ⁸ 

‘Come on, I’ll get some wine!

Let’s guzzle some beer!

Tomorrow will be just like today!

We’ll have everything we want!’ ⁹ 

Imamat 10:9-10

10:9 “Do not drink wine or strong drink, you and your sons with you, when you enter into the Meeting Tent, so that you do not die, which is a perpetual statute throughout your generations, ¹⁰  10:10 as well as ¹¹  to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean, ¹² 

Amsal 20:1

20:1 Wine ¹³  is a mocker ¹⁴  and strong drink is a brawler;

whoever goes astray by them is not wise. ¹⁵ 

Amsal 31:4-5

31:4 It is not for kings, ¹⁶  O Lemuel,

it is not for kings to drink wine, ¹⁷ 

or for rulers to crave strong drink, ¹⁸ 

31:5 lest they drink and forget what is decreed,

and remove ¹⁹  from all the poor ²⁰  their legal rights. ²¹ 

Pengkhotbah 10:17

10:17 Blessed are you, O land, when your king is the son of nobility, ²² 

and your princes feast at the proper time ²³  – with self-control and not in drunkenness. ²⁴ 

Yehezkiel 44:21

44:21 No priest may drink wine when he enters the inner court.

Hosea 4:11

Judgment of Pagan Idolatry and Cultic Prostitution

4:11 Old and new wine

take away the understanding of my people. ²⁵ 

Mikha 2:11

2:11 If a lying windbag should come and say, ²⁶ 

‘I’ll promise you blessings of wine and beer,’ ²⁷ 

he would be just the right preacher for these people! ²⁸ 

Matius 24:29

The Arrival of the Son of Man

24:29 “Immediately ²⁹  after the suffering ³⁰  of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken. ³¹ 

Lukas 21:34

Be Ready!

21:34 “But be on your guard ³²  so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day close down upon you suddenly like a trap. ³³ 

Efesus 5:28

5:28 In the same way ³⁴  husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.

[19:14]  ¹ tn Heb “the Lord has mixed into her midst a spirit of blindness.”

[19:14]  ² tn Heb “like the going astray of a drunkard in his vomit.”

[56:10]  ³ sn The “watchmen” are probably spiritual leaders, most likely prophets and priests, responsible for giving the people moral direction.

[56:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “they do not know”; KJV “they are all ignorant”; NIV “they all lack knowledge.”

[56:10]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew text has הֹזִים (hozim), which appears to be derived from an otherwise unattested verbal root הָזָה (hazah). On the basis of alleged cognates, BDB 223 s.v. הָזָה offers the definition “dream, rave” while HALOT 243 s.v. הזה lists “pant.” In this case the dog metaphor of the preceding lines continues. The reference to dogs at the beginning of v. 11 favors the extension of the metaphor. The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has חזים (“seers”) here. In this case the “watchmen” are directly identified as prophets and depicted as lazy.

[56:11]  ⁶ sn The phrase never full alludes to the greed of the leaders.

[56:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “for his gain from his end.”

[56:12]  ⁸ tn The words “each one says” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[56:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “great, [in] abundance, very much,” i.e., “very great indeed.” See HALOT 452 s.v. יֶתֶר.

[10:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “a perpetual statute for your generations”; NAB “a perpetual ordinance”; NRSV “a statute forever”; NLT “a permanent law.” The Hebrew grammar here suggests that the last portion of v. 9 functions as both a conclusion to v. 9 and an introduction to vv. 10-11. It is a pivot clause, as it were. Thus, it was a “perpetual statute” to not drink alcoholic beverages when ministering in the tabernacle, but it was also a “perpetual statue” to distinguish between holy and profane and unclean and clean (v. 10) as well as to teach the children of Israel all such statutes (v. 11).

[10:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and,” but regarding the translation “as well as,” see the note at the end of v. 9.

[10:10]  ¹² sn The two pairs of categories in this verse refer to: (1) the status of a person, place, thing, or time – “holy” (קֹדֶשׁ, qodesh) versus “common” (חֹל, khol); as opposed to (2) the condition of a person, place, or thing – “unclean” (טָמֵא, tame’) versus “clean” (טָהוֹר, tahor). Someone or something could gain “holy” status by being “consecrated” (i.e., made holy; e.g., the Hebrew Piel קִדֵּשׁ (qiddesh) in Lev 8:15, 30), and to treat someone or something that was holy as if it were “common” would be to “profane” that person or thing (the Hebrew Piel הִלֵּל [hillel], e.g., in Lev 19:29 and 22:15). Similarly, on another level, someone or something could be in a “clean” condition, but one could “defile” (the Hebrew Piel טִמֵּא [timme’], e.g., in Gen 34:5 and Num 6:9) that person or thing and thereby make it “unclean.” To “purify” (the Hebrew Piel טִהֵר [tiher], e.g., in Lev 16:19 and Num 8:6, 15) that unclean person or thing would be to make it “clean” once again. With regard to the animals (Lev 11), some were by nature “unclean,” so they could never be eaten, but others were by nature “clean” and, therefore, edible (Lev 11:2, 46-47). The meat of clean animals could become inedible by too long of a delay in eating it, in which case the Hebrew term פִּגּוּל (pigul) “foul, spoiled” is used to describe it (Lev 7:18; 19:7; cf. also Ezek 4:14 and Isa 65:4), not the term for “unclean” (טָהוֹר, tahor). Strictly speaking, therefore, unclean meat never becomes clean, and clean meat never becomes unclean.

[20:1]  ¹³ sn The drinks are wine and barley beer (e.g., Lev 10:9; Deut 14:26; Isa 28:7). These terms here could be understood as personifications, but better as metonymies for those who drink wine and beer. The inebriated person mocks and brawls.

[20:1]  ¹⁴ tn The two participles לֵץ (lets, “mocker”) and הֹמֶה (homeh, “brawler”) are substantives; they function as predicates in the sentence. Excessive use of intoxicants excites the drinker to boisterous behavior and aggressive attitudes – it turns them into mockers and brawlers.

[20:1]  ¹⁵ sn The proverb does not prohibit the use of wine or beer; in fact, strong drink was used at festivals and celebrations. But intoxication was considered out of bounds for a member of the covenant community (e.g., 23:20-21, 29-35; 31:4-7). To be led astray by their use is not wise.

[31:4]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “[It is] not for kings.”

[31:4]  ¹⁷ sn This second warning for kings concerns the use of alcohol. If this passage is meant to prohibit any use of alcohol by kings, it would be unheard of in any ancient royal court. What is probably meant is an excessive and unwarranted use of alcohol, or a troubling need for it, so that the meaning is “to drink wine in excess” (cf. NLT “to guzzle wine”; CEV “should not get drunk”). The danger, of course, would be that excessive use of alcohol would cloud the mind and deprive a king of true administrative ability and justice.

[31:4]  ¹⁸ tn The MT has אֵו (’ev), a Kethib/Qere reading. The Kethib is אוֹ (’o) but the Qere is אֵי (’ey). Some follow the Qere and take the word as a shortened form of וַֹיֵּה, “where?” This would mean the ruler would be always asking for drink (cf. ASV). Others reconstruct to אַוֵּה (’avveh, “to desire; to crave”). In either case, the verse would be saying that a king is not to be wanting/seeking alcohol.

[31:4]  tn Here “strong drink” probably refers to barley beer (cf. NIV, NCV “beer”).

[31:5]  ¹⁹ tn The verb means “change,” perhaps expressed in reversing decisions or removing rights.

[31:5]  ²⁰ tn Heb “all the children of poverty.” This expression refers to the poor by nature. Cf. KJV, NASB, NRSV “the afflicted”; NIV “oppressed.”

[31:5]  ²¹ sn The word is דִּין (din, “judgment”; so KJV). In this passage it refers to the cause or the plea for justice, i.e., the “legal rights.”

[10:17]  ²² tn Heb “son of nobles”; or “son of freemen.” The term חוֹרִים (khorim) is from חֹר (khor, “noble one; freeman”); cf. HALOT 348 s.v. I חֹר; BDB 359 s.v. I חֹר. It is related to the Aramaic noun חֲרַר (kharar, “freeman”); Sabean חר (“freeman; noble”); Old South Arabic חר and Arabic hurr (“freedom”); cf. HALOT 348 s.v. חֹר; BDB 359 s.v. חֹר.

[10:17]  ²³ tn The noun עֵת (’et, “point in time”) has a basic two-fold range of meanings: (1) “time of an event” and (2) “time for an event” (BDB 773 s.v. עֵת). The latter has four sub-categories: (a) “usual time,” (b) “the proper, suitable or appropriate time,” (c) “the appointed time,” and (d) “uncertain time.” Here it connotes “a proper, suitable time for an event” (HALOT 900 s.v. עֵת 6; BDB 773 s.v. עֵת 2.b). Examples of this use include: “it was the time for rain” (Ezra 10:13); “a time of judgment for the nations” (Ezek 30:3); “there is an appropriate time for every occasion” (Eccl 3:1); “the rain in its season” (Deut 11:14; Jer 5:24); “the time for the harvest” (Hos 2:11; Ps 1:3); “food in its season” (Ps 104:27); “the right moment” (Eccl 8:5); cf. HALOT 900 s.v. עֵת 6.

[10:17]  ²⁴ tn Heb “for strength and not for drunkenness”; or “as heroes and not as drunkards”; or “for nourishment and not for drunkenness.” According to HALOT 172 s.v. גְבוּרה 1.d the term גְבוּרָה (gÿvurah, “strength”) may here connote “self-control.” This tactic is adopted by a few English versions: “with self-control, and not as drunkards” (NEB) and “with restraint, not with guzzling” (NJPS). On the other hand, most English versions render בִּגְבוּרָה וְלֹא בַשְּׁתִי (bigvurah vÿlo’ vashÿti) in a woodenly literal sense, “for strength and not for drunkenness” (YLT, KJV, ASV, NASB, RSV, NRSV, NIV). However, a few attempt to express the idiom clearly: “as stalwarts and not as drunkards” (MLB); “stalwart men, not sots” (Moffatt); “for vigor and not in drinking bouts” (NAB); “for refreshment, and not for riotousness” (Douay).

[4:11]  ²⁵ tn Heb “take away the heart of my people.” The present translation assumes that the first word of v. 12 in the Hebrew text is to be construed with the noun at the end of v. 11 (so also TEV, CEV, NLT).

[2:11]  ²⁶ tn Heb “if a man, coming [as] wind and falsehood, should lie”; NASB “walking after wind and falsehood”; NIV “a liar and a deceiver.”

[2:11]  ²⁷ tn Heb “I will foam at the mouth concerning wine and beer.”

[2:11]  ²⁸ tn Heb “he would be the foamer at the mouth for this people.”

[24:29]  ²⁹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[24:29]  ³⁰ tn Traditionally, “tribulation.”

[24:29]  ³¹ sn An allusion to Isa 13:10, 34:4 (LXX); Joel 2:10. The heavens were seen as the abode of heavenly forces, so their shaking indicates distress in the spiritual realm. Although some take the powers as a reference to bodies in the heavens (like stars and planets, “the heavenly bodies,” NIV) this is not as likely.

[21:34]  ³² tn Grk “watch out for yourselves.”

[21:34]  sn Disciples are to watch out. If they are too absorbed into everyday life, they will stop watching and living faithfully.

[21:34]  ³³ sn Or like a thief, see Luke 12:39-40. The metaphor of a trap is a vivid one. Most modern English translations traditionally place the words “like a trap” at the end of v. 34, completing the metaphor. In the Greek text (and in the NRSV and REB) the words “like a trap” are placed at the beginning of v. 35. This does not affect the meaning.

[5:28]  ³⁴ tn Grk “So also.”