Unfeigned.life — Bible Study Resource
What Does the Bible Actually Say About Wine and Strong Drink?
People cite Bible verses about wine on both sides of this debate. But what happens when you lay every passage side by side and let Scripture do the talking? The cumulative testimony is a lot clearer than most people think.
The following chart includes every major passage about wine and strong drink in the Bible, organized by category. Notes are included to provide context. All Scripture quotations are from the King James Version.
A Note on the Words
Hebrew: Yayin — general term, fermented or unfermented; context determines which is meant. Tirosh — new wine, freshly pressed, unfermented. Shekar — translated “strong drink” but originally a sweet beverage; intoxicating only when fermented.
Greek: Oinos — general term, same ambiguity as yayin. Gleukos — sweet new wine, early-stage fermentation. Sikera — Greek transliteration of shekar.
Clear Prohibition
Warning
Consecration
Positive / Blessing
Neutral / Historical
Medicinal
| Reference | Category | Passage (KJV) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clear Prohibitions | |||
| Proverbs 20:1 | Prohibition | “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.” | Both wine & strong drink condemned; direct moral statement |
| Proverbs 23:29–32 | Prohibition | “Look not thou upon the wine when it is red… at the last it biteth like a serpent.” | Command not to even look at fermented wine — an abstinence position |
| Proverbs 31:4–5 | Prohibition | “It is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink.” | Both wine & strong drink; leadership forbidden; judgment at stake |
| Leviticus 10:9 | Prohibition | “Do not drink wine nor strong drink… lest ye die.” | Priests forbidden; penalty of death; permanent statute |
| Ephesians 5:18 | Prohibition | “Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.” | Present imperative — ongoing state; Spirit-filling the commanded alternative |
| Romans 13:13 | Prohibition | “Not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness.” | Drunkenness listed with sexual immorality |
| 1 Corinthians 6:10 | Prohibition | “Nor drunkards… shall inherit the kingdom of God.” | Eternal consequence named explicitly |
| Galatians 5:21 | Prohibition | “Drunkenness, revellings… shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” | Works of the flesh; drunkenness twice in Galatians |
| 1 Timothy 3:2–3 | Prohibition | “A bishop then must be blameless… not given to wine.” | Paroinos — habitual relationship with wine forbidden |
| Titus 1:7 | Prohibition | “For a bishop must be blameless… not given to wine.” | Repeated elder standard |
| Habakkuk 2:15 | Prohibition | “Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink.” | Divine woe on those who give drink to others |
| Isaiah 5:11, 22 | Prohibition | “Woe unto them that rise up early… to follow strong drink.” | Double woe — both wine and strong drink |
| Warnings | |||
| Proverbs 23:20–21 | Warning | “Be not among winebibbers… the drunkard shall come to poverty.” | Association with drinkers warned against |
| 1 Peter 5:8 | Warning | “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil… walketh about.” | Sobriety a spiritual warfare necessity |
| 1 Thess. 5:6–8 | Warning | “Let us not sleep… but let us watch and be sober.” | Drunkenness = spiritual darkness and sleep |
| Isaiah 28:7 | Warning | “The priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink.” | Leaders — vision and judgment corrupted |
| Isaiah 24:9 | Warning | “Strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it.” | Judgment context |
| Luke 21:34 | Warning | “Take heed… lest your hearts be overcharged with… drunkenness.” | Jesus warns — blinds to His return |
| Romans 14:21 | Warning | “It is good… not to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth.” | Even the liberty passage counsels abstinence |
| Hosea 4:11 | Warning | “Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart.” | Wine listed with immorality as heart-robbers |
| Micah 2:11 | Warning | “I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink.” | Promising wine & strong drink — mark of a false prophet |
| Titus 2:3 | Warning | “The aged women likewise… not given to much wine.” | Women in ministry — same standard extended |
| Genesis 9:20–23 | Warning | Noah drunk, uncovered himself — shame and family consequences. | First biblical account of drunkenness |
| Genesis 19:30–36 | Warning | Lot made drunk by his daughters — incest results. | Moral judgment completely impaired |
| 1 Samuel 25:36–38 | Warning | Nabal drunk at his feast — struck dead by God ten days later. | Drunkenness in context of divine judgment |
| Daniel 5:1–4 | Warning | Belshazzar drank from temple vessels — handwriting appeared that night. | Divine judgment that same night |
| Isaiah 56:12 | Warning | “Come ye… I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink.” | Corrupt leaders — context of condemnation |
| Consecration / Nazirite — Abstinence as a Mark of God’s Calling | |||
| Numbers 6:3 | Consecration | “He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink.” | Nazirite vow — total abstinence; model of consecration |
| Judges 13:4, 7, 14 | Consecration | “Beware… drink not wine nor strong drink.” | Angel’s command before Samson’s birth; applies even in the womb |
| Luke 1:15 | Consecration | “He shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost.” | Abstinence paired with Spirit-filling; identical to Ephesians 5:18 |
| Jeremiah 35:6–8 | Consecration | “We will drink no wine: for Jonadab… commanded us.” | Rechabites praised by God for faithful abstinence |
| Positive / Blessing (likely unfermented grape product in context) | |||
| Deuteronomy 7:13 | Blessing | “He will bless… thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil.” | Agricultural blessing; tirosh likely |
| Psalm 104:15 | Blessing | “And wine that maketh glad the heart of man.” | Most cited pro-drinking verse; God’s general provision |
| Isaiah 65:8 | Blessing | “As the new wine is found in the cluster… for a blessing is in it.” | New wine in the cluster — unfermented; blessing in the fruit |
| Proverbs 3:10 | Blessing | “Thy presses shall burst out with new wine.” | Tirosh — abundance as sign of God’s blessing |
| Joel 2:24 | Blessing | “The vats shall overflow with wine and oil.” | Restoration blessing |
| John 2:1–11 | Blessing | Jesus turns water into wine at Cana — called “good wine.” | Oinos; good quality; character of Christ argues against intoxicating product |
| Neutral / Historical | |||
| Acts 2:13–15 | Historical | “These men are full of new wine.” Peter: “It is but the third hour.” | Gleukos; too early temporally and fermentation-wise |
| Matthew 11:19 | Historical | “They say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber.” | Accusation by enemies — not an endorsement; Christ was sinless |
| Matthew 26:27–29 | Historical | “This is my blood of the new testament… fruit of the vine.” | Lord’s Supper — fruit of the vine, not oinos; sacramental not recreational |
| Deuteronomy 14:26 | Historical | “Bestow that money for… wine, or for strong drink.” | Special feast ordinance; not a blanket endorsement |
| Ecclesiastes 9:7 | Historical | “Drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works.” | Wisdom literature; enjoyment of God’s provision; not an endorsement of excess |
| Medicinal | |||
| 1 Timothy 5:23 | Medicinal | “Use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities.” | Specific medical instruction; Timothy was apparently abstaining before this counsel |
| Proverbs 31:6 | Medicinal | “Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish.” | Palliative use for dying; follows prohibition for leaders in v.4–5 |
| Luke 10:34 | Medicinal | “Bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine.” | Good Samaritan — wine as antiseptic; no drinking implied |
The Scorecard
▸ Clear Prohibitions: 12 passages
▸ Warnings: 15 passages
▸ Consecration / Nazirite: 4 passages
▸ Positive / Blessing: 6 passages
▸ Neutral / Historical: 5 passages
▸ Medicinal: 3 passages
31 passages of prohibition, warning, and consecration. 6 positive references. Even treating every positive reference as endorsing fermented wine, the cumulative testimony of Scripture is not moderation — it is caution, sobriety, and for the believer who wants maximum influence and minimum compromise, abstinence.
All Scripture quotations from the King James Version. Developed as a companion resource to Episode 5 of the Unfeigned Faith podcast. Full episode available at unfeigned.life.
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