Alcohol

More passages on this topic

From Nave’s Topical Bible (1896), a historical reference index. The groupings are Nave’s; the verses are shown in the text used across this site.

Wine

Made from grapes

• Genesis 40:11 Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, squeezed them into his cup, and placed the cup in his hand.”
• Genesis 49:11 He ties his donkey to the vine, his colt to the choicest branch. He washes his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes.
• Isaiah 25:6 On this mountain the LORD of Hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all the peoples, a feast of aged wine, of choice meat, of finely aged wine.
• Jeremiah 40:1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD after Nebuzaradan captain of the guard had released him at Ramah, having found him bound in chains among all the captives of Jerusalem and Judah who were being exiled to Babylon.
• Jeremiah 40:12 they all returned from all the places to which they had been banished and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah. And they gathered an abundance of wine grapes and summer fruit.

From pomegranates So 8:2

Kept in jars

• Jeremiah 13:12 Therefore you are to tell them that this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Every wineskin shall be filled with wine.’ And when they reply, ‘Don’t we surely know that every wineskin should be filled with wine?’
• Jeremiah 48:12 Therefore behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will send to him wanderers, who will pour him out. They will empty his vessels and shatter his jars.

In skins (R. V.)

• Joshua 9:4 acted deceptively and set out as envoys, carrying on their donkeys worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended.
• Joshua 9:13 These wineskins were new when we filled them, but look, they are cracked. And these clothes and sandals are worn out from our very long journey.”
• Job 32:19 Behold, my belly is like unvented wine; it is about to burst like a new wineskin.
• Matthew 9:17 Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will spill, and the wineskins will be ruined. Instead, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”
• Luke 5:37–38 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will spill, and the wineskins will be ruined. Instead, new wine is poured into new wineskins.

In bottles

• Joshua 9:4 acted deceptively and set out as envoys, carrying on their donkeys worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended.
• Joshua 9:13 These wineskins were new when we filled them, but look, they are cracked. And these clothes and sandals are worn out from our very long journey.”
• Job 32:19 Behold, my belly is like unvented wine; it is about to burst like a new wineskin.
• Jeremiah 13:12 Therefore you are to tell them that this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Every wineskin shall be filled with wine.’ And when they reply, ‘Don’t we surely know that every wineskin should be filled with wine?’
• Jeremiah 48:12 Therefore behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will send to him wanderers, who will pour him out. They will empty his vessels and shatter his jars.
• Matthew 9:17 Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will spill, and the wineskins will be ruined. Instead, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”
• Luke 5:37–38 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will spill, and the wineskins will be ruined. Instead, new wine is poured into new wineskins.

Cellars for

• 1 Chronicles 27:27 Shimei the Ramathite was in charge of the vineyards. Zabdi the Shiphmite was in charge of the produce of the vineyards for the wine vats.

New

• Haggai 1:11 I have summoned a drought on the fields and on the mountains, on the grain, new wine, and oil, and on whatever the ground yields, on man and beast, and on all the labor of your hands.”

Old

• Luke 5:39 And no one after drinking old wine wants new, for he says, ‘The old is better.’”

Medicinal use of

• Proverbs 31:6–7 Give strong drink to one who is perishing, and wine to the bitter in soul. Let him drink and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.

Recommended by Paul to Timothy

• 1 Timothy 5:23 Stop drinking only water and use a little wine instead, because of your stomach and your frequent ailments.

Used at meals

• Matthew 26:27–29 Then He took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in…
• Mark 14:23 Then He took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it.

Made by Jesus at the marriage feast in Cana

• John 2:9–10 and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not know where it was from, but the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, “Everyone serves the fine wine first, and then the cheap wine after the guests are drunk. Bu…

Sacramental use of

• Matthew 26:27–29 Then He took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in…
• Luke 22:17–20 After taking the cup, He gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.” And He took the bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body, given…

Forbidden to priests while on duty

• Leviticus 10:9 “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.
• Ezekiel 44:21 No priest may drink wine before he enters the inner court.

Forbidden to Nazarites

• Numbers 6:2–3 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them that if a man or woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the LORD, he is to abstain from wine and strong drink. He must not drink vinegar made from wine or strong drink, and he must not drink any grape juice or eat fresh grapes…

See Nazarite

Abstinence from

Of Daniel

• Daniel 1:5 The king assigned them daily provisions of the royal food and wine. They were to be trained for three years, after which they were to enter the king’s service.
• Daniel 1:8 But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king’s food or wine. So he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself.
• Daniel 1:16 So the steward continued to withhold their choice food and the wine they were to drink, and he gave them vegetables instead.
• Daniel 10:3 I ate no rich food, no meat or wine entered my mouth, and I did not anoint myself with oil until the three weeks were completed.

Of the courtiers of Ahasuerus

• Esther 1:8 By order of the king, no limit was placed on the drinking, and every official of his household was to serve each man whatever he desired.

Of Timothy

• 1 Timothy 5:23 Stop drinking only water and use a little wine instead, because of your stomach and your frequent ailments.

Samson' s mother forbidden to drink

• Judges 13:4–5 Now please be careful not to drink wine or strong drink, and not to eat anything unclean. For behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son. And no razor shall touch his head, because the boy will be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hand of t…

Forbidden to kings

• Proverbs 31:4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to crave strong drink,

Denied to the Israelites in the wilderness, so that they could know that the Lord was their God

• Deuteronomy 29:6 You ate no bread and drank no wine or strong drink, so that you might know that I am the LORD your God.

Offered with sacrifices

• Exodus 29:40 With the first lamb offer a tenth of an ephah of fine flour, mixed with a quarter hin of oil from pressed olives, and a drink offering of a quarter hin of wine.
• Leviticus 23:13 along with its grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil — a food offering to the LORD, a pleasing aroma — and its drink offering of a quarter hin of wine.
• Numbers 15:5 With the burnt offering or sacrifice of each lamb, you are to prepare a quarter hin of wine as a drink offering.
• Numbers 15:10 Also present half a hin of wine as a drink offering. It is a food offering, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.
• Numbers 28:7 The drink offering accompanying each lamb shall be a quarter hin. Pour out the offering of fermented drink to the LORD in the sanctuary area.
• Numbers 28:14 Their drink offerings shall be half a hin of wine with each bull, a third of a hin with the ram, and a quarter hin with each lamb. This is the monthly burnt offering to be made at each new moon throughout the year.

Given by Melchizedek to Abraham

• Genesis 14:18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine — since he was priest of God Most High —

Fermented

• Leviticus 10:9 “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.
• Numbers 6:3 he is to abstain from wine and strong drink. He must not drink vinegar made from wine or strong drink, and he must not drink any grape juice or eat fresh grapes or raisins.
• Numbers 28:7 The drink offering accompanying each lamb shall be a quarter hin. Pour out the offering of fermented drink to the LORD in the sanctuary area.
• Deuteronomy 14:26 Then you may spend the money on anything you desire: cattle, sheep, wine, strong drink, or anything you wish. You are to feast there in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice with your household.
• Deuteronomy 29:6 You ate no bread and drank no wine or strong drink, so that you might know that I am the LORD your God.
• Proverbs 23:31–32 Do not gaze at wine while it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly. In the end it bites like a snake and stings like a viper.
• Mark 2:22 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. Instead, new wine is poured into new wineskins.”

Refined

• Isaiah 25:6 On this mountain the LORD of Hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all the peoples, a feast of aged wine, of choice meat, of finely aged wine.
• Jeremiah 48:11 Moab has been at ease from youth, settled like wine on its dregs; he has not been poured from vessel to vessel or gone into exile. So his flavor has remained the same, and his aroma is unchanged.

Of staggering (R. V.)

• Psalm 60:3 You have shown Your people hardship; we are staggered from the wine You made us drink.

Inflames the eyes

• Genesis 49:12 His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth are whiter than milk.

Commerce in

• Revelation 18:13 of cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, and frankincense; of wine, olive oil, fine flour, and wheat; of cattle, sheep, horses, and carriages; of bodies and souls of slaves.

Banquets of

• Esther 5:6 And as they drank their wine, the king said to Esther, “What is your petition? It will be given to you. What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be fulfilled.”

Cheap wine (like vinegar) given to Jesus at the crucifixion

• Matthew 27:48 One of them quickly ran and brought a sponge. He filled it with sour wine, put it on a reed, and held it up for Jesus to drink.
• Mark 15:23 There they offered Him wine mixed with myrrh, but He did not take it.
• Luke 23:36 The soldiers also mocked Him and came up to offer Him sour wine.
• John 19:29 A jar of sour wine was sitting there. So they soaked a sponge in the wine, put it on a stalk of hyssop, and lifted it to His mouth.

Intoxication from the use of

• Psalm 104:15 wine that gladdens the heart of man, oil that makes his face to shine, and bread that sustains his heart.
• Proverbs 4:17 For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence.

Instances of Intoxication from

Noah

• Genesis 9:21 But when he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and uncovered himself inside his tent.

Lot

• Genesis 19:32 Come, let us get our father drunk with wine so we can sleep with him and preserve his line.”

Joseph and his brothers

• Genesis 43:34 When the portions were served to them from Joseph’s table, Benjamin’s portion was five times larger than any of the others. So they feasted and drank freely with Joseph.

Nabal

• 1 Samuel 25:36 When Abigail returned to Nabal, there he was in the house, holding a feast fit for a king, in high spirits and very drunk. So she told him nothing until morning light.

Amnon

• 2 Samuel 13:28–29 Now Absalom had ordered his young men, “Watch Amnon until his heart is merry with wine, and when I order you to strike Amnon down, you are to kill him. Do not be afraid. Have I not commanded you? Be courageous and valiant!” So Absalom’s young men did to Amnon just as Absalom had ordered. Then all t…

Ahasuerus

• Esther 1:10 On the seventh day, when the king’s heart was merry with wine, he ordered the seven eunuchs who served him — Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carkas —

Kings of Israel

• Hosea 7:5 The princes are inflamed with wine on the day of our king; so he joins hands with those who mock him.

Falsely charged against the disciples

• Acts 2:13 But others mocked them and said, “They are drunk on new wine!”

Figurative

Of the divine judgments

• Psalm 60:3 You have shown Your people hardship; we are staggered from the wine You made us drink.
• Psalm 75:8 For a cup is in the hand of the LORD, full of foaming wine mixed with spices. He pours from His cup, and all the wicked of the earth drink it down to the dregs.
• Jeremiah 51:7 Babylon was a gold cup in the hand of the LORD, making the whole earth drunk. The nations drank her wine; therefore the nations have gone mad.

Of the joy of wisdom

• Proverbs 9:2 She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine; she has also set her table.
• Proverbs 9:5 “Come, eat my bread and drink the wine I have mixed.

Of the joys of spiritual matters

• Isaiah 25:6 On this mountain the LORD of Hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all the peoples, a feast of aged wine, of choice meat, of finely aged wine.
• Isaiah 55:1 “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you without money, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost!
• Joel 2:19 And the LORD answered His people: “Behold, I will send you grain, new wine, and oil, and by them you will be satisfied. I will never again make you a reproach among the nations.

Of abominations

• Revelation 14:8 Then a second angel followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, who has made all the nations drink the wine of the passion of her immorality.”
• Revelation 16:19 The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. And God remembered Babylon the great and gave her the cup of the wine of the fury of His wrath.

Symbolical

Of the blood of Jesus

• Matthew 26:28 This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
• Mark 14:23–24 Then He took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it. He said to them, “This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.
• Luke 22:20 In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you.
• John 6:53–56 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of Man, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is real food, and My blood is real drink. Whoe…

Unclassified Scriptures Relating to

• Deuteronomy 14:26 Then you may spend the money on anything you desire: cattle, sheep, wine, strong drink, or anything you wish. You are to feast there in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice with your household.
• Deuteronomy 33:28 So Israel dwells securely; the fountain of Jacob lives untroubled in a land of grain and new wine, where even the heavens drip with dew.
• 2 Kings 18:32 until I come and take you away to a land like your own— a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey— so that you may live and not die. But do not listen to Hezekiah, for he misleads you when he says, ‘The LORD will deliver us.’
• 2 Chronicles 32:28 He also made storehouses for the harvest of grain and new wine and oil, stalls for all kinds of livestock, and pens for the flocks.
• Nehemiah 10:39 For the Israelites and the Levites are to bring the contributions of grain, new wine, and oil to the storerooms where the articles of the sanctuary are kept and where the ministering priests, the gatekeepers, and the singers stay. Thus we will not neglect the house of our God.”
• Psalm 4:7 You have filled my heart with more joy than when grain and new wine abound.
• Psalm 104:14–15 He makes the grass grow for the livestock and provides crops for man to cultivate, bringing forth food from the earth: wine that gladdens the heart of man, oil that makes his face to shine, and bread that sustains his heart.
• Proverbs 31:6–7 Give strong drink to one who is perishing, and wine to the bitter in soul. Let him drink and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.
• Ecclesiastes 2:3 I sought to cheer my body with wine and to embrace folly— my mind still guiding me with wisdom— until I could see what was worthwhile for men to do under heaven during the few days of their lives.
• Ecclesiastes 2:11 Yet when I considered all the works that my hands had accomplished and what I had toiled to achieve, I found everything to be futile, a pursuit of the wind; there was nothing to be gained under the sun.

See Vine

See Vineyard

Admonitions Against the Use of

• Leviticus 10:9 “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.
• Numbers 6:3 he is to abstain from wine and strong drink. He must not drink vinegar made from wine or strong drink, and he must not drink any grape juice or eat fresh grapes or raisins.
• Judges 13:4 Now please be careful not to drink wine or strong drink, and not to eat anything unclean.
• Proverbs 20:1 Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is led astray by them is not wise.
• Proverbs 21:17 He who loves pleasure will become poor; the one who loves wine and oil will never be rich.
• Proverbs 23:29–32 Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has needless wounds? Who has bloodshot eyes? Those who linger over wine, who go to taste mixed drinks. Do not gaze at wine while it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly. In the end it bites like a snake…
• Proverbs 31:4–5 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to crave strong drink, lest they drink and forget what is decreed, depriving all the oppressed of justice.
• Isaiah 5:11 Woe to those who rise early in the morning in pursuit of strong drink, who linger into the evening, to be inflamed by wine.
• Isaiah 5:22 Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine and champions in mixing strong drink,
• Isaiah 24:9 They no longer sing and drink wine; strong drink is bitter to those who consume it.

See Abstinence

See Drunkenness

Drunkenness

General scriptures concerning

• Deuteronomy 21:20–21 and say to the elders, “This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious; he does not obey us. He is a glutton and a drunkard.” Then all the men of his city will stone him to death. So you must purge the evil from among you, and all Israel will hear and be afraid.
• Deuteronomy 29:19–21 because when such a person hears the words of this oath, he invokes a blessing on himself, saying, ‘I will have peace, even though I walk in the stubbornness of my own heart.’ This will bring disaster on the watered land as well as the dry. The LORD will never be willing to forgive him. Instead, Hi…
• 1 Samuel 1:14 and said to her, “How long will you be drunk? Put away your wine!”
• Psalm 69:12 Those who sit at the gate mock me, and I am the song of drunkards.
• Proverbs 20:1 Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is led astray by them is not wise.
• Proverbs 21:17 He who loves pleasure will become poor; the one who loves wine and oil will never be rich.
• Proverbs 23:20–21 Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat. For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe them in rags.
• Proverbs 23:29–35 Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has needless wounds? Who has bloodshot eyes? Those who linger over wine, who go to taste mixed drinks. Do not gaze at wine while it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly. In the end it bites like a snake…
• Proverbs 31:4–7 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to crave strong drink, lest they drink and forget what is decreed, depriving all the oppressed of justice. Give strong drink to one who is perishing, and wine to the bitter in soul. Let him drink and forget his poverty…
• Isaiah 5:11–12 Woe to those who rise early in the morning in pursuit of strong drink, who linger into the evening, to be inflamed by wine. At their feasts are the lyre and harp, tambourines and flutes and wine. They disregard the actions of the LORD and fail to see the work of His hands.

Figurative

• Psalm 73:10 So their people return to this place and drink up waters in abundance.
• Psalm 75:8 For a cup is in the hand of the LORD, full of foaming wine mixed with spices. He pours from His cup, and all the wicked of the earth drink it down to the dregs.
• Isaiah 28:8 For all their tables are covered with vomit; there is not a place without filth.
• Isaiah 51:17 Awake, awake! Rise up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the LORD the cup of His fury; you who have drained the goblet to the dregs — the cup that makes men stagger.
• Isaiah 51:21–23 Therefore now hear this, you afflicted one, drunken, but not with wine. Thus says your Lord, the LORD, even your God, who defends His people: “See, I have removed from your hand the cup of staggering. From that goblet, the cup of My fury, you will never drink again. I will place it in the hands of…
• Isaiah 63:6 I trampled the nations in My anger; in My wrath I made them drunk and poured out their blood on the ground.”
• Jeremiah 25:15–16 This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from My hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink from it. And they will drink and stagger and go out of their minds, because of the sword that I will send among them.”
• Jeremiah 25:27–28 “Then you are to tell them that this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘Drink, get drunk, and vomit. Fall down and never get up again, because of the sword I will send among you.’ If they refuse to take the cup from your hand and drink it, you are to tell them that this is what th…
• Jeremiah 51:7–9 Babylon was a gold cup in the hand of the LORD, making the whole earth drunk. The nations drank her wine; therefore the nations have gone mad. Suddenly Babylon has fallen and been shattered. Wail for her; get her balm for her pain; perhaps she can be healed. “We tried to heal Babylon, but she could…
• Lamentations 3:15 He has filled me with bitterness; He has intoxicated me with wormwood.

See Abstinence

See Drunkard

See Sobriety

See Wine

Instances of

Noah

• Genesis 9:21 But when he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and uncovered himself inside his tent.

Lot

• Genesis 19:33 So that night they got their father drunk with wine, and the firstborn went in and slept with her father; he was not aware when she lay down or when she got up.

Nabal

• 1 Samuel 25:36 When Abigail returned to Nabal, there he was in the house, holding a feast fit for a king, in high spirits and very drunk. So she told him nothing until morning light.

Uriah

• 2 Samuel 11:13 Then David invited Uriah to eat and drink with him, and he got Uriah drunk. And in the evening Uriah went out to lie down on his cot with his master’s servants, but he did not go home.

Elah

• 1 Kings 16:9 However, while Elah was in Tirzah getting drunk in the house of Arza the steward of his household there, Elah’s servant Zimri, the commander of half his chariots, conspired against him.

Ben-hadad and his thirty-two confederate kings

• 1 Kings 20:16 They marched out at noon while Ben-hadad and the 32 kings allied with him were in their tents getting drunk.

Ahasuerus

• Esther 1:10–11 On the seventh day, when the king’s heart was merry with wine, he ordered the seven eunuchs who served him — Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carkas — to bring Queen Vashti before him, wearing her royal crown, to display her beauty to the people and officials. For she was beau…

Belshazzar

• Daniel 5:1–6 Later, King Belshazzar held a great feast for a thousand of his nobles, and he drank wine with them. Under the influence of the wine, Belshazzar gave orders to bring in the gold and silver vessels that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king could drink fr…

Falsely Accused of

Hannah

• 1 Samuel 1:12–16 As Hannah kept on praying before the LORD, Eli watched her mouth. Hannah was praying in her heart, and though her lips were moving, her voice could not be heard. So Eli thought she was drunk and said to her, “How long will you be drunk? Put away your wine!” “No, my lord,” Hannah replied. “I am a wo…

Jesus

• Matthew 11:19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at this glutton and drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is vindicated by her actions.”

The Apostles

• Acts 2:13–15 But others mocked them and said, “They are drunk on new wine!” Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, lifted up his voice, and addressed the crowd: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen carefully to my words. These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It is…

Abstinence, Total

From Intoxicating Beverages

• Leviticus 10:8–10 Then the LORD said to Aaron, “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. You must distinguish between the holy and the common, between the clean and the unclean,
• Numbers 6:3–4 he is to abstain from wine and strong drink. He must not drink vinegar made from wine or strong drink, and he must not drink any grape juice or eat fresh grapes or raisins. All the days of his separation, he is not to eat anything that comes from the grapevine, not even the seeds or skins.
• Judges 13:4 Now please be careful not to drink wine or strong drink, and not to eat anything unclean.
• Judges 13:13–14 So the angel of the LORD answered Manoah, “Your wife is to do everything I told her. She must not eat anything that comes from the vine, nor drink any wine or strong drink, nor eat anything unclean. She must do everything I have commanded her.”
• Esther 1:8 By order of the king, no limit was placed on the drinking, and every official of his household was to serve each man whatever he desired.
• Proverbs 23:20 Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat.
• Proverbs 23:31–32 Do not gaze at wine while it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly. In the end it bites like a snake and stings like a viper.
• Proverbs 31:4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to crave strong drink,
• Jeremiah 35:6–8 “We do not drink wine,” they replied, “for our forefather Jonadab son of Rechab commanded us, ‘Neither you nor your descendants are ever to drink wine. Nor are you ever to build a house or sow seed or plant a vineyard. Those things are not for you. Instead, you must live in tents all your lives, so…
• Jeremiah 35:14 The words of Jonadab son of Rechab have been carried out. He commanded his sons not to drink wine, and they have not drunk it to this very day because they have obeyed the command of their forefather. But I have spoken to you again and again, and you have not obeyed Me!

Instances of

Israelites in the wilderness

Samson

Daniel

Rechabites

John the Baptist

See Temperance