Bible Strands
Isaiah 5:22
Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine and champions in mixing strong drink,
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The prophet Isaiah delivers a divine oracle of judgment to Judah, continuing a sequence of pronouncements against the nation's arrogance and moral decay.
The words — The Hebrew גִּבּוֹרִ֖ים (gi.bo.Rim) literally means [men] mighty, and חַ֖יִל (Cha.yil) means ability or strength, both repurposed here to describe the prideful boasting of drinkers.
The thread — This pattern of condemning alcohol-fueled pride and manipulation appears in Isaiah 5:11, Habakkuk 2:15, and Isaiah 28:7, each linking intoxication to spiritual stumbling and judicial corruption.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to see that celebrating drunkenness as a virtue is a direct contradiction of true strength and a precursor to the corruption detailed in the surrounding verses.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink:
Cross-references
- 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.
- Habakkuk 2:15 Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbors, pouring it from the wineskin until they are drunk, in order to gaze at their nakedness!
- Isaiah 28:7 These also stagger from wine and stumble from strong drink: Priests and prophets reel from strong drink and are befuddled by wine. They stumble because of strong drink, muddled in their visions and stumbling in their judgments.
- Proverbs 23:19 Listen, my son, and be wise, and guide your heart on the right course.
- Isaiah 56:12 “Come, let me get the wine, let us imbibe the strong drink, and tomorrow will be like today, only far better!”
- Isaiah 28:1 Woe to the majestic crown of Ephraim’s drunkards, to the fading flower of his glorious splendor, set on the summit above the fertile valley, the pride of those overcome by wine.