Bible Strands
Isaiah 56:12
“Come, let me get the wine, let us imbibe the strong drink, and tomorrow will be like today, only far better!”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The corrupt shepherds condemned in Isaiah 56:11 speak these words to one another as a manifesto of their own self-serving greed. They address their inner circle at a moment of indulgence, declaring immediate pleasure over future accountability.
The words — The Hebrew שֵׁכָ֑ר (she.Khar) literally means strong drink, paired with י֣וֹם (Yom) for day. The text literally states they will seize wine, consume intoxicants, and treat tomorrow as a guaranteed improvement on today.
The thread — This posture of false security appears in Psalms 10:6, Proverbs 27:1, and Luke 12:19. Each reference tracks the same pattern of human presumption that ignores impending judgment.
Why it lands — The verse plainly records a declaration of self-reliant hedonism before any theological inference is drawn. It requires the reader to confront whether their planning prioritizes temporal comfort over divine accountability.
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
Come ye, 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.
Cross-references
- Psalms 10:6 He says to himself, “I will not be moved; from age to age I am free of distress.”
- Proverbs 27:1 Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.
- Luke 12:19 Then I will say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take it easy. Eat, drink, and be merry!”’
- Isaiah 5:22 Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine and champions in mixing strong drink,
- Proverbs 23:35 “They struck me, but I feel no pain! They beat me, but I did not know it! When can I wake up to search for another drink?”
- Hosea 4:11 to promiscuity, wine, and new wine, which take away understanding.
- Luke 12:45 But suppose that servant says in his heart, ‘My master will be a long time in coming,’ and he begins to beat the menservants and maidservants, and to eat and drink and get drunk.
- 1 Corinthians 15:32 If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for human motives, what did I gain? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”
- 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.
- Jeremiah 18:18 Then some said, “Come, let us make plans against Jeremiah, for the law will never be lost to the priest, nor counsel to the wise, nor an oracle to the prophet. Come, let us denounce him and pay no heed to any of his words.”