Bible Strands
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.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Lord addresses Aaron, commanding him and his sons to abstain from wine or strong drink before entering the Tent of Meeting. This directive follows the judgment on Aaron’s two sons and immediately precedes instructions on distinguishing holy from common.
The words — The Hebrew יַ֣יִן (Ya.yin) translates to wine, while שֵׁכָ֞ר (she.Khar) means strong drink. The imperative אַל תֵּשֵׁת (al te.shet) literally commands “you may not drink” directed at אַתָּה וּבָנֶיךָ (ata u.vanei.kha), “you and your sons.”
The thread — This restriction on intoxicated sacred service appears in Isaiah 28:7, where priests reel from strong drink, and recurs in 1 Timothy 3:3 regarding church overseers. Luke 1:15 applies the same abstention principle to John the Baptist’s consecration.
Why it lands — The text requires unimpaired discernment for those handling holy duties. It demands that readers maintain sober clarity when approaching God’s presence rather than relying on physical alteration.
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
Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations:
Cross-references
- Luke 1:15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He shall never take wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb.
- 1 Timothy 3:3 not dependent on wine, not violent but gentle, peaceable, and free of the love of money.
- 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.
- Ezekiel 44:21 No priest may drink wine before he enters the inner court.
- Ephesians 5:18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to reckless indiscretion. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
- Titus 1:7 As God’s steward, an overseer must be above reproach—not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not greedy for money.
- 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.
- 1 Timothy 3:8 Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued or given to much wine or greedy for money.
- Numbers 6:20 The priest shall then wave them as a wave offering before the LORD. This is a holy portion for the priest, in addition to the breast of the wave offering and the thigh that was presented. After that, the Nazirite may drink wine.
- Proverbs 20:1 Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is led astray by them is not wise.