Isaiah 24:9
in Isaiah 24They no longer sing and drink wine; strong drink is bitter to those who consume it.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it.
KJV
They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it.
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This verse in Isaiah 24
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
drink wine with a song - That is, accompanied with a song, as the usual mode was in their feasts. Strong drink - On the word שׁכר shêkār see the note at Isa 5:11. Shall be bitter ... - They shall cease to find pleasure in it in consequence of the general calamitics that have come upon the nation.
This site's exposition
The earth mourns and withers
on Isaiah 24:4-9
The mourning spreads from the land to the vine and the harp: "The earth mourns and withers". The people "have transgressed the laws" and "broken the everlasting covenant", and Henry sets that covenant beside the one made with Noah in Genesis 9. So "a curse has consumed the earth".
This site's exposition
They no longer sing and drink wine
Strong drink translates shekar, which Clarke takes as palm wine, the drink of the woe at 5:11. Barnes places the bitterness in the drinkers. They find no pleasure left in what once delighted them.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 7 and following) The grape harvest has failed, the vine is weakened, all those who rejoiced in their hearts have sighed. The joy of the tambourines has ceased, the sound of the rejoicers has quieted, the sweetness of the lyre has been silenced, as those who do not drink wine with singing, bitter will be the drink for those who drink it. The city of vanity is worn away, every house is closed with no one entering.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Or in the pleasures of feasts: they shall not drink wine with a song, above: the harp, and the lyre, and, the timbrel and the pipe, and wine are in your feasts (Isa 5:12). 571. Second, he sets out the recompense of sadness: the drink …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
They shall not drink wine with a song,....
Let your laughter be turned into mourning. When the earth is emptied the noise of those that rejoice in it ends. Carnal joy is a noisy thing; but the noise of it will soon be at an end, and the end of it is heaviness.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Strong drink “Palm wine” - This is the proper meaning of the word שכר shechar, σικερα. See note on Isa 5:11. All enjoyment shall cease: the sweetest wine shall become bitter to their taste.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
The wasted city is broken When it is broken, it will be called the wasted city.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Their city is broken down, and laid desolate: all their houses are shut up, so that no one can enter.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 1 further source is cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בַּשִּׁ֖יר | bashir | with <the> song | H7892 → | 59 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִשְׁתּוּ־ | yishtu- | people will drink | H8354 → | 217 times |
| יָ֑יִן | yayin | wine | H3196 → | 141 times |
| יֵמַ֥ר | yemar | it will be bitter | H4843 → | 16 times |
| שֵׁכָ֖ר | shekhar | strong drink | H7941 → | 23 times |
| לְשֹׁתָֽיו׃ | leshotav | to [those who] drink it | H8354 → | 217 times |
בַּשִּׁ֖ירwith <the> song
bashirH7892 →59 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יִשְׁתּוּ־people will drink
yishtu-H8354 →217 times
יָ֑יִןwine
yayinH3196 →141 times
יֵמַ֥רit will be bitter
yemarH4843 →16 times
שֵׁכָ֖רstrong drink
shekharH7941 →23 times
לְשֹׁתָֽיו׃to [those who] drink it
leshotavH8354 →217 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 5:20Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who turn darkness to light and light to darkness, who replace bitter with sweet and sweet with bitter.
it leads to
- Proverbs 17:15
Acquitting the guilty and condemning the righteous—both are detestable to the LORD.
- 2 Timothy 3:1–5
But understand this: In the last days terrible times will come.
- Luke 16:15
So He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is prized among men is detestable before God.
- Malachi 2:17
You have wearied the LORD with your words; yet you ask, “How have we wearied Him?” By saying, “All who do evil are good in the sight of the LORD, and in them He…
- Job 17:12
They have turned night into day, making light seem near in the face of darkness.
- Proverbs 17:15
Through
Ecclesiastes 9:7Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God has already approved your works:
it leads to
- Ecclesiastes 3:12–13
I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and do good while they live,
- Deuteronomy 12:7
There, in the presence of the LORD your God, you and your households shall eat and rejoice in all you do, because the LORD your God has blessed you.
- Ecclesiastes 10:19
A feast is prepared for laughter, and wine makes life merry, but money is the answer for everything.
- Ecclesiastes 3:12–13
About Isaiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.