Isaiah 5:22

5:22 Those who are champions ¹  at drinking wine are as good as dead, ² 

who display great courage when mixing strong drinks.

Isaiah 28:7-8

28:7 Even these men ³  stagger because of wine,

they stumble around because of beer –

priests and prophets stagger because of beer,

they are confused ⁴  because of wine,

they stumble around because of beer;

they stagger while seeing prophetic visions, ⁵ 

they totter while making legal decisions. ⁶ 

28:8 Indeed, all the tables are covered with vomit;

no place is untouched. ⁷ 

Proverbs 31:4-5

31:4 It is not for kings, ⁸  O Lemuel,

it is not for kings to drink wine, ⁹ 

or for rulers to crave strong drink, ¹⁰ 

31:5 lest they drink and forget what is decreed,

and remove ¹¹  from all the poor ¹²  their legal rights. ¹³ 

Hosea 4:11

Judgment of Pagan Idolatry and Cultic Prostitution

4:11 Old and new wine

take away the understanding of my people. ¹⁴ 

Amos 6:3-6

6:3 You refuse to believe a day of disaster will come, ¹⁵ 

but you establish a reign of violence. ¹⁶ 

6:4 They lie around on beds decorated with ivory, ¹⁷ 

and sprawl out on their couches.

They eat lambs from the flock,

and calves from the middle of the pen.

6:5 They sing ¹⁸  to the tune of ¹⁹  stringed instruments; ²⁰ 

like David they invent ²¹  musical instruments.

6:6 They drink wine from sacrificial bowls, ²² 

and pour the very best oils on themselves. ²³ 

Yet they are not concerned over ²⁴  the ruin ²⁵  of Joseph.

Matthew 24:49-51

24:49 and he begins to beat his fellow slaves and to eat and drink with drunkards, 24:50 then the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not foresee, 24:51 and will cut him in two, ²⁶  and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Luke 12:45-46

12:45 But if ²⁷  that ²⁸  slave should say to himself, ²⁹  ‘My master is delayed ³⁰  in returning,’ and he begins to beat ³¹  the other ³²  slaves, both men and women, ³³  and to eat, drink, and get drunk, 12:46 then the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not foresee, and will cut him in two, ³⁴  and assign him a place with the unfaithful. ³⁵ 

Luke 21:34

Be Ready!

21:34 “But be on your guard ³⁶  so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day close down upon you suddenly like a trap. ³⁷ 

Titus 1:7

1:7 For the overseer ³⁸  must be blameless as one entrusted with God’s work, ³⁹  not arrogant, not prone to anger, not a drunkard, not violent, not greedy for gain.

[5:22]  ¹ tn The language used here is quite sarcastic and paves the way for the shocking description of the enemy army in vv. 25-30. The rich leaders of Judah are nothing but “party animals” who are totally incapable of withstanding real warriors.

[5:22]  ² tn Heb “Woe [to]….” See the note at v. 8.

[28:7]  ³ tn Heb “these.” The demonstrative pronoun anticipates “priests and prophets” two lines later.

[28:7]  ⁴ tn According to HALOT 135 s.v. III בלע, the verb form is derived from בָּלַע (bala’, “confuse”), not the more common בָּלַע (“swallow”). See earlier notes at 3:12 and 9:16.

[28:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “in the seeing.”

[28:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “[in] giving a decision.”

[28:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “vomit, without a place.” For the meaning of the phrase בְּלִי מָקוֹם (bÿli maqom, “without a place”), see HALOT 133 s.v. בְּלִי.

[31:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “[It is] not for kings.”

[31:4]  ⁸ sn This second warning for kings concerns the use of alcohol. If this passage is meant to prohibit any use of alcohol by kings, it would be unheard of in any ancient royal court. What is probably meant is an excessive and unwarranted use of alcohol, or a troubling need for it, so that the meaning is “to drink wine in excess” (cf. NLT “to guzzle wine”; CEV “should not get drunk”). The danger, of course, would be that excessive use of alcohol would cloud the mind and deprive a king of true administrative ability and justice.

[31:4]  ⁹ tn The MT has אֵו (’ev), a Kethib/Qere reading. The Kethib is אוֹ (’o) but the Qere is אֵי (’ey). Some follow the Qere and take the word as a shortened form of וַֹיֵּה, “where?” This would mean the ruler would be always asking for drink (cf. ASV). Others reconstruct to אַוֵּה (’avveh, “to desire; to crave”). In either case, the verse would be saying that a king is not to be wanting/seeking alcohol.

[31:5]  ⁹ tn The verb means “change,” perhaps expressed in reversing decisions or removing rights.

[31:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “all the children of poverty.” This expression refers to the poor by nature. Cf. KJV, NASB, NRSV “the afflicted”; NIV “oppressed.”

[31:5]  ¹¹ sn The word is דִּין (din, “judgment”; so KJV). In this passage it refers to the cause or the plea for justice, i.e., the “legal rights.”

[4:11]  ¹¹ tn Heb “take away the heart of my people.” The present translation assumes that the first word of v. 12 in the Hebrew text is to be construed with the noun at the end of v. 11 (so also TEV, CEV, NLT).

[6:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “those who push away a day of disaster.”

[6:3]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “you bring near a seat of violence.” The precise meaning of the Hebrew term שֶׁבֶת (shevet, “seat, sitting”) is unclear in this context. The translation assumes that it refers to a throne from which violence (in the person of the oppressive leaders) reigns. Another option is that the expression refers not to the leaders’ oppressive rule, but to the coming judgment when violence will overtake the nation in the person of enemy invaders.

[6:4]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “beds of ivory.”

[6:5]  ¹⁷ tn The meaning of the Hebrew verb פָּרַט (parat), which occurs only here in the OT, is unclear. Some translate “strum,” “pluck,” or “improvise.”

[6:5]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “upon the mouth of,” that is, “according to.”

[6:5]  ¹⁹ sn The stringed instruments mentioned here are probably harps (cf. NIV, NRSV) or lutes (cf. NEB).

[6:5]  ²⁰ tn The meaning of the Hebrew phrase חָשְׁבוּ לָהֶם (khoshvu lahem) is uncertain. Various options include: (1) “they think their musical instruments are like David’s”; (2) “they consider themselves musicians like David”; (3) “they esteem musical instruments highly like David”; (4) “they improvise [new songs] for themselves [on] instruments like David”; (5) “they invent musical instruments like David.” However, the most commonly accepted interpretation is that given in the translation (see S. M. Paul, Amos [Hermeneia], 206-7).

[6:6]  ¹⁹ sn Perhaps some religious rite is in view, or the size of the bowls is emphasized (i.e., bowls as large as sacrificial bowls).

[6:6]  ²⁰ tn Heb “with the best of oils they anoint [themselves].”

[6:6]  ²¹ tn Or “not sickened by.”

[6:6]  ²² sn The ruin of Joseph may refer to the societal disintegration in Israel, or to the effects of the impending judgment.

[24:51]  ²¹ tn The verb διχοτομέω (dicotomew) means to cut an object into two parts (L&N 19.19). This is an extremely severe punishment compared to the other two later punishments. To translate it simply as “punish” is too mild. If taken literally this servant is dismembered, although it is possible to view the stated punishment as hyperbole (L&N 38.12).

[12:45]  ²³ tn In the Greek text this is a third class condition that for all practical purposes is a hypothetical condition (note the translation of the following verb “should say”).

[12:45]  ²⁴ tn The term “that” (ἐκεῖνος, ekeino") is used as a catchword to list out, in the form of a number of hypothetical circumstances, what the possible responses of “that” servant could be. He could be faithful (vv. 43-44) or totally unfaithful (vv. 45-46). He does not complete his master’s will with knowledge (v. 47) or from ignorance (v 48). These differences are indicated by the different levels of punishment in vv. 46-48.

[12:45]  ²⁵ tn Grk “should say in his heart.”

[12:45]  ²⁶ tn Or “is taking a long time.”

[12:45]  ²⁷ sn The slave’s action in beginning to beat the other slaves was not only a failure to carry out what was commanded but involved doing the exact reverse.

[12:45]  ²⁸ tn The word “other” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[12:45]  ²⁹ tn Grk “the menservants and the maidservants.” The term here, used in both masculine and feminine grammatical forms, is παῖς (pais), which can refer to a slave, but also to a slave who is a personal servant, and thus regarded kindly (L&N 87.77).

[12:46]  ²⁵ tn The verb διχοτομέω (dicotomew) means to cut an object into two parts (L&N 19.19). This is an extremely severe punishment compared to the other two later punishments. To translate it simply as “punish” is too mild. If taken literally this servant is dismembered, although it is possible to view the stated punishment as hyperbole (L&N 38.12).

[12:46]  ²⁶ tn Or “unbelieving.” Here the translation employs the slightly more ambiguous “unfaithful,” which creates a link with the point of the parable – faithfulness versus unfaithfulness in servants. The example of this verse must be taken together with the examples of vv. 47-48 as part of a scale of reactions with the most disobedient response coming here. The fact that this servant is placed in a distinct group, unlike the one in vv. 47-48, also suggests ultimate exclusion. This is the hypocrite of Matt 24:51.

[21:34]  ²⁷ tn Grk “watch out for yourselves.”

[21:34]  ²⁸ sn Or like a thief, see Luke 12:39-40. The metaphor of a trap is a vivid one. Most modern English translations traditionally place the words “like a trap” at the end of v. 34, completing the metaphor. In the Greek text (and in the NRSV and REB) the words “like a trap” are placed at the beginning of v. 35. This does not affect the meaning.

[1:7]  ²⁹ sn The overseer is another term for the same official position of leadership as the “elder.” This is seen in the interchange of the two terms in this passage and in Acts 20:17, 28, as well as in the parallels between these verses and 1 Tim 3:1-7.

[1:7]  ³⁰ tn Grk “as God’s steward.”