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Isaiah 5:11-14

Woe to those who rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink, who stay late into the night, until wine inflames them!

The harp, lyre, tambourine, and flute, with wine, are at their feasts; but they don’t respect the work of Yahweh, neither have they considered the operation of his hands.

Therefore my people go into captivity for lack of knowledge. Their honorable men are famished, and their multitudes are parched with thirst.

Therefore Sheol has enlarged its desire, and opened its mouth without measure; and their glory, their multitude, their pomp, and he who rejoices among them, descend into it.

World English Bible · Public Domain

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Parallel Translations

  • WEB World English Bible

    Woe to those who rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink, who stay late into the night, until wine inflames them!

    The harp, lyre, tambourine, and flute, with wine, are at their feasts; but they don’t respect the work of Yahweh, neither have they considered the operation of his hands.

    Therefore my people go into captivity for lack of knowledge. Their honorable men are famished, and their multitudes are parched with thirst.

    Therefore Sheol has enlarged its desire, and opened its mouth without measure; and their glory, their multitude, their pomp, and he who rejoices among them, descend into it.

  • KJV King James Version

    Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them!

    And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the LORD, neither consider the operation of his hands.

    Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honourable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst.

    Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.

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  • JPS JPS Tanakh (1917)

    Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that tarry late into the night, till wine inflame them!

    And the harp and the psaltery, the tabret and the pipe, and wine, are in their feasts; but they regard not the work of the LORD, neither have they considered the operation of His hands.

    Therefore My people are gone into captivity, for want of knowledge; and their honourable men are famished, and their multitude are parched with thirst.

    Therefore the nether-world hath enlarged her desire, and opened her mouth without measure; and down goeth their glory, and their tumult, and their uproar, and he that rejoiceth among them.

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Cross-references (68)

  • Hosea 4:6 (v13) My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you, that you may be no priest to…
  • Proverbs 23:29-30 (v11) Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? Those who stay long at…
  • Romans 13:13 (v11) Let’s walk properly, as in the day; not in reveling and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and lustful acts, and not in strife and…
  • Proverbs 20:1 (v11) Wine is a mocker and beer is a brawler. Whoever is led astray by them is not wise.
  • Isaiah 1:3 (v13) The ox knows his owner, and the donkey his master’s crib; but Israel doesn’t know. My people don’t consider.”
Show all 67 cross-references
  • Luke 21:34 (vv11, 14) “So be careful, or your hearts will be loaded down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that day will come on you…
  • Proverbs 30:16 (v14) Sheol, the barren womb; the earth that is not satisfied with water; and the fire that doesn’t say, ‘Enough.’
  • Isaiah 5:22 (v11) Woe to those who are mighty to drink wine, and champions at mixing strong drink;
  • Habakkuk 2:5 (v14) Yes, moreover, wine is treacherous. An arrogant man who doesn’t stay at home, who enlarges his desire as Sheol, and he is like death, and…
  • Psalms 28:5 (v12) Because they don’t respect the works of Yahweh, nor the operation of his hands, he will break them down and not build them up.
  • Psalms 55:15 (v14) Let death come suddenly on them. Let them go down alive into Sheol. For wickedness is among them, in their dwelling.
  • Job 21:11-14 (v12) They send out their little ones like a flock. Their children dance. They sing to the tambourine and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the…
  • Job 34:27 (v12) because they turned away from following him, and wouldn’t pay attention to any of his ways,
  • Proverbs 27:20 (v14) Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied; and a man’s eyes are never satisfied.
  • Ecclesiastes 10:16-17 (v11) Woe to you, land, when your king is a child, and your princes eat in the morning! Happy are you, land, when your king is the son of nobles,…
  • Isaiah 30:33 (v14) For his burning place has long been ready. Yes, for the king it is prepared. He has made its pyre deep and large with fire and much wood.…
  • Amos 6:4-6 (v12) Who lie on beds of ivory, and stretch themselves on their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the middle of…
  • Matthew 7:13 (v14) “Enter in by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter in by it.
  • Revelation 20:13-15 (v14) The sea gave up the dead who were in it. Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them. They were judged, each one according to his…
  • Numbers 16:30-34 (v14) But if Yahweh makes a new thing, and the ground opens its mouth, and swallows them up with all that belong to them, and they go down alive…
  • Isaiah 1:7 (v13) Your country is desolate. Your cities are burned with fire. Strangers devour your land in your presence and it is desolate, as overthrown…
  • Isaiah 14:9 (v14) Sheol from beneath has moved for you to meet you at your coming. It stirs up the departed spirits for you, even all the rulers of the…
  • Isaiah 27:11 (v13) When its boughs are withered, they will be broken off. The women will come and set them on fire, for they are a people of no understanding.…
  • Isaiah 28:7-8 (v11) They also reel with wine, and stagger with strong drink. The priest and the prophet reel with strong drink. They are swallowed up by wine.…
  • Psalms 49:14 (v14) They are appointed as a flock for Sheol. Death shall be their shepherd. The upright shall have dominion over them in the morning. Their…
  • Proverbs 1:12 (v14) Let’s swallow them up alive like Sheol, and whole, like those who go down into the pit.
  • Isaiah 21:4 (v14) My heart flutters. Horror has frightened me. The twilight that I desired has been turned into trembling for me.
  • Isaiah 28:1 (v11) Woe to the crown of pride of the drunkards of Ephraim, and to the fading flower of his glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fertile…
  • Ezekiel 32:18-30 (v14) “Son of man, wail for the multitude of Egypt, and cast them down, even her and the daughters of the famous nations, to the lower parts of…
  • Daniel 5:23 (v12) but have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before you, and you and your lords,…
  • Hosea 7:5-6 (v11) On the day of our king, the princes made themselves sick with the heat of wine. He joined his hand with mockers. For they have prepared…
  • Habakkuk 2:15 (v11) “Woe to him who gives his neighbor drink, pouring your inflaming wine until they are drunk, so that you may gaze at their naked bodies!
  • Luke 12:19-20 (v14) I will tell my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years. Take your ease, eat, drink, and be merry.” ’ “But God said to him,…
  • Luke 16:20-23 (v14) A certain beggar, named Lazarus, was taken to his gate, full of sores, and desiring to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s…
  • Luke 17:27 (v14) They ate, they drank, they married, and they were given in marriage until the day that Noah entered into the ship, and the flood came and…
  • John 3:19-20 (v13) This is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their works were evil.…
  • Acts 12:21-23 (v14) On an appointed day, Herod dressed himself in royal clothing, sat on the throne, and gave a speech to them. The people shouted, “The voice…
  • Romans 1:28 (v13) Even as they refused to have God in their knowledge, God gave them up to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not fitting;
  • 1 Corinthians 6:10 (v11) nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor extortionists, will inherit God’s Kingdom.
  • Galatians 5:21 (v11) envy, murders, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these; of which I forewarn you, even as I also forewarned you, that those who practice…
  • 1 Thessalonians 5:6-7 (v11) so then let’s not sleep, as the rest do, but let’s watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep in the night; and those who are drunk are…
  • Jude 1:12 (v12) These are hidden rocky reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you, shepherds who without fear feed themselves; clouds without…
  • Genesis 31:27 (v12) Why did you flee secretly, and deceive me, and didn’t tell me, that I might have sent you away with mirth and with songs, with tambourine…
  • 1 Samuel 25:36-38 (v14) Abigail came to Nabal; and behold, he held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was…
  • 2 Samuel 13:28-29 (v14) Absalom commanded his servants, saying, “Mark now, when Amnon’s heart is merry with wine; and when I tell you, ‘Strike Amnon,’ then kill…
  • Psalms 92:5-6 (v12) How great are your works, Yahweh! Your thoughts are very deep. A senseless man doesn’t know, neither does a fool understand this:
  • Proverbs 23:32 (v11) In the end, it bites like a snake, and poisons like a viper.
  • Isaiah 5:19 (v12) who say, “Let him make haste, let him hasten his work, that we may see it; let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come,…
  • Isaiah 22:13 (v12) and behold, joy and gladness, killing cattle and killing sheep, eating meat and drinking wine: “Let’s eat and drink, for tomorrow we will…
  • Isaiah 42:22-25 (v13) But this is a robbed and plundered people. All of them are snared in holes, and they are hidden in prisons. They have become captives, and…
  • Jeremiah 8:7 (v13) Yes, the stork in the sky knows her appointed times. The turtledove, the swallow, and the crane observe the time of their coming; but my…
  • Jeremiah 14:3 (v13) Their nobles send their little ones to the waters. They come to the cisterns, and find no water. They return with their vessels empty. They…
  • Jeremiah 14:18 (v13) If I go out into the field, then, behold, the slain with the sword! If I enter into the city, then, behold, those who are sick with famine!…
  • Lamentations 4:4-5 (v13) The tongue of the nursing child clings to the roof of his mouth for thirst. The young children ask bread, and no one breaks it for them.…
  • Lamentations 4:9 (v13) Those who are killed with the sword are better than those who are killed with hunger; For these pine away, stricken through, for lack of…
  • Daniel 5:1-4 (v12) Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand. Belshazzar, while he tasted the…
  • Daniel 5:3-6 (v14) Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of God’s house which was at Jerusalem; and the king and his lords,…
  • Daniel 5:30 (v14) In that night Belshazzar the Chaldean King was slain.
  • Hosea 4:10-11 (v12) They will eat, and not have enough. They will play the prostitute, and will not increase; because they have abandoned giving to Yahweh.…
  • Matthew 23:16-27 (v13) “Woe to you, you blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is…
  • Luke 16:19 (v12) “Now there was a certain rich man, and he was clothed in purple and fine linen, living in luxury every day.
  • 2 Peter 3:5 (v13) For this they willfully forget that there were heavens from of old, and an earth formed out of water and amid water by the word of God,
  • 2 Kings 17:6 (v13) In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away to Assyria, and placed them in Halah, and on the…
  • 2 Chronicles 28:5-8 (v13) Therefore Yahweh his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria. They struck him, and carried away from him a great multitude of…
  • Amos 8:13 (v13) In that day the beautiful virgins and the young men will faint for thirst.
  • Nahum 1:10 (v14) For entangled like thorns, and drunken as with their drink, they are consumed utterly like dry stubble.
  • Luke 19:44 (v13) and will dash you and your children within you to the ground. They will not leave in you one stone on another, because you didn’t know the…

67 distinct cross-references across this passage (68 total citations).

Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)

Explain this passage (19 sources)

Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.

Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv11–14 That spare no pain nor diligence to follow their…

That spare no pain nor diligence to follow their lusts.

Which are never weary of their rioting and excessive pleasures, but use all means to provoke to the same.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.

John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv11–14 Isa 5:11 Woe unto them that rise up early…
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv11–14 That rise up early in the morning; which was…
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv11–14 Woe unto them that rise up early in the…
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv12–14 The harp - They give up themselves wholly to…
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv11, 13 Verse 11. Wo unto them that rise up early]…
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv11, 13 Isa 5:11-12. Wo unto them, that rise up early,…
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv11–14 Wo unto them - The prophet, having denounced “avarice,”…
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv11, 12, 14 To follow. Hebrew, "for shecar," (Calmet) palm wine, (Theodoret)…
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv11–14 Second Woe--against intemperance.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv11, 13, 14 Second woe — on high-living and revelry, Isa_5:11-12.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv11–14 11. rise up early] Drinking in the morning was…
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv11–14 (11) Woe unto them that rise up early.—The same…
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv11–14 Woe unto them that... follow strong drink. We have…
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv11–14 Woe unto them that rise up early in the…
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On vv11–14 Isa_5:11. Woe unto them that rise up early in…
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v14 hell Heb. "Sheol," (See Scofield "Hab 2:5").
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv11, 13 those who rise up early in the morning ...…
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv11–14 5:11-17 What sorrow: The second threat of judgment concerned…
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