Isaiah 5:11

My Notes

What Does Isaiah 5:11 Mean?

Isaiah 5:11 is the second of six "woe" oracles in Isaiah 5, and it targets a specific lifestyle: the pursuit of alcohol from morning to night. "Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them." The Hebrew mashkimey baboqer (rising early in the morning) combined with me'achare bannesheph (continuing until twilight/night) describes an entire day consumed by one pursuit: getting drunk.

The Hebrew shekar (strong drink) is fermented liquor — stronger than wine, often made from grain, dates, or honey. The word radaph (follow, or pursue as the margin reads) is the verb for chasing, hunting, pursuing with determination. These people aren't casually drinking. They're chasing alcohol with the single-mindedness of a hunter tracking prey. From dawn to dark. Every waking hour organized around the next drink.

The Hebrew dalaq (inflame) means to kindle, to burn, to set on fire. Wine inflames them — literally sets them burning. The intoxication isn't a side effect. It's the goal. The entire day is structured around achieving and maintaining the fire of drunkenness. Isaiah's woe isn't about enjoying wine (Psalm 104:15 celebrates that). It's about a life organized around consumption — where the pursuit of the next drink has become the architecture of the day, and nothing else fits in the schedule because the drinking has consumed every hour from sunrise to sunset.

Reflection Questions

• 1.Isaiah describes a life organized from morning to night around one pursuit. What consumes your first thought in the morning and your last thought at night? Is it God, or something else?
• 2.The word 'follow' means to pursue like a hunter. What are you chasing with that level of intensity? Is it worth the architecture of your entire day?
• 3.The woe isn't about enjoying wine — it's about a life consumed by consumption. What in your life has crossed the line from enjoyment to architecture — from something you do to something that organizes you?
• 4.Isaiah's day-drinkers had no room for anything else. What has your primary pursuit crowded out — relationships, rest, worship, reflection?

Devotional

They wake up chasing strong drink. They don't stop until nightfall. The entire day — every hour, every decision, every moment — is organized around the next drink. Isaiah says: woe. Not because wine is evil. Because a life consumed by consumption is a life that has no room for anything else.

The word "follow" means pursue — the same verb used for a hunter tracking prey. These aren't people who happen to drink. They're people who organize their entire existence around it. They rise early for it. They stay up late for it. The drinking isn't a habit. It's an architecture. The schedule is built to serve the pursuit. Nothing else fits because nothing else matters.

Isaiah's woe applies far beyond alcohol. Any pursuit that consumes your first thought in the morning and your last thought at night — that structures your hours from dawn to dark, that you chase with hunter-level intensity — is the strong drink of this verse. The career that owns every waking moment. The phone that captures every spare second. The relationship that demands total emotional bandwidth. The scroll that starts when you wake and doesn't stop until you sleep. The question isn't whether the thing itself is sinful. It's whether it has consumed every hour from morning to night, leaving no space for anything — or anyone — else. A life organized around one pursuit to the exclusion of everything else is a life that Isaiah says woe over, whether the pursuit is wine or anything else you can't stop chasing.

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture