Joel 1:5 · Bible study
Joel 1:5 Commentary: Awake, Drunkards, the Loss of Sweet Wine
Hebrew · 11 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Joel calls drunkards to awaken and wail as locusts cut off the wine. A study on spiritual insensibility and God's judgment in natural calamity.
Research Summary
- Meaning: A summons to the spiritually insensible to recognize God's judgment in the loss of pleasure.
- Key words: הָקִיצוּ (awake), שִׁכּוֹרִים (drunkards), עָסִיס (sweet wine), נִכְרַת (cut off).
- Main debate: Whether the drunkards are literal or representative of all who are spiritually numb; most see both.
- Theological theme: God uses physical calamity to break spiritual stupor and call to repentance.
- Best use: A call to self-examination and a reminder that our comforts can become barriers to hearing God.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
Wake up, you drunkards, and weep; wail, all you drinkers of wine, because of the sweet wine, for it has been cut off from your mouth.
WEB World English Bible 2000
Wake up, you drunkards, and weep! Wail, all you drinkers of wine, because of the sweet wine, for it is cut off from your mouth.
KJV King James Version 1769
Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and wail, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the sweet wine; for it is cut off from your mouth.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
Awake, ye drunkards, and weep, And howl all drinking wine, because of the juice, For it hath been cut off from your mouth.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine: for it is cut off from your mouth.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
Awake, ye that are drunk, and weep, and mourn all ye that take delight in drinking sweet wine: for it is cut off from your mouth.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Despertad, borrachos, y llorad; aullad todos los que bebéis vino, á causa del mosto, porque os es quitado de vuestra boca.
Despertai, vós bêbados, e chorai; gemei todos vós que bebeis vinho, por causa do suco de uva, porque foi tirado de vossa boca.
Réveillez-vous, ivrognes, et pleurez!
Wachet auf, ihr Trunkenen, und weinet, und heulet, alle Weinsäufer, um den Most; denn er ist euch vor eurem Maul weggenommen.
Waakt op, gij dronkenen! en weent, en huilt, alle gij wijnzuipers! om den nieuwen wijn, dewijl hij van uw mond is afgesneden.
Destatevi, ubriachi, e piangete! Urlate voi tutti, bevitori di vino, poiché il mosto v’è tolto di bocca!
Ocućcie się pijani a płaczcie, i narzekajcie wszyscy, którzy pijecie wino, dla moszczu; bo wydarty jest od ust waszych.
Пробудитесь, пьяницы, и плачьте и рыдайте, все пьющие вино, о виноградном соке, ибо он отнят от уст ваших!
酒醉的人哪，要清醒 哭泣；好 酒的人哪，都 要為 甜酒 哀號，因為 從你們的口中 斷絕了。
Come out of your sleep, you who are overcome with wine, and give yourselves to weeping; give cries of sorrow, all you drinkers of wine, because of the sweet wine; for it has been cut off from your mouths.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Joel 1:5
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that this verse cuts through the fog of spiritual dullness. The prophet Joel, as Calvin notes, 'derides' those who had willfully closed their eyes to manifest judgments. Barnes calls sin a 'spiritual drunkenness' that stupefies the soul. The Hebrew verb הָקִ֤יצוּ ('awake') is a Hiphil imperative, demanding a decisive rousing, not a gentle stir. It contrasts with the passive sleep of intoxication. The drunkards are summoned to weep (בָּכָה) and howl (יָלַל, a Hiphil that signals loud lament). The impetus is the loss of עָסִ֕יס, the sweet, unfermented grape juice, a non-intoxicating but prized drink. The Niphal perfect נִכְרַ֖ת ('it has been cut off') carries finality: the supply is severed. Keil and Delitzsch observe that even those most insensible are forced to feel the blow. The physical calamity, locusts stripping the vineyards, becomes the stage for a spiritual reckoning. No one, not even the most self-medicated, can hide from such a clear sign of God's hand.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: The verse undeniably uses the physical loss of wine to confront spiritual numbness, and God is portrayed as the one who 'cuts off' the supply to awaken his people.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Literal vs. symbolic drunkards | The term refers to actual drunkards who would feel the wine shortage, but also serves as a metaphor for spiritual insensibility. | Calvin emphasizes the spiritual metaphor more heavily, while Adam Clarke focuses on the literal economic impact and the loss of wine even for necessary uses. |
| Purpose of the judgment | The locust plague is a judgment from God that calls the people to repentance. | Some see it primarily as punitive (Wesley: 'totally cut off'), while others view it as a remedial discipline designed to arouse the indifferent (Calvin: 'God arouses those who will be aroused'). |
| Significance of sweet wine (עָסִיס) | It is unfermented grape juice, indicating the loss of a basic staple and not just a luxury. | Some note its connection to the drink offering (Joel 1:9), linking the loss to liturgical deprivation; others focus solely on personal consumption and the drunkenness it enabled. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Joel prophesies in Judah after a devastating locust invasion. This was not a distant threat but a present reality: v.2 calls the elders to witness something unprecedented. The vine and fig tree, symbols of peace (cf. 1 Kings 4:25), lie stripped. All joy is dried up (v.12). Into this scene step the drunkards, those who normally drown their sorrows in wine. The prophet commands them to awake (the same word used in Proverbs 23:35 for the hangover, as Keil notes). Their beloved sweet wine, the unfermented juice of crushed grapes, is literally cut off from their lips.
The economic and liturgical impact was severe. Adam Clarke points out that locust devastation could ruin the vintage for years, leaving no wine even for necessary uses, much less debauchery. The 'nation' of locusts (v.6) is described as an invading army with lion's teeth, emphasizing total destruction. This was not just a shortage; it was a blow to the entire community's livelihood and worship, since drink offerings (v.9) required wine. The call to 'howl' (used also in Joel 1:11, 13 for farmers and priests) extends the lament beyond drunkards to all who depended on the vine.
Textual Notes
The supplied commentaries do not note any textual variants for this verse. The Masoretic Text is consistent across manuscripts, with no significant differences in the Hebrew witnesses.
Reception History
From the early church to the Reformation, Joel 1:5 has been read as a summons to spiritual sobriety. Jerome and other church fathers interpreted the drunkards as those intoxicated by worldly cares. Calvin's commentary emphasizes human insensibility to divine judgments. In the Wesleyan tradition, the verse was used in calls to repentance. Jewish tradition reads it as part of the Haftara for fast days, urging the community to recognize God's hand in calamity (as seen in the call to 'sanctify a fast' in Joel 1:14). Across centuries, the pattern endures: God uses material loss to wake hearts grown dull.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The Awakening Call: God addresses even the most numb. The Hiphil imperative 'awake' (הָקִיצוּ) shatters the stupor of sin, forcing the drunkard to face reality.
- The Loss That Forces Lament: The sweet wine (עָסִיס) is cut off. What we cling to for comfort can be removed to open our eyes to divine judgment and our own dependence.
- From Wailing to Wisdom: The command to weep and howl is not merely grief but a starting point for repentance. Calvin says God arouses those who will be aroused by withdrawing the pleasures in which they offended him.
Five-point outline
- The stupor of sin, drunkenness as spiritual insensibility.
- The shock of divine judgment, the locusts as God's army.
- The specifics of loss, not just any wine, but the sweet juice that represents joy and daily life.
- The universal call to weep, drunkards, farmers, priests all must lament.
- The hope beneath the woe, loss can lead back to God if we hear the wake-up call.
Illustration hooks
- A person who stays in bed until the coffee runs out, the loss of a simple pleasure forces action that comfort never did.
- A wrecked car forces a reckless driver to finally confront their habits and change course.
- A broken water heater in winter makes you realize how much you took for granted, and sometimes that awareness leads to gratitude and change.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Why would God target drunkards specifically? What does that say about his priorities?
- How can I tell if I'm spiritually numb without a dramatic crisis?
- What does biblical lament look like in practice, is it just sadness or something more?
Leading a Discussion
This verse confronts us with a strange command: drunkards are told to awake and weep. It suggests that our greatest attachments can become blinders to God's work. The locust plague has stripped the vineyards, and the prophet uses the loss of sweet wine to wake those who have been dulled by pleasure.
Discussion questions
- Observation: What specific actions does Joel command, and to whom are they addressed?
- Interpretation: Why are drunkards singled out? What does their condition say about the spiritual state of the nation?
- Interpretation: The sweet wine (עָסִיס) is non-intoxicating. Why does Joel emphasize the loss of this particular product?
- Interpretation: How does the description of locusts as a 'nation' (v.6) shape your understanding of the judgment?
- Application: In what ways can physical loss, even of everyday pleasures, serve as a wake-up call from God?
- Application: What comforts or habits in your life might be dulling your awareness of God’s presence or your need for him?
- Application: This passage ends with wailing, not solutions. What would it mean for your group to make room for honest lament before God?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Isaiah 24:7 | The new wine mourns. The vine languishes. All the merry-hearted sigh. |
| Isaiah 24:11 | There is a crying in the streets because of the wine. All joy is darkened. The mirth of the land is gone. |
| Isaiah 32:10 | For days beyond a year you will be troubled, you careless women; for the vintage will fail. The harvest won’t come. |
| Isaiah 32:12 | Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine. |
| Jeremiah 4:8 | For this, clothe yourself with sackcloth, lament and wail; for the fierce anger of Yahweh hasn’t turned back from us. |
| Ezekiel 30:2 | “Son of man, prophesy, and say, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Wail, ‘Alas for the day!’ |
| Joel 1:11 | Be confounded, you farmers! Wail, you vineyard keepers, for the wheat and for the barley; for the harvest of the field has perished. |
| Joel 1:13 | Put on sackcloth and mourn, you priests! Wail, you ministers of the altar. Come, lie all night in sackcloth, you ministers of my God, for the meal offering and the drink offering are withheld from your God’s house. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
11 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke notes that the locusts destroy all plants so completely that no wine remains at all even for basic needs. This lack of wine leads to a situation where people cannot celebrate with drink.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes expands the prophet's call beyond literal drunkards to all sinners. Every passion—anger, ambition, greed—works like strong drink, stupefying the soul and making it numb to its own ruin. The command to awake and weep means shaking off this spiritual stupor through watchful grief over sin's devastations.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin notes that calling people drunkards shows God is mocking those who ignore his punishment. He says even drunkards feel pain when their drink is taken away so these people must realize God’s judgment.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges notes that the destruction of the wine means people must stop drinking it and stop sleeping because they no longer have any. They should instead cry out in deep grief.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Notes stress the sudden, personal nature of the judgment: the wine is snatched from the drunkards' very mouths. Their weeping and howling comes not from a distant threat but from the immediate loss of the pleasure they were actively consuming.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill highlights the bitter irony: drunkards, used to drowsy stupor and drunken mirth after drinking, must now wake and howl. Their wine is gone, cut off by locusts. The very thing that made them merry now leaves them sober and desperate, with dry lips instead of full cups.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
Jamieson Fausset Brown notes that fresh unfermented wine is not drunk by those who are drunk. The commentary explains fresh wine is sweet juice pressed from fruit without fermentation. It does not cause intoxication.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil and Delitzsch see the locust swarm as a literal army destroying the land just as a lion destroys prey. They explain that the word for people means hostile forces here rather than a foreign nation.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange insists the locust plague in Joel 1 describes a literal, present disaster, not a symbolic prediction of a future invasion. He notes the call to the old men to witness an unprecedented event makes sense only if it has actually occurred. Chapter 1 builds the case for repentance by showing the devastation's scale, without yet issuing a direct call to repent.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry notes that some view this passage as describing a current disaster while others see it as a future warning. Both groups agree the event is without precedent and calls people to repentance.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley observes that the wicked are not merely cut off, but cut off suddenly at the very moment they are about to enjoy their prize, and utterly destroyed by the very vermin they resemble. The destruction is both abrupt and total.