How many times is drunk mentioned in the Bible?
The word drunk appears 29 times in the King James Version, in 29 verses. Counting every form (drunk, drunken, drunkenness, drunkard, drunkards), it appears 81 times in 77 verses across 33 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses drunk 36 times (76 with every form).
Drunk in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of drunk counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| drunk | 29 | 36 |
| drunken | 34 | 21 |
| drunkenness | 7 | 6 |
| drunkard | 5 | 6 |
| drunkards | 6 | 7 |
| Total | 81 | 76 |
Which books mention drunk most
Drunk appears in 33 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Isaiah has the most (11), then Jeremiah (10) and 1 Samuel (6).
Also in: Genesis (1), Leviticus (1), Judges (1), Ruth (1), 2 Samuel (1), Job (1), Ecclesiastes (1), Song of Solomon (1), Daniel (1), Joel (1), Obadiah (1), Habakkuk (1), Matthew (1), John (1), Acts (1), Romans (1), Galatians (1), Ephesians (1).
First and last mention of drunk
And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.
For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
The verse that uses it most is Isaiah 51:17, 2 times (tied with Jeremiah 51:7, Nahum 1:10, 1 Thessalonians 5:7):
Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, which hast drunk at the hand of the LORD the cup of his fury; thou hast drunken the dregs of the cup of trembling, and wrung them out.
Where the two translations differ
11 verses match in the KJV but not in the World English Bible, and 7 verses match only in the World English Bible, usually because the other translation chose a different word there.
Deuteronomy 29:19: counted in the KJV only
And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst:
and it happen, when he hears the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, “I shall have peace, though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart, to destroy the moist with the dry.”
1 Samuel 1:9: counted in the KJV only
So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the LORD.
So Hannah rose up after they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on his seat by the doorpost of Yahweh’s temple.
Isaiah 34:5: counted in the World English Bible only
For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment.
For my sword has drunk its fill in the sky. Behold, it will come down on Edom, and on the people of my curse, for judgment.
Isaiah 34:7: counted in the World English Bible only
And the unicorns shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls; and their land shall be soaked with blood, and their dust made fat with fatness.
The wild oxen will come down with them, and the young bulls with the mighty bulls; and their land will be drunken with blood, and their dust made greasy with fat.
Verses with drunk on our topic pages
12 verses that use drunk in the World English Bible are in our topic collections.
envy, murders, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these; of which I forewarn you, even as I also forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit God’s Kingdom.
nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor extortionists, will inherit God’s Kingdom.
For we have spent enough of our past time doing the desire of the Gentiles, and having walked in lewdness, lusts, drunken binges, orgies, carousings, and abominable idolatries.
Let us walk properly, as in the day; not in reveling and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and lustful acts, and not in strife and jealousy.
Don’t be drunken with wine, in which is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,
“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!
On: Alcohol
The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man, and a drunkard; a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’
On: Alcohol
“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 suddenly.
On: Alcohol
and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when the guests have drunk freely, then that which is worse. You have kept the good wine until now!”
On: Alcohol
But as it is, I wrote to you not to associate with anyone who is called a brother who is a sexual sinner, or covetous, or an idolater, or a slanderer, or a drunkard, or an extortionist. Don’t even eat with such a person.
On: Alcohol
For those who sleep, sleep in the night; and those who are drunk are drunk in the night.
On: Alcohol
for the drunkard and the glutton shall become poor; and drowsiness clothes them in rags.
On: Addiction
Common questions
How many times is drunk in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 62 of the 81 uses are in the Old Testament and 19 in the New Testament. Drunk appears in 33 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Isaiah has the most (11), then Jeremiah (10) and 1 Samuel (6).
Where is drunk first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Genesis 9:21: "And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent." The last is Revelation 18:3.
Read the full collection: Bible Verses About Alcohol (32 Verses).
More word counts: dragon, unicorn, woman, wisdom, trust, death, water, light, or all 107 words.
Counted by Bible Says About from the full public-domain text of the King James Version (1769 edition) and the World English Bible. Verse text only: headings and psalm titles are left out. A word is a run of letters: a hyphenated name like Beer-sheba counts as two, and an apostrophe stays inside its word (LORD'S is one). Matching ignores capital letters. Data compiled 2026-10-02.