The Meaning of Isaiah 24:9 Explained

Isaiah 24:9

KJV: They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it.

YLT: With a song they drink not wine, Bitter is strong drink to those drinking it.

Darby: They do not drink wine with a song; strong drink is bitter to them that drink it.

ASV: They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

They shall not drink  wine  with a song;  strong drink  shall be bitter  to them that drink  it. 

What does Isaiah 24:9 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Even while people drink their wine they cannot bring themselves to sing for joy. Their beer is flat, as we say. It fails to provide the desired uplift.

Context Summary

Isaiah 24:1-13 - The Desolation Of A Guilty World
This and the three following chapters form a single prophecy, describing the calamities about to desolate the land, because the inhabitants had transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Primarily it describes the experiences of Palestine under the successive invasions from the Euphrates valley, first of Nineveh and then of Babylon. There is a mysterious connection between the condition of a man's soul and the response of surrounding nature. The very vineyards would sigh in sad accord with the prevailing misery and sin, Isaiah 24:7-9; and in the great city silence would reign in streets decimated by plague and war, Isaiah 24:10-12. Both in the Old and the New Testament the blessings of sufficiency and comfort are the fruits of holy living; whereas, sooner or later, evil overtakes wrong-doing. "Trust in the Lord and do good, so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed," is always true. [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 24

1  The doleful judgments of God upon the land
13  A remnant shall joyfully praise him
16  God in his judgments shall advance his kingdom

What do the individual words in Isaiah 24:9 mean?

With a song not they shall drink wine is bitter Strong drink to those who drink it
בַּשִּׁ֖יר לֹ֣א יִשְׁתּוּ־ יָ֑יִן יֵמַ֥ר שֵׁכָ֖ר לְשֹׁתָֽיו

בַּשִּׁ֖יר  With  a  song 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: שִׁיר 
Sense: song.
יִשְׁתּוּ־  they  shall  drink 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: שָׁתָה  
Sense: to drink.
יָ֑יִן  wine 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: יַיִן  
Sense: wine.
יֵמַ֥ר  is  bitter 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: מָרַר  
Sense: to be bitter.
שֵׁכָ֖ר  Strong  drink 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: שֵׁכָר  
Sense: strong drink, intoxicating drink, fermented or intoxicating liquor.
לְשֹׁתָֽיו  to  those  who  drink  it 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: שָׁתָה  
Sense: to drink.