Isaiah 56:12

Old Testament Major Prophet ASV (1901)

What does Isaiah 56:12 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “Come ye, [say they], I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and to-morrow shall be as this day, [a day] great beyond measure.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

Come ye, [say they], I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and to-morrow shall be as this day, [a day] great beyond measure.
Isaiah 56:12 — American Standard Version

Context — Isaiah 56

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
12Come ye, [say they], I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and to-morrow shall be as this day, [a day] great beyond measure.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“Come ye, say they, &c.] Either to their fellow bishops and priests, when got together, jovially carousing; or to the common people, encouraging them in luxury and intemperance: I will fetch wine; out of his cellar, having good store of it, and that of the best, hence called “priests’ wine”; and so, at Paris and Louvain, the Popish priests called their wine “vinum theologicum”: and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; fill their bellies and skins full of it till drunken with it; the drunkenness of priests in Popish counties is notorious, which seems here to be taxed and prophesied of: for tomorrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant; the morrow shall be as good, and merry, and…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“fetch wine--language of the national teachers challenging one another to drink. BARNES translates, "I will take another cup" (Isa 5:11). to-morrow, &c.--Their self-indulgence was habitual and intentional: not merely they drink, but they mean to continue so. In the midst of the excesses of the unfaithful watchmen (Isa 56:10-12), most of the few that are godly perish: partly by vexation at the prevailing ungodliness; partly by violent death in persecution: prophetical of the persecuting times of Manasseh, before God's judgments in causing the captivity in Babylon; and again those in the last age of the Church, before the final judgments on the apostasy (Kg2 21:16; Mat 23:29-35, Mat 23:37; Rev…”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Come ye, say they - (compare the notes at Isaiah 22:13). That is, one says to another, ‘I will fetch wine;’ or as we would say, ‘I will take another glass.’ The object is to describe a drinking-bout, or carousal, when the glass is shoved around, and there is drinking to excess. The language denotes the state of exhilaration and excitement when sitting at the table, and already under the influence of wine. This is not designed to be descriptive of the people at large, but of the ‘watchmen,’ or public teachers of the nation, and it certainly shows a state of most lamentable degeneracy and corruption. Unhappily, however, it has not been confined to the times of Manasseh. There have been periods…”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“Say they - Unto their brethren, fellow - priests, or other jolly companions. Fill ourselves - We will drink not only to delight, but even to drunkenness, as the word signifies, which shews their dreadful security and contempt of God, and their abandoning of all care of their own or peoples souls. Next: Isaiah Chapter 57”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“I will: Isa 5:22, Isa 28:7, Isa 28:8; Pro 31:4, Pro 31:5; Hos 4:11; Amo 6:3-6; Mat 24:49-51; Luk 12:45, Luk 12:46, Luk 21:34; Tit 1:7 to morrow: Isa 22:13, Isa 22:14; Psa 10:6; Pro 23:35, Pro 27:1; Jer 18:18; Luk 12:19, Luk 12:20; Co1 15:32 Next: Isaiah Chapter 57”
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Keil & Delitzsch
C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch · Commentary on the Old Testament · 19th-century historical commentary
“An office-bearer of the kind described is now introduced per mimesin as speaking. "Come here, I will fetch wine, and let us drink meth; and tomorrow shall be like today, great, excessively abundant." He gives a banquet, and promises the guests that the revelry shall be as great tomorrow as today, or rather much more glorious. מחר יום is the day of tomorrow, τὸ ἐπαύριον, for mâchâr is always without an article; hence et fiet uti hic (dies) dies crastinus, viz., magnus supra modum valde. יתר, or יתר (as it is to be pointed here according to Kimchi, Michlol 167b, and Wrterbuch), signifies superabundance; it is used here adverbially in the sense of extra-ordinarily, beyond all bounds…”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification