This verse isn't just describing a drought, it's personifying grief. The "wine mourns" and the "vine languishes" aren't just passive images of destruction; they reflect the deep sorrow and the loss of life's sweetness felt by the people. Even the "merry-hearted" can only sigh, showing how widespread and profound this desolation is, stealing even the capacity for joy.
The wine mourns, the vine languishes, all the merry-hearted sigh. The mirth of the tambourines is stilled, the noise of the jubilant has ceased, the mirth of the lyre is stilled. No more do they drink wine with singing; strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.
English Standard Version (ESV)
This passage describes a devastating judgment falling upon the land, depicted through the suffering of nature itself. It's part of a larger prophecy detailing the utter ruin and desolation that will overtake a once-fruitful land due to the inhabitants' rebellion against God, leading to a loss of joy and abundance. The focus shifts from the land's suffering to the personal despair of its people, who can no longer find comfort even in the pleasures they once enjoyed.
Imagine a world where the laughter of celebrations turns into the quiet sighs of despair. This verse paints a vivid picture of that reality.
Isaiah 24:7 uses powerful imagery to show the devastating impact of God's judgment. The "new wine" and the "vine" represent the sources of joy, prosperity, and life for the people.
The Wine and the Vine
The Merry-Hearted Sigh
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When God turns things upside down, the very land we depend on can become a source of grief instead of gladness.
This verse is part of a larger prophetic vision of judgment on the land. The desolation described isn't just a natural disaster; it's a consequence of sin and disobedience.
The Cause of the Curse
The Outcome: Widespread Loss
Understand the original words
sason · Hebrew Noun
An emotional state or outward expression of joy, gladness, or festive celebration. Often associated with communal worship or social pleasure, its absence signals divine judgment or deep communal grief.
teruah · Hebrew Noun
A term describing a state of intense, ecstatic joy or celebration, often expressed through vocal praise or music. It reflects a vibrant, life-affirming gladness that is silenced when God's judgment falls.
yayin · Hebrew Noun
A fermented beverage often used as a symbol of joy, celebration, and God’s blessing in Scripture. Conversely, its withdrawal or corruption serves as a potent symbol of desolation and the removal of God's favor.
shekar · Hebrew Noun
An alcoholic beverage, distinct from table wine, often associated with strong fermentation. In prophetic contexts, it is frequently used to depict the removal of worldly comforts or the turning of sweetness into bitterness as a consequence of sin.
Isaiah 24 paints a vivid picture of a land devastated by war and exile. The imagery of mourning wine and languishing vines powerfully conveys the profound loss and desolation experienced by the people after the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by the Babylonians.
Late 8th - Early 7th century BC
Assyrian dominance over Judah
The Kingdom of Judah experienced periods of both subjugation and vassalage to the powerful Neo-Assyrian Empire, influencing its political and religious landscape.
605 BC
Babylonian victory over Assyria
The Babylonians, under Nebuchadnezzar II, decisively defeated the Assyrians at Carchemish, marking the rise of the Neo-Babylonian Empire and shifting regional powers.
597 BC
First Babylonian Deportation
Nebuchadnezzar II deports a significant portion of Judah's elite, including King Jehoiachin, to Babylon, as a consequence of Judah's rebellion.
586 BC— this verse
Destruction of Jerusalem and Temple
The Babylonians, led by Nebuchadnezzar II, lay siege to Jerusalem, ultimately destroying the city and its sacred Temple, with a further deportation of the population.
Post-586 BC
Exile in Babylon
The majority of the Judean population lives in exile in Babylon, a period marked by lament, reflection, and a deep longing for return and restoration.
This passage in Joel describes a similar agricultural devastation where the harvest fails, the vine withers, and all the people lament. It directly parallels Isaiah's imagery of the land's produce mourning and the merryhearted sighing due to loss.
Jeremiah 48:33Jeremiah uses a similar poetic lament for Moab, stating that 'joy and gladness are taken from the fruitful field, and from the land of Moab; I have made the wine cease from the winepresses; no one shall tread them with shouts of joy.' This shows a consistent prophetic pattern of linking national judgment with the loss of agricultural bounty and associated celebration.
Luke 5:37-38While a different context, Jesus uses the imagery of new wine bursting old wineskins. This highlights the idea of wine and its associated vessels/practices as symbols of joy and current ways of life, which are vulnerable to disruption, much like the 'mourning' wine in Isaiah signifies a loss of that former joy.
Revelation 18:11-14This passage describes the fall of Babylon, and the merchants 'weep and mourn' because no one buys their 'cargo of gold, silver, precious stones, pearls, fine linen, purple things, silks, scarlet things, all kinds of citron wood, all kinds of articles of ivory, all kinds of articles of costly wood, bronze, iron, and marble... and no one buys their.
bensonIsaiah 24:7: "The new wine mourneth, the vine languisheth, all the merryhearted do sigh."
Isaiah 24:7-9 . The new wine mourneth, &c. — In these verses we have a description, in metaphorical language, of the ruin and desolation brought on a once flourishing land by a destructive enemy. The wine, figuratively speaking, mourns, because there are none, or none but enemies to God and Israel, to drink it. The vine languisheth — Because there are no people left to dress it, or gather its grapes; or be…
cambridgeIsaiah 24:7: "The new wine mourneth, the vine languisheth, all the merryhearted do sigh."
7 . Cf. Joel 1:10 ; Joel 1:12 . 7–9 . Joy has vanished from the earth.
This verse isn't just describing a drought, it's personifying grief. The "wine mourns" and the "vine languishes" aren't just passive images of destruction; they reflect the deep sorrow and the loss of life's sweetness felt by the people. Even the "merry-hearted" can only sigh, showing how widespread and profound this desolation is, stealing even the capacity for joy.
This passage describes a devastating judgment falling upon the land, depicted through the suffering of nature itself. It's part of a larger prophecy detailing the utter ruin and desolation that will overtake a once-fruitful land due to the inhabitants' rebellion against God, leading to a loss of joy and abundance. The focus shifts from the land's suffering to the personal despair of its people, who can no longer find comfort even in the pleasures they once enjoyed.
This passage describes a devastating judgment falling upon the land, depicted through the suffering of nature itself. It's part of a larger prophecy detailing the utter ruin and desolation that will overtake a once-fruitful land due to the inhabitants' rebellion against God, leading to a loss of joy and abundance. The focus shifts from the land's suffering to the personal despair of its people, who can no longer find comfort even in the pleasures they once enjoyed.
"The wine mourns, the vine languishes, all the merry-hearted sigh. The mirth of the tambourines is stilled, the noise of the jubilant has ceased, the mirth of the lyre is stilled. No more do they drink wine w…" — This verse isn't just describing a drought, it's personifying grief. The "wine mourns" and the "vine languishes" aren't just passive images of destruction; they reflect the deep sorrow and the loss o…
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Last reviewed October 2026
