# Do Jehovah’s Witnesses Drink Alcohol? > Jehovah’s Witnesses say it is not a sin to drink alcohol in moderation. Their Bible-questions page calls wine a gift, says Jesus drank wine, and condemns drunkenness. It names times when a Christian should not drink at all. - Canonical: https://apologetics.wiki/jehovahs-witnesses/do-jehovahs-witnesses-drink-alcohol - Religions: Jehovah's Witnesses - Denominations: none - Beliefs: none - Tags: jehovahs-witnesses, alcohol, practice - Updated: 2026-10-12 Yes, in moderation. Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that it is not a sin to drink alcohol in moderation, and that the Bible condemns overdrinking and drunkenness. Their page on the question calls wine a gift from God, says Jesus drank wine, and names cases where a person should not drink at all: if it would stumble someone else, if it breaks the law, or if the person cannot control the drinking. ## Key Points - [What Does the Bible Say About Alcohol?](https://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/questions/is-drinking-a-sin/) [(1)](#ref-1) opens, “It is not a sin to drink alcohol in moderation.” - The same page says the Bible describes wine as a gift that can make life more enjoyable, citing Psalm 104:14–15 and Ecclesiastes 9:7, and that it acknowledges a medicinal use, citing 1 Timothy 5:23. - It says Jesus drank wine, citing Matthew 26:29 and Luke 7:34, and that he turned water into wine at a marriage feast, citing John 2:1–10. - It says the Bible condemns overdrinking and drunkenness, and that a Christian who drinks would do so only in moderation, citing 1 Timothy 3:8 and Titus 2:2–3. - It says a person has had too much when drinking puts him or others at risk of harm, and it describes drunkenness by disorientation, unsteady walking, contentiousness, or slurred speech, not only by passing out. - [Ephesians 5:18](/bible/ephesians/5/18) [(3)](#ref-3) says, “be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess.” [Proverbs 23:20](/bible/proverbs/23/20) [(2)](#ref-2) says not to be among winebibbers. [John 2:1–11](/bible/john/2) [(4)](#ref-4) is the marriage at Cana, where Jesus made the water wine. ## What Their Page Says The Watch Tower’s answer is the sentence people are searching for. On [that page](https://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/questions/is-drinking-a-sin/) [(1)](#ref-1): > It is not a sin to drink alcohol in moderation. The next sentences call wine a gift from God that can make life more enjoyable, and they point to a medicinal use. They say Jesus drank wine during his time on earth, and that one of his miracles was turning water into wine at a marriage feast. The page then turns. While the Bible mentions those positive aspects, it condemns overdrinking and drunkenness. A Christian who chooses to drink would do so only in moderation. The harms they list are impaired judgment, loss of inhibition, poverty and health problems, and God’s displeasure at heavy drinking. They say even someone who does not get drunk can still be weighed down with heavy drinking. The standard they print is not a ban on alcohol. It is a ban on excess, and a permission for moderation. [John 2:1–11](/bible/john/2) [(4)](#ref-4) is the feast at Cana. The King James says the ruler of the feast tasted the water that was made wine. [1 Timothy 5:23](/bible/1-timothy/5/23) [(5)](#ref-5) tells Timothy to use a little wine for his stomach’s sake. [Ephesians 5:18](/bible/ephesians/5/18) [(3)](#ref-3) forbids drunkenness. Those are the kinds of texts their page is using. Jesus is God. [John 1:1](/bible/john/1/1) [(6)](#ref-6) says the Word was God. The Cana sign is his work, not a license to drink without the limit the same Bible states. ## Beer, Parties, and Hard Liquor The page says “alcohol” and “wine.” It does not print a separate rule for beer, and it does not say hard liquor is forbidden while beer is allowed. The permission is moderation. The condemnation is overdrinking and drunkenness. A drink that intoxicates falls under that warning whether the page names the bottle. The page does not mention parties, bars, or a holiday exception. Jehovah’s Witnesses do not keep Christmas or Easter. The observance they do keep is the Memorial of Jesus’ death. [Do Jehovah’s Witnesses Celebrate Birthdays and Christmas?](/jehovahs-witnesses/do-jehovahs-witnesses-celebrate-birthdays-and-christmas) quotes those pages. This alcohol page does not tie drinking to a feast they reject, and it does not forbid a meal because other people are present. The line it does draw is harm, stumbling another person, the law, and loss of control. ## When They Say Not to Drink at All The same page lists complete abstinence in three cases. If others would be stumbled by the drinking, citing Romans 14:21. If drinking violates the law of the land, citing Romans 13:1. If a person cannot control his drinking. Those who suffer from alcoholism, the page says, must be willing to take drastic action, citing Matthew 5:29–30. That is narrower than a rule that every Witness is a teetotaler. It is also narrower than a rule that any amount is fine. Moderation is the ordinary case they allow. Abstinence is the case they require when drinking harms, stumbles, breaks the law, or cannot be controlled. ## What This Page Does Not Re-Decide People who search this question also ask what else is forbidden, which holiday Witnesses keep, and what they teach about marriage. Those answers are already published on this site from their pages. Blood is [Why Don’t Jehovah’s Witnesses Take Blood?](/jehovahs-witnesses/why-dont-jehovahs-witnesses-take-blood). Birthdays, Christmas, Easter, and the Memorial are [Do Jehovah’s Witnesses Celebrate Birthdays and Christmas?](/jehovahs-witnesses/do-jehovahs-witnesses-celebrate-birthdays-and-christmas). Their beliefs page says marriage is the union of one man and one woman. [What Do Jehovah’s Witnesses Believe?](/jehovahs-witnesses/what-do-jehovahs-witnesses-believe) The heaven they assign to 144,000 is [Who Are the 144,000?](/jehovahs-witnesses/who-are-the-144000). The beliefs summary does not name an unforgivable sin. [What Is Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit?](/christianity/what-is-blasphemy-against-the-holy-spirit) quotes Matthew 12:31. The alcohol page does not say which U.S. state has the most Jehovah’s Witnesses, and this page does not invent a count. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Can Jehovah’s Witnesses Drink Beer? Their page permits alcohol in moderation and condemns drunkenness. It does not exempt beer or single out beer. Beer is alcohol under the rule they state. ### Are Jehovah’s Witnesses Allowed to Party? The alcohol page does not mention parties. It forbids drinking that impairs judgment, stumbles someone else, breaks the law, or cannot be stopped. Holiday parties that are Christmas or birthday celebrations are a different rule, quoted on the holidays page. ### What Does the Bible Say About Drinking? [Ephesians 5:18](/bible/ephesians/5/18) [(3)](#ref-3) forbids drunkenness. [Proverbs 23:20–21](/bible/proverbs/23) [(2)](#ref-2) warns against being among winebibbers and against coming to poverty. [John 2](/bible/john/2) [(4)](#ref-4) records Jesus making wine at Cana. Their page holds those lines together as permission with a limit. The King James texts are the ones linked here. ## Passages Quoted on This Page ### Ephesians 5:18 King James Version. > And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; ### Proverbs 23:20 King James Version. > Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh: ### John 2:1–11 King James Version. > [2:1] And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: [2:2] And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage. [2:3] And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. [2:4] Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come. [2:5] His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. [2:6] And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece. [2:7] Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. [2:8] And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it. [2:9] When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom, [2:10] And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now. [2:11] This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him. ### 1 Timothy 5:23 King James Version. > Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities. ### John 1:1 King James Version. > In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ### Proverbs 23:20–21 King James Version. > [23:20] Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh: [23:21] For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags. ## Sources Numbered to match the HTML References list. Item 1 is `#ref-1` under `#references`. Scripture links to the King James Version on this site. 1. [What Does the Bible Say About Alcohol?](https://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/questions/is-drinking-a-sin/) (Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. Drinking in moderation is not a sin. Drunkenness is condemned.) 2. [Book of Proverbs, 23:20–21](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/proverbs/23). King James Version 3. [Letter to the Ephesians, 5:18](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/ephesians/5/18). King James Version 4. [Gospel of John, 2:1–11](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/2). King James Version 5. [First Letter to Timothy, 5:23](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/1-timothy/5/23). King James Version 6. [Gospel of John, 1:1](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/1/1). King James Version ## See Also - [Are Jehovah’s Witnesses Christians?](https://apologetics.wiki/jehovahs-witnesses/are-jehovahs-witnesses-christians) — Jehovah’s Witnesses say yes: they follow Jesus, baptize in his name, and pray in his name. They also say he is not Almighty God and not part of a Trinity. The Nicene confession is that Jesus is God. - [Do Jehovah’s Witnesses Celebrate Birthdays and Christmas?](https://apologetics.wiki/jehovahs-witnesses/do-jehovahs-witnesses-celebrate-birthdays-and-christmas) — No. Jehovah’s Witnesses do not celebrate birthdays or Christmas. They say birthday parties have pagan roots and that the only birthday feasts in the Bible end in death, and they keep the Memorial of Jesus’ death instead. - [Does “Jehovah” Belong in the New Testament?](https://apologetics.wiki/jehovahs-witnesses/does-jehovah-belong-in-the-new-testament) — The New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible) uses the name Jehovah 237 times in the New Testament. The Study Edition’s note on Acts 7:60 says the Greek manuscripts read “Lord.” - [Has the New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible) Been Changed to Fit Doctrine?](https://apologetics.wiki/jehovahs-witnesses/has-the-new-world-translation-been-changed) — John 1:1, John 8:58, Colossians 1, Luke 23:43, Hebrews 1:6, and Philippians 2:9 in the Greek, the King James Version, and the New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible). - [How Do You Read Watchtower Language?](https://apologetics.wiki/jehovahs-witnesses/how-do-you-read-watchtower-language) — Hedged sentences in Insight, the 1920 Millions booklet, the 1975 articles, and later Watchtower explanations, and the question each one leaves: which verse says that directly?