Isaiah 22:13 Meaning and Explanation
“And behold joy and gladness, slaying oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh, and drinking wine: let us eat and drink; for to morrow we shall die.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Trouble can uncover what we believe will finally save us. Isaiah 22:13 records a memorable saying, yet its meaning depends on the setting: it is the voice of a city refusing the Lord's call. The verse asks whether awareness of life's brevity leads us toward God, honest sorrow, and mercy, or toward a hurried attempt to silence fear with pleasure.
Isaiah exposes Jerusalem's response to a day when the Lord called for mourning. Instead of turning to God, the people made feasting their answer to danger and treated death as a reason to live without repentance.
The Context of Isaiah 22:13
Isaiah calls Jerusalem "the valley of vision" and laments its coming distress. Enemies gather, defenses are exposed, and the inhabitants inspect walls, weapons, houses, and water supplies. Such preparations have a real place in a threatened city, yet verse 11 says they did not look to the One who made and fashioned them. In verse 12, the Lord GOD of hosts calls the people to weeping, mourning, baldness, and sackcloth, public signs of grief and repentance. Verse 13 presents their contrary response. Verse 14 then declares that this iniquity will not be purged from them till they die.
What Does Isaiah 22:13 Mean?
"And behold" draws attention to a grievous sight. In the very season when God calls for mourning, there is "joy and gladness." The list is deliberately concrete: oxen and sheep are slaughtered, flesh is eaten, and wine is drunk. Meals and sacrificial animals were not evil in themselves; throughout Scripture, God gives food and appointed offerings. Their fault lies in the response expressed by their words: "let us eat and drink; for to morrow we shall die." They face death without seeking the Lord. The sentence makes present appetite the ruling answer to approaching judgment, as though death ended every call to account and removed every reason to grieve over sin.
The chapter contrasts energetic civic action with regard for God. Jerusalem sees breaches in the wall, gathers water, counts houses, and strengthens defenses. Isaiah does not deny the seriousness of the threat, yet he says the people failed to look to their Maker. Their feast therefore belongs to the same spiritual blindness. God had called them to mourning, a response that would acknowledge their need before him. They answered with a fatalistic celebration. The following verse shows why Isaiah treats this so seriously: this settled refusal of God's call is iniquity, not simply poor judgment during a crisis. It hardens a people against the mercy and correction for which grief and repentance make room.
Paul later uses the words "let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die" while arguing for the reality of resurrection. In Isaiah, the saying voices surrender to death and indifference toward God's summons. In 1 Corinthians, Paul rejects life built on that conclusion because Christ's resurrection changes what death means and establishes the hope of those who belong to him. The connection is strong because Paul deliberately echoes Isaiah's wording. Christ does not make bodily life, shared meals, or gladness contemptible. He gives a future before God that calls us away from despairing self-indulgence and toward steadfast, meaningful service in the present.
Bible Verses Related to Isaiah 22:13
“Ye made also a ditch between the two walls for the water of the old pool: but ye have not looked unto the maker thereof, neither had respect unto him that fashioned it long ago.”
- Isaiah 22:11
“And in that day did the Lord GOD of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth:”
- Isaiah 22:12
“If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die.”
- 1 Corinthians 15:32
“Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.”
- Ecclesiastes 11:9
Where Isaiah 22:13 Echoes in Scripture
1 Corinthians 15:32 deliberately echoes Isaiah 22:13 in its wording about eating, drinking, and dying tomorrow. Paul places the saying within his argument that Christ has risen and that resurrection is real. The echo preserves Isaiah's warning: when death is treated as the final horizon, people may give themselves to a life emptied of accountable hope. Paul's answer rests on the resurrection, not on denial of death's seriousness.
How to Apply Isaiah 22:13 Today
When pressure rises, we can plan wisely while also asking whether our hearts are looking to God. This verse invites honest examination of the comforts we reach for when fear, loss, or uncertainty comes near. A meal with gratitude, celebration with loved ones, and practical preparation can be received as goods from God. Yet they cannot carry the work of repentance, prayer, reconciliation, or grief. We may bring our trouble before the Lord, name what is wrong without excuse, and seek a life shaped by the hope he gives rather than by the thought that tomorrow is all we have.
Reflection & Prayer
Where might fear of loss be tempting us to avoid honest sorrow before God or to seek quick distraction? We might pray: "Lord GOD of hosts, teach us to number our days before thee. Give us hearts that receive thy correction, turn from sin, and live with the hope thou hast provided."