Verse (Click for Chapter) New International Version It is not for kings, Lemuel— it is not for kings to drink wine, not for rulers to crave beer, New Living Translation It is not for kings, O Lemuel, to guzzle wine. Rulers should not crave alcohol. English Standard Version It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to take strong drink, Berean Standard Bible It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to crave strong drink, King James Bible It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink: New King James Version It is not for kings, O Lemuel, It is not for kings to drink wine, Nor for princes intoxicating drink; New American Standard Bible It is not for kings, Lemuel, It is not for kings to drink wine, Or for rulers to desire intoxicating drink, NASB 1995 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, It is not for kings to drink wine, Or for rulers to desire strong drink, NASB 1977 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, It is not for kings to drink wine, Or for rulers to desire strong drink, Legacy Standard Bible It is not for kings, O Lemuel, It is not for kings to drink wine, Or for rulers to desire strong drink, Amplified Bible It is not for kings, O Lemuel, It is not for kings to drink wine, Or for rulers to desire strong drink, Christian Standard Bible It is not for kings, Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine or for rulers to desire beer. Holman Christian Standard Bible It is not for kings, Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine or for rulers to desire beer. American Standard Version It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; Nor for princes to say, Where is strong drink? Aramaic Bible in Plain English Beware of Kings, Moayl, of Kings that drink wine, and of Rulers that drink strong drink Brenton Septuagint Translation Princes are prone to anger: let them then not drink wine: Contemporary English Version Kings and leaders should not get drunk or even want to drink. Douay-Rheims Bible Give not to kings, O Lamuel, give not wine to kings: because there is no secret where drunkenness reigneth: English Revised Version It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes to say, Where is strong drink? GOD'S WORD® Translation "It is not for kings, Lemuel. It is not for kings to drink wine or for rulers to crave liquor. Good News Translation Listen, Lemuel. Kings should not drink wine or have a craving for alcohol. International Standard Version It is not for kings, Lemuel— Not for kings to drink wine or for rulers to desire liquor. JPS Tanakh 1917 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine: Nor for princes to say: 'Where is strong drink?' Literal Standard Version [It is] not for kings, O Lemuel, | Not for kings, to drink wine, | And for princes—a desire of strong drink. Majority Standard Bible It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to crave strong drink, New American Bible It is not for kings, Lemuel, not for kings to drink wine; strong drink is not for princes, NET Bible It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to crave strong drink, New Revised Standard Version It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to desire strong drink; New Heart English Bible It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for princes to take strong drink, Webster's Bible Translation It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink: World English Bible It is not for kings, Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, nor for princes to say, ‘Where is strong drink?’ Young's Literal Translation Not for kings, O Lemuel, Not for kings, to drink wine, And for princes a desire of strong drink. Additional Translations ... Audio Bible Context The Words of King Lemuel…3Do not spend your strength on women or your vigor on those who ruin kings. 4It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to crave strong drink, 5lest they drink and forget what is decreed, depriving all the oppressed of justice.… Cross References 1 Kings 20:12 Ben-hadad received this message while he and the kings were drinking in their tents, and he said to his servants, "Take your positions." So they stationed themselves against the city. Proverbs 20:1 Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is led astray by them is not wise. Ecclesiastes 10:17 Blessed are you, O land whose king is a son of nobles, and whose princes feast at the proper time--for strength and not for drunkenness. Isaiah 5:22 Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine and champions in mixing beer, Hosea 4:11 Promiscuity, wine, and new wine take away understanding. Treasury of Scripture It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink: Leviticus 10:9,10 Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations: … 1 Kings 20:12,16-20 And it came to pass, when Benhadad heard this message, as he was drinking, he and the kings in the pavilions, that he said unto his servants, Set yourselves in array. And they set themselves in array against the city… Esther 3:15 The posts went out, being hastened by the king's commandment, and the decree was given in Shushan the palace. And the king and Haman sat down to drink; but the city Shushan was perplexed. Jump to Previous Beer Crave Desire Drink Kings Lemuel Princes Rulers Strong WineJump to Next Beer Crave Desire Drink Kings Lemuel Princes Rulers Strong WineProverbs 31 1. Lemuel's lesson of chastity and temperance6. The afflicted are to be comforted and defended 10. The praise and properties of a good wife (4) It is not for kings to drink wine.--Another of the temptations of kings. (Comp. 1Kings 16:9; 1Kings 20:16; Ecclesiastes 10:17.) Perversion of justice as the result of revelry is also noted by Isaiah (Isaiah 5:22-23). Comp. St. Paul's advice to "use this world so as not abusing," or rather "using it to the full" (1Corinthians 7:31)Verses 4-7. - The second admonition. A warning against inebriety, and concerning a proper use of strong drink. Verse 4. - It is not for kings; or, as others read, far be it from kings. The injunction is repeated to indicate its vast importance. Nor for princes strong drink; literally, nor for princes (the word), Where is strong drink? (see on Proverbs 20:1; and comp. Job 15:23). The evils of intemperance, flagrant enough in the case of a private person, are greatly enhanced in the case of a king, whose misdeeds may affect a whole community, as the next verse intimates. St. Jerome reads differently, translating, "Because there is no secret where drunkenness reigns." This is in accordance with the proverb, "When wine goes in the secret comes out;" and, "Where drink enters, wisdom departs;" and again, "Quod latet in mente sobrii, hoc natat in ore ebrii." Septuagint, "The powerful are irascible, but let them not drink wine." "Drunkenness," says Jeremy Taylor ('Holy Living,' ch. 3, § 2), "opens all the sanctuaries of nature, and discovers the nakedness of the soul, all its weaknesses and follies; it multiplies sins and discovers them; it makes a man incapable of being a private friend or a public counsellor. It taketh a man's soul into slavery and imprisonment more than any vice whatsoever, because it disarms a man of all his reason and his wisdom, whereby he might be cured, and, therefore, commonly it grows upon him with age; a drunkard being still more a fool and less a man." Parallel Commentaries ... Hebrew It is notאַ֤ל (’al) Adverb Strong's 408: Not for kings, לַֽמְלָכִ֨ים ׀ (lam·lā·ḵîm) Preposition-l, Article | Noun - masculine plural Strong's 4428: A king O Lemuel, לְֽמוֹאֵ֗ל (lə·mō·w·’êl) Noun - proper - masculine singular Strong's 3927: Lemuel -- king of Massa it is not אַ֣ל (’al) Adverb Strong's 408: Not for kings לַֽמְלָכִ֣ים (lam·lā·ḵîm) Preposition-l, Article | Noun - masculine plural Strong's 4428: A king to drink שְׁתוֹ־ (šə·ṯōw-) Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct Strong's 8354: To imbibe wine, יָ֑יִן (yā·yin) Noun - masculine singular Strong's 3196: Wine, intoxication or for rulers וּ֝לְרוֹזְנִ֗ים (ū·lə·rō·wz·nîm) Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural Strong's 7336: To be weighty, judicious or commanding [to crave] אֵ֣י (’ê) Interrogative Strong's 176: Desire, if strong drink, שֵׁכָֽר׃ (šê·ḵār) Noun - masculine singular Strong's 7941: An intoxicant, intensely alcoholic liquor Links Proverbs 31:4 NIVProverbs 31:4 NLT Proverbs 31:4 ESV Proverbs 31:4 NASB Proverbs 31:4 KJV Proverbs 31:4 BibleApps.com Proverbs 31:4 Biblia Paralela Proverbs 31:4 Chinese Bible Proverbs 31:4 French Bible Proverbs 31:4 Catholic Bible OT Poetry: Proverbs 31:4 It is not for kings Lemuel (Prov. 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