Parallel Verses
Lexham Expanded Bible
[It is] not for the kings, O Lemuel; drinking wine [is] not for the kings, nor [is] strong drink for rulers.
New American Standard Bible
It is not for kings to
Or for rulers to desire strong drink,
King James Version
It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink:
Holman Bible
it is not for kings
or for rulers to desire beer.
International Standard Version
It is not for kings, Lemuel Not for kings to drink wine or for rulers to desire liquor.
A Conservative Version
It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, nor for rulers [to say], Where is strong drink?
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?
Amplified
It is not for kings, O Lemuel,
It is not for kings to drink wine,
Or for rulers to desire strong drink,
Bible in Basic English
It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to take wine, or for rulers to say, Where is strong drink?
Darby Translation
It is not for kings, Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, nor for rulers to say, Where is the strong drink?
Julia Smith Translation
Not for kings, O Lemuel, not for kings to drink and for princes the desire of strong drink:
King James 2000
It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink:
Modern King James verseion
It is not for kings, O Lemuel, not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes to lust for strong drink;
Modern Spelling Tyndale-Coverdale
O Lemuel, give kings no wine, give kings and princes no strong drink;
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 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,
The Emphasized Bible
It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, nor, for dignitaries, to desire strong drink,
Webster
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?'
Youngs Literal Translation
Not for kings, O Lemuel, Not for kings, to drink wine, And for princes a desire of strong drink.
Themes
Abstinence » Total abstinence » Strong Drink » Rule for kings
Total abstinence » From intoxicating beverages
Drunkenness » Who should not drink
Government » The kings of the earth
King » Drunkenness of, forbidden
Kings » Specially warned against » Intemperance
Lemuel » Probably refers to solomon
Magistrates » Wisdom and integrity essential to
Rulers' » Wisdom and integrity essential to
Sobriety » Who should be sober
Social duties » Total abstinence from strong drink » Rule for kings
Temperance » Total abstinence » Rule for kings
The Nation » Of israel and judah rulers » Wisdom and integrity essential to
Topics
Interlinear
References
Word Count of 20 Translations in Proverbs 31:4
Verse Info
Context Readings
The Oracle Of King Lemuel
3 Do not give your strength to the women, and your ways to destroy kings. 4 [It is] not for the kings, O Lemuel; drinking wine [is] not for the kings, nor [is] strong drink for rulers. 5 Or else he will drink and forget what has been decreed, and he will pervert the rights of all the {afflicted}.
Phrases
Cross References
Ecclesiastes 10:17
Blessed are you, O land, when your king is a son of nobility and your princes feast at the proper time-- to gain strength and not to get drunk.
Proverbs 20:1
Wine [is] a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and any who go astray by it are not wise.
Isaiah 5:22
Ah! Heroes at drinking wine, and men of capability at mixing strong drink!
Leviticus 10:9-10
"You and your sons with you may not drink wine or strong drink when you come to [the] tent of assembly, so that you will not die--[it is] a lasting statute for your generations--
1 Kings 20:12
It happened at the moment he heard this word, he and the kings [were] drinking in the {tents}. He said to his servants, "Get ready [to attack]." So they got ready [to attack] the city.
1 Kings 20:16-20
They went out at noon while Ben-Hadad [was] drinking [himself] drunk in the tents, he and the thirty-two kings helping him.
Esther 3:15
The couriers went out quickly by order of the king, and the law was issued in the citadel of Susa. The king and Haman sat down to drink; and the city of Susa was bewildered.
Isaiah 28:7-8
And these also stagger because of wine and stagger because of strong drink; priest and prophet stagger because of strong drink; they are confused because of wine. They stagger because of strong drink; they err in vision. They stagger [in the] rendering of a decision,
Daniel 5:2-4
{When he tasted the wine}, Belshazzar commanded [that they] bring [the] vessels of gold and silver that Nebuchadnezzar his {predecessor} had taken from the temple that [was] in Jerusalem, so that the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines may drink from them.
Hosea 4:11-12
whoredom}. Wine and new wine {take away the understanding}.
Hosea 7:3-5
By their wickedness they make [the] king glad, and [the] officials by their treacheries.
Habakkuk 2:5
{How much less} the defiant; [the] arrogant, treacherous man? He who broadens his throat like Sheol, and who, like death, is not satisfied, and who gathers to himself all the nations, and harvested for himself all the peoples, will not succeed.
Mark 6:21-28
And a suitable day came when Herod, on his birthday, gave a banquet for his courtiers and military tribunes and the most prominent [men] of Galilee.