Thematic Bible




Thematic Bible



It is not for kings, Lemuel,
it is not for kings to drink wine
or for rulers to desire beer.



It is not for kings, Lemuel,
it is not for kings to drink wine
or for rulers to desire beer.


The Lord spoke to Aaron: "You and your sons are not to drink wine or beer when you enter the tent of meeting, or else you will die; this is a permanent statute throughout your generations. You must distinguish between the holy and the common, and the clean and the unclean,

he is to abstain from wine and beer. He must not drink vinegar made from wine or from beer. He must not drink any grape juice or eat fresh grapes or raisins. He is not to eat anything produced by the grapevine, from seeds to skin, during his vow.

The Angel of the Lord answered Manoah, "Your wife needs to do everything I told her. She must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine or drink wine or other alcoholic beverages. And she must not eat anything unclean. Your wife must do everything I have commanded her."

and no restraint was placed on the drinking. The king had ordered every wine steward in his household to serve as much as each person wanted.


Don't gaze at wine when it is red, when it gleams in the cup and goes down smoothly. In the end it bites like a snake and stings like a viper.

But they replied, "We do not drink wine, for Jonadab, son of our ancestor Rechab, commanded: 'You and your sons must never drink wine. You must not build a house or sow seed or plant a vineyard. [Those things] are not for you. Rather, you must live in tents your whole life, so you may live a long time on the soil where you stay as a resident alien.' We have obeyed the voice of Jonadab, son of our ancestor Rechab, in all he commanded us. So we haven't drunk wine our whole life-we, our wives, our sons, and our daughters.

“The words of Jonadab, son of Rechab, have been carried out. He commanded his sons not to drink wine, and they have not drunk to this very day because they have obeyed their ancestor’s command. But I have spoken to you time and time again, and you have not obeyed Me!


It is not for kings, Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine or for rulers [to desire] beer. Otherwise, they will drink, forget what is decreed, and pervert justice for all the oppressed. Give beer to one who is dying, and wine to one whose life is bitter. read more.
Let him drink so that he can forget his poverty and remember his trouble no more.

This saying is trustworthy: "If anyone aspires to be an overseer, he desires a noble work." An overseer, therefore, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, self-controlled, sensible, respectable, hospitable, an able teacher, not addicted to wine, not a bully but gentle, not quarrelsome, not greedy- read more.
one who manages his own household competently, having his children under control with all dignity. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of God's church?) He must not be a new convert, or he might become conceited and fall into the condemnation of the Devil. Furthermore, he must have a good reputation among outsiders, so that he does not fall into disgrace and the Devil's trap. Deacons, likewise, should be worthy of respect, not hypocritical, not drinking a lot of wine, not greedy for money, holding the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. And they must also be tested first; if they prove blameless, then they can serve as deacons. Wives, too, must be worthy of respect, not slanderers, self-controlled, faithful in everything.



A large population is a king’s splendor,
but a shortage of people is a ruler’s devastation.

It is not for kings, Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine or for rulers [to desire] beer. Otherwise, they will drink, forget what is decreed, and pervert justice for all the oppressed. Give beer to one who is dying, and wine to one whose life is bitter. read more.
Let him drink so that he can forget his poverty and remember his trouble no more.

The God of Israel spoke;
the Rock of Israel said to me,
“The one who rules the people with justice,
who rules in the fear of God,

God, You have heard my vows; You have given a heritage to those who fear Your name. Add days to the king's life; may his years span many generations. May he sit enthroned before God forever; appoint faithful love and truth to guard him.

Make and keep your vows to the Lord your God; let all who are around Him bring tribute to the awe-inspiring One. He humbles the spirit of leaders; He is feared by the kings of the earth.

All the kings on earth will give You thanks, Lord, when they hear what You have promised. They will sing of the Lord's ways, for the Lord's glory is great.

Wicked behavior is detestable to kings, since a throne is established through righteousness. Righteous lips are a king's delight, and he loves one who speaks honestly. A king's fury is a messenger of death, but a wise man appeases it. read more.
When a king's face lights up, there is life; his favor is like a cloud with spring rain.

Eloquent words are not appropriate on a fool’s lips;
how much worse are lies for a ruler.

A king sitting on a throne to judge
sifts out all evil with his eyes.

It is the glory of God to conceal a matter and the glory of kings to investigate a matter. As the heaven is high and the earth is deep, so the hearts of kings cannot be investigated. Remove impurities from silver, and a vessel will be produced for a silversmith. read more.
Remove the wicked from the king's presence, and his throne will be established in righteousness.

For the king’s word is authoritative, and who can say to him, “What are you doing?”



Do not deny justice or show partiality to anyone. Do not accept a bribe, for it blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.


An unjust man is detestable to the righteous,
and one whose way is upright
is detestable to the wicked.

It is not for kings, Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine or for rulers [to desire] beer. Otherwise, they will drink, forget what is decreed, and pervert justice for all the oppressed.

I also observed under the sun: there is wickedness at the place of judgment and there is wickedness at the place of righteousness.



It is not for kings, Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine or for rulers [to desire] beer. Otherwise, they will drink, forget what is decreed, and pervert justice for all the oppressed.

"When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, take possession of it, live in it, and say, 'We want to appoint a king over us like all the nations around us,' you are to appoint over you the king the Lord your God chooses. Appoint a king from your brothers. You are not to set a foreigner over you, or one who is not of your people. However, he must not acquire many horses for himself or send the people back to Egypt to acquire many horses, for the Lord has told you, 'You are never to go back that way again.' read more.
He must not acquire many wives for himself so that his heart won't go astray. He must not acquire very large amounts of silver and gold for himself. When he is seated on his royal throne, he is to write a copy of this instruction for himself on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. It is to remain with him, and he is to read from it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, to observe all the words of this instruction, and to do these statutes.

"This is what the Lord God says: If the prince gives a gift to each of his sons as their inheritance, it will belong to his sons. It will become their property by inheritance. But if he gives a gift from his inheritance to one of his servants, it will belong to that servant until the year of freedom, when it will revert to the prince. His inheritance belongs only to his sons; it is theirs. The prince must not take any of the people's inheritance, evicting them from their property. He is to provide an inheritance for his sons from his own property, so that none of My people will be displaced from his own property."


It is not for kings, Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine or for rulers [to desire] beer. Otherwise, they will drink, forget what is decreed, and pervert justice for all the oppressed.


It is not for kings, Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine or for rulers [to desire] beer. Otherwise, they will drink, forget what is decreed, and pervert justice for all the oppressed.


It is not for kings, Lemuel,
it is not for kings to drink wine
or for rulers to desire beer.

The words of King Lemuel,
an oracle that his mother taught him:


It is not for kings, Lemuel,
it is not for kings to drink wine
or for rulers to desire beer.

“Appoint judges and officials for your tribes in all your towns the Lord your God is giving you. They are to judge the people with righteous judgment.


Appoint for yourselves wise, understanding, and respected men from each of your tribes, and I will make them your leaders.

These sayings also belong to the wise:

It is not good to show partiality in judgment.


“So now, let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and set him over the land of Egypt.


It is not for kings, Lemuel,
it is not for kings to drink wine
or for rulers to desire beer.

“Appoint judges and officials for your tribes in all your towns the Lord your God is giving you. They are to judge the people with righteous judgment.


Appoint for yourselves wise, understanding, and respected men from each of your tribes, and I will make them your leaders.

These sayings also belong to the wise:

It is not good to show partiality in judgment.


“So now, let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and set him over the land of Egypt.


It is not for kings, Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine or for rulers [to desire] beer. Otherwise, they will drink, forget what is decreed, and pervert justice for all the oppressed. Give beer to one who is dying, and wine to one whose life is bitter. read more.
Let him drink so that he can forget his poverty and remember his trouble no more.

This saying is trustworthy: "If anyone aspires to be an overseer, he desires a noble work." An overseer, therefore, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, self-controlled, sensible, respectable, hospitable, an able teacher, not addicted to wine, not a bully but gentle, not quarrelsome, not greedy- read more.
one who manages his own household competently, having his children under control with all dignity. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of God's church?) He must not be a new convert, or he might become conceited and fall into the condemnation of the Devil. Furthermore, he must have a good reputation among outsiders, so that he does not fall into disgrace and the Devil's trap. Deacons, likewise, should be worthy of respect, not hypocritical, not drinking a lot of wine, not greedy for money, holding the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. And they must also be tested first; if they prove blameless, then they can serve as deacons. Wives, too, must be worthy of respect, not slanderers, self-controlled, faithful in everything.

But you must speak what is consistent with sound teaching. Older men are to be self-controlled, worthy of respect, sensible, and sound in faith, love, and endurance. In the same way, older women are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not addicted to much wine. [They are] to teach what is good, read more.
so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands and children, to be sensible, pure, good homemakers, and submissive to their husbands, so that God's message will not be slandered. Likewise, encourage the young men to be sensible about everything. Set an example of good works yourself, with integrity and dignity in your teaching. Your message is to be sound beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be ashamed, having nothing bad to say about us. Slaves are to be submissive to their masters in everything, and to be well-pleasing, not talking back or stealing, but demonstrating utter faithfulness, so that they may adorn the teaching of God our Savior in everything. For the grace of God has appeared, with salvation for all people, instructing us to deny godlessness and worldly lusts and to live in a sensible, righteous, and godly way in the present age,


It is not for kings, Lemuel,
it is not for kings to drink wine
or for rulers to desire beer.


It is not for kings, Lemuel,
it is not for kings to drink wine
or for rulers to desire beer.


It is not for kings, Lemuel,
it is not for kings to drink wine
or for rulers to desire beer.

“Appoint judges and officials for your tribes in all your towns the Lord your God is giving you. They are to judge the people with righteous judgment.


Appoint for yourselves wise, understanding, and respected men from each of your tribes, and I will make them your leaders.

These sayings also belong to the wise:

It is not good to show partiality in judgment.


“So now, let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and set him over the land of Egypt.


It is not for kings, Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine or for rulers [to desire] beer. Otherwise, they will drink, forget what is decreed, and pervert justice for all the oppressed.


It is not for kings, Lemuel,
it is not for kings to drink wine
or for rulers to desire beer.