Parallel Verses
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,
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:
Lexham Expanded Bible
[It is] not for the kings, O Lemuel; drinking wine [is] not for the kings, nor [is] strong drink for rulers.
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,
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 women, nor your ways to that which destroys kings. 4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for princes to take strong drink, 5 lest they drink, and forget the decree, and pervert the justice due to anyone who is afflicted.
Phrases
Cross References
Ecclesiastes 10:17
Blessed are you, land, when your king is the son of nobles, and your princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness.
Proverbs 20:1
Wine is a mocker, and beer is a brawler. Whoever is led astray by them is not wise.
Isaiah 5:22
Woe to those who are mighty to drink wine, and champions at mixing strong drink;
Leviticus 10:9-10
"Drink no wine nor strong drink, you, nor your sons with you, when you go into the Tent of Meeting, that you do not die: it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations:
1 Kings 20:12
It happened, when Ben Hadad heard this message, as he was drinking, he and the kings, in the pavilions, that he said to his servants, "Prepare to attack." They prepared to attack the city.
1 Kings 20:16-20
They went out at noon. But Ben Hadad was drinking himself drunk in the pavilions, he and the kings, the thirty-two kings who helped him.
Esther 3:15
The couriers went forth in haste by the king's commandment, and the decree was given out in the citadel of Susa. The king and Haman sat down to drink; but the city of Shushan was perplexed.
Isaiah 28:7-8
They also reel with wine, and stagger with strong drink. The priest and the prophet reel with strong drink. They are swallowed up by wine. They stagger with strong drink. They err in vision. They stumble in judgment.
Daniel 5:2-4
Belshazzar, while he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines, might drink from them.
Hosea 4:11-12
Prostitution, wine, and new wine take away understanding.
Hosea 7:3-5
They make the king glad with their wickedness, and the princes with their lies.
Habakkuk 2:5
Yes, moreover, wine is treacherous. A haughty man who doesn't stay at home, who enlarges his desire as Sheol, and he is like death, and can't be satisfied, but gathers to himself all nations, and heaps to himself all peoples.
Mark 6:21-28
And then a convenient day came, that Herod on his birthday gave a supper for his nobles, the high officers, and the chief men of Galilee.