Proverbs 31:3
Don't waste your strength sleeping with women, those that bring down kings.
Free Bible Version
In The King James Version
Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings.
In Context
2What shall I tell you, my son?—the son I gave birth to, the son given in response to my vows.
4Lemuel, kings shouldn't be drinking wine, rulers shouldn't be drinking alcohol.
Cross References
Deuteronomy 17:17He must not have many wives, so they don't lead him away from following the Lord. He must not have large quantities of silver and gold.
Nehemiah 13:26Wasn't it marriages like these that made King Solomon of Israel sin? There wasn't a king in any nation like him. God loved him, and God made him king over all Israel, but even he was made to sin by foreign women.
Proverbs 7:26For she has brought down and destroyed a lot of men; she's killed so many.
Matthew Henry on Proverbs 31:2-10
Maternal Counsels to King Lemuel. 1 The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him. 2 What, my son? and what, the son of my womb? and what, the son of my vows? 3 Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings. 4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink: 5 Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted. 6 Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto… Read the whole commentary →