Proverbs 31:4

Lemuel, kings should not be constantly drinking wine or greatly desire to drink other strong/alcoholic drinks.

Translation for Translators

In The King James Version

It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink:

In Context

3Do not exhaust your energy having sex [EUP] with women to whom you are not married, with women who ruin kings by having sex with them.

5If they do that, they forget the laws that they have made, and they do not do what is right for poor/afflicted people.

Read all of Proverbs 31

Cross References

Leviticus 10:9“You and your two sons who are still alive must not drink wine or other fermented drinks before you enter the Sacred Tent; if you do that, you will die. That is a command that you and your descendants must obey forever.

1 Kings 20:12Ben-Hadad heard that message while he and the other rulers were drinking wine in their temporary shelters. He told his men to prepare to attack [MTY] the city. So his men did that.

Esther 1:10On the last/seventh day of those banquets, when King Xerxes was partially drunk from drinking wine, he summoned seven of his personal servants. They were Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas.

Proverbs 20:1Drinking a lot of wine or other strong drinks causes people to start fighting; it is foolish to become drunk/intoxicated.

Ecclesiastes 10:17But a nation will prosper if its ruler is from a ◄noble/well-educated► family, and if its other leaders feast only at the proper times, and if they eat and drink only to be strong, not to become drunk.

Isaiah 28:7But now, our leaders stagger/stumble because they have drunk a lot of wine and other alcoholic drinks. The priests and prophets also stagger because of drinking a lot of wine and other alcoholic drinks. They are not able to think right; they see visions but they cannot understand what they mean; they are unable to decide things correctly.

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 →

This Verse In Other Editions

Study Proverbs 31:4