Proverbs 31:4
It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink:
Updated King James Version
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
3Give not your strength unto women, nor your ways to that which destroys kings.
5Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.
Cross References
Leviticus 10:9Do not drink wine nor strong drink, you, nor your sons with you, when all of you go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest all of you die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations:
1 Kings 20:12And it came to pass, when Ben-hadad heard this message, as he was drinking, he and the kings in the pavilions, that he said unto his servants, Set yourselves in array. And they set themselves in array against the city.
Esther 1:10On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven chamberlains that served in the presence of Ahasuerus the king,
Proverbs 20:1Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.
Ecclesiastes 10:17Blessed are you, O land, when your king is the son of nobles, and your princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness!
Isaiah 28:7But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they go astray in vision, they stumble in judgment.
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 →