The Sayings for King Lemuel
Proverbs 31:4
In 10 translations
- BSB
- It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to crave strong drink,
- KJV
- It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink:
- WEB
- It is not for kings, Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, nor for princes to say, ‘Where is strong drink?’
- ASV
- It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; Nor for princes to say, Where is strong drink?
- LSV
- [It is] not for kings, O Lemuel, || Not for kings, to drink wine, || And for princes—a desire of strong drink.
- YLT
- Not for kings, O Lemuel, Not for kings, to drink wine, And for princes a desire of strong drink.
- DBY
- It is not for kings, Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, nor for rulers [to say], Where is the strong drink?
- DRC
- Give not to kings, O Lamuel, give not wine to kings: because there is no secret where drunkenness reigneth:
- GNV
- It is not for Kings, O Lemuel, it is not for Kings to drink wine nor for princes strog drinke,
- JPS
- It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine: nor for princes to say: 'Where is strong drink?'
Word by word Hebrew · tap a word
Words in brackets are English the glossers added; the Hebrew has no word for them, and they can carry a choice of tense or meaning.
Where the editions differ
Editions are published forms of the Hebrew and Greek texts. Meet the editions and sources →
- Written (Ketiv): אוֹ (“or”). Read aloud (Qere): אֵ֣י (“where”) — the form shown in the word-by-word reader.
Spelling, punctuation and minor wording (1)
- Leningrad Codex reads אֵ֣ו; read aloud (Qere) reads אֵ֣י (“where”).
Edition differences: STEP Bible, based on work at Tyndale House Cambridge (CC BY 4.0). Names and codes expanded; consecutive words grouped. Comparisons follow the editions used by the source; see version details.
Original-language editions
- WLC
- אַ֤ל לַֽמְלָכִ֨ים ׀ לְֽמוֹאֵ֗ל אַ֣ל לַֽמְלָכִ֣ים שְׁתוֹ־יָ֑יִן וּ֝לְרוֹזְנִ֗ים או שֵׁכָֽר׃Read aloud as (qere): אֵ֣י
Who and where
People, places and events the Theographic dataset links to this verse.
In the reference works topics that cite this verse
From public-domain Bible dictionaries and topical indexes (1884–1915).
Cross-references most cited first
- Proverbs 20:1Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is led astray by them is not wise.
- Ecclesiastes 10:17Blessed are you, O land whose king is a son of nobles, and whose princes feast at the proper time— for strength and not for drunkenness.
- Isaiah 5:22Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine and champions in mixing beer,
- Hosea 4:11–12Promiscuity, wine, and new wine take away understanding. My people consult their wooden idols, and their divining rods inform them. For a spirit of prostitution leads them astray and they have played the harlot against…
- Habakkuk 2:5and wealth indeed betrays him. He is an arrogant man never at rest. He enlarges his appetite like Sheol, and like Death, he is never satisfied. He gathers all the nations to himself and collects all the peoples as his…
- 1 Kings 20:16–20They marched out at noon while Ben-hadad and the 32 kings allied with him were in their tents getting drunk. And the young officers of the district governors marched out first. Now Ben-hadad had sent out scouts, who…
- Hosea 7:3–5They delight the king with their evil, and the princes with their lies. They are all adulterers, like an oven heated by a baker who needs not stoke the fire from the kneading to the rising of the dough. The princes are…
- Daniel 5:2–4Under the influence of the wine, Belshazzar gave orders to bring in the gold and silver vessels that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king could drink from them, along with…
- Isaiah 28:7–8These also stagger from wine and stumble from strong drink: Priests and prophets reel from strong drink and are befuddled by wine. They stumble because of strong drink, muddled in their visions and stumbling in their…
- Mark 6:21–28On Herod’s birthday, her opportunity arose. Herod held a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. When the daughter of Herodias came and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests,…
- Leviticus 10:9–10“You and your sons are not to drink wine or strong drink when you enter the Tent of Meeting, or else you will die; this is a permanent statute for the generations to come. You must distinguish between the holy and the…
- Esther 3:15The couriers left, spurred on by the king’s command, and the edict was issued in the citadel of Susa. Then the king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was in confusion.
- 1 Kings 20:12Ben-hadad received this message while he and the kings were drinking in their tents, and he said to his servants, “Take your positions.” So they stationed themselves against the city.
From the OpenBible.info cross-reference set (votes from readers; not every link is a quotation or allusion).