Verse 4

It is not for kings, Lemuel—it is not for kings to drink wine, nor for rulers to crave strong drink.

Other Translations

Referenced Verses

  • Eccl 10:17 : 17 Blessed are you, O land, whose king is the son of nobles, and whose princes eat at the proper time—for strength and not for drunkenness.
  • Prov 20:1 : 1 Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is led astray by them is not wise.
  • Isa 5:22 : 22 Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine and valiant at mixing strong drink,
  • Isa 28:7-8 : 7 But these also reel with wine and stagger with strong drink; the priest and the prophet reel with strong drink, they are confused by wine, they stagger because of strong drink—they err in vision, they stumble in judgment. 8 All the tables are full of vomit and filth; there is no clean place left.
  • Lev 10:9-9 : 9 'Do not drink wine or strong drink, you or your sons, when you enter the Tent of Meeting, or you will die. This is a permanent statute for all your generations. 10 You are to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean.
  • Hos 4:11-12 : 11 Fornication, wine, and new wine take away the heart and understanding. 12 My people consult their wooden idols, and their staffs provide guidance for them. A spirit of prostitution has led them astray; they have been unfaithful under their God.
  • Hab 2:5 : 5 Indeed, because wine betrays, and an arrogant man is restless, enlarging his appetite like Sheol and never satisfied, he gathers all the nations to himself and collects all peoples as his own.
  • Mark 6:21-28 : 21 Finally, the opportune time came. On his birthday, Herod gave a banquet for his high officials, military commanders, and the leading men of Galilee. 22 When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests. The king said to the girl, 'Ask me for whatever you want, and I will give it to you.' 23 And he promised her with an oath, 'Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom.' 24 She went out and asked her mother, 'What should I ask for?' Her mother answered, 'The head of John the Baptist.' 25 At once the girl hurried in to the king with her request. 'I want you to give me, right now, the head of John the Baptist on a platter,' she said. 26 The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. 27 So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John's head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison, 28 brought back his head on a platter, and presented it to the girl, who gave it to her mother.
  • Hos 7:3-5 : 3 They please the king with their evil and the princes with their lies. 4 They are all adulterers, burning like an oven heated by the baker, who pauses from stirring the dough until it is leavened. 5 On the day of our king, the princes became inflamed with wine, and the king stretched out his hand to mockers.
  • 1 Kgs 20:12 : 12 When Ben-Hadad heard this reply while he and the kings were drinking in their tents, he commanded his officials, 'Prepare to attack,' and they prepared to attack the city.
  • 1 Kgs 20:16-20 : 16 They marched out at noon, while Ben-Hadad and the thirty-two kings allied with him were drinking themselves drunk in their tents. 17 The young men of the provincial leaders went out first, and Ben-Hadad sent scouts who reported to him, 'Men have come out from Samaria.' 18 He said, 'If they have come out for peace, capture them alive; and if they have come out for war, capture them alive.' 19 The young men of the provincial leaders marched out of the city, followed by the army. 20 Each man struck down his opponent, and the Arameans fled with Israel pursuing them. Ben-Hadad, king of Aram, escaped on horseback along with some cavalry.
  • Esth 3:15 : 15 The couriers went out hurriedly by order of the king, and the decree was issued in the citadel of Susa. And while the king and Haman sat down to drink, the city of Susa was in confusion.
  • Dan 5:2-4 : 2 Under the influence of the wine, Belshazzar commanded that the gold and silver vessels his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem be brought in, so that the king, his nobles, his wives, and his concubines could drink from them. 3 So the gold vessels taken from the temple of God in Jerusalem were brought in, and the king, his nobles, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. 4 They drank the wine and praised the gods of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.