Proverbs 31:1–4
31 The words of King Lemuel. An oracle that his mother taught him:
2 What are you doing, my son?1 What are you doing, fson of my womb?
What are you doing, gson of my vows?
3 Do hnot give your strength to women,
your ways to those iwho destroy kings.
4 jIt is not for kings, O Lemuel,
it is not for kings kto drink wine,
or for rulers to take lstrong drink,
Proverbs 31:1–4 — The New International Version (NIV)
1 The sayings of King Lemuel—an inspired utterance his mother taught him.
2 Listen, my son! Listen, son of my womb!
Listen, my son, the answer to my prayers!
3 Do not spend your strength on women,
your vigor on those who ruin kings.
4 It is not for kings, Lemuel—
it is not for kings to drink wine,
not for rulers to crave beer,
Proverbs 31:1–4 — King James Version (KJV 1900)
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:
Proverbs 31:1–4 — New Living Translation (NLT)
1 The sayings of King Lemuel contain this message, which his mother taught him.
2 O my son, O son of my womb,
O son of my vows,
3 do not waste your strength on women,
on those who ruin kings.
4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, to guzzle wine.
Rulers should not crave alcohol.
Proverbs 31:1–4 — The New King James Version (NKJV)
1 The words of King Lemuel, the utterance which his mother taught him:
2 What, my son?
And what, son of my womb?
And what, son of my vows?
3 Do not give your strength to women,
Nor your ways to that which destroys kings.
4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel,
It is not for kings to drink wine,
Nor for princes intoxicating drink;
Proverbs 31:1–4 — New Century Version (NCV)
1 These are the words of King Lemuel, the message his mother taught him:
2 “My son, I gave birth to you.
You are the son I prayed for.
3 Don’t waste your strength on women
or your time on those who ruin kings.
4 “Kings should not drink wine, Lemuel,
and rulers should not desire beer.
Proverbs 31:1–4 — American Standard Version (ASV)
1 The words of king Lemuel; the oracle which his mother taught him.
2 What, my son? and what, O son of my womb?
And what, O 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 to say, Where is strong drink?
Proverbs 31:1–4 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)
1 The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him: 2 What, my son? and what, O son of my womb? and what, O son of my vows? 3 Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to them that destroy kings. 4 It is not for kings, Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, nor for rulers to say, Where is the strong drink?
Proverbs 31:1–4 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
1 The sayings of King Lemuel, a prophetic revelation,
used by his mother to discipline him.
2 “What, my son?
What, son to whom I gave birth?
What, son of my prayers?
3 Don’t give your strength to women
or your power to those who ruin kings.
4 “It is not for kings, Lemuel.
It is not for kings to drink wine or for rulers to crave liquor.
Proverbs 31:1–4 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
1 The words of King Lemuel,
an oracle that his mother taught him:
2 What should I say, my son?
What, son of my womb?
What, son of my vows?
3 Don’t spend your energy on women
or your efforts on those who destroy kings.
4 It is not for kings, Lemuel,
it is not for kings to drink wine
or for rulers to desire beer.
Proverbs 31:1–4 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
1 The words of King Lemuel. An oracle that his mother taught him:
2 No, my son! No, son of my womb!
No, son of my vows!
3 Do not give your strength to women,
your ways to those who destroy kings.
4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel,
it is not for kings to drink wine,
or for rulers to desire strong drink;
Proverbs 31:1–4 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)
1 The words of Lemuel, the king—an oracle
that his mother taught him:
2 What, my son? And what, my son in my womb?
And what, son of my vows?
3 Do not give your strength to the women,
and your ways to destroy kings.
4 It is not for the kings, O Lemuel;
drinking wine is not for the kings,
nor is strong drink for rulers.
Proverbs 31:1–4 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)
1 These are the sayings of King Lemuel. His mother taught them to him. She spoke them as if they came from God.
2 She said, “My son! My very own son!
The son I prayed for!
3 Don’t waste your strength on women.
Don’t waste it on those who destroy kings.
4 “Lemuel, it isn’t good for kings to drink wine.
It isn’t good for rulers to long for beer.
Proverbs 31:1–4 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)
1 The words of King Lemuel, the oracle which his mother taught him:
2 What, O my son?
And what, O son of my womb?
And what, O son of my vows?
3 Do not give your strength to women,
Or your ways to that which destroys kings.
4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel,
It is not for kings to drink wine,
Or for rulers to desire strong drink,