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,

5 lest they drink and forget what has been decreed,

and deprive all the oppressed of their rights.

1 The words of King Lemuel. An oracle that his mother taught him:

2 What are you doing, my son? What are you doing, son of my womb?

What are you doing, 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 take strong drink,

5 lest they drink and forget what has been decreed

and pervert the rights of all the afflicted.

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.

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.

5 For if they drink, they may forget the law

and not give justice to the oppressed.

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.

5 If they drink, they might forget the law

and keep the needy from getting their rights.

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?

5 Lest they drink, and forget the law,

And pervert the justice due to any that is afflicted.

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? 5 —lest they drink and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the children of affliction.

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. 

5 Otherwise, they drink and forget what they have decreed 

and change the standard of justice for all oppressed people. 

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.

5 Otherwise, they will drink,

forget what is decreed,

and pervert justice for all the oppressed.

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;

5 or else they will drink and forget what has been decreed,

and will pervert the rights of all the afflicted.

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.

5 Or else he will drink and forget what has been decreed,

and he will pervert the rights of all the afflicted.

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.

5 If they do, they might drink and forget what the law commands.

They might take away the rights of all those who are beaten down.

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,

5 For they will drink and forget what is decreed,

And pervert the rights of all the afflicted.