31:4–7
In this paragraph, Lemuel’s mother advises him about the harm that results when a king or ruler craves alcoholic beverages (31:4–5). She also advises him about the appropriate use of such beverages (31:6–7).
31:4
Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:
4a It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine,
4b
or for rulers to crave strong drink,
31:4a
It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine: This line means that kings should not drink wine. In Hebrew, the repetition of the phrase not for kings adds emphasis to the advice. In some languages, it may be effective to keep the repetition. For example:
It is not right for kings, O Lemuel. It is not right when kings drink wine.
-or-
What is not right for kings, O Lemuel?….
In other languages, it may be more natural to emphasize the advice in other ways. For example:
Kings should not drink wine, Lemuel (New Century Version)
-or-
Listen to me, ⌊my son⌋ Lemuel. Be careful not to drink wine.
By itself, this line seems to advise kings to avoid drinking any wine. But in context with the parallel line and with 31:5, it probably implies that kings should avoid drinking too much. Some versions make this explicit. For example:
It is not for kings, O Lemuel, to guzzle wine (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
Take care, ⌊my son⌋ , O Lemuel. Kings should not drink ⌊too much⌋ wine (The Voice)
wine: The word wine refers specifically to an alcoholic drink made from grape juice. See how you translated this word in 9:2.
31:4b
or for rulers to crave strong drink: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as rulers is a general term that refers to government leaders.
The phrase strong drink refers to other alcoholic drinks. These include beer made from barley and wine made from dates, figs, or pomegranates. Together the words “wine” and strong drink refer to any kind of intoxicating drink made from grain or fruit. See how you translated these two words in 20:1. Some other ways to translate this line are:
and rulers should not desire beer (New Century Version)
-or-
Or for rulers to desire intoxicating drink (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
or for those who govern to crave strong liquor (Revised English Bible)
General Comment on 31:4a–b
In some languages, it may be more natural to combine and/or reorder the parallel parts in these lines. For example:
Kings and leaders should not get drunk or even want to drink. (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
Listen, Lemuel. Kings should not drink wine or have a craving for alcohol. (Good News Translation)
© 2012, 2016, 2020 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.