Amplified Bible
Proverbs 31:3
3Do not give your [generative] strength to women [neither foreign wives in marriages of alliances, nor concubines], Nor your ways to that which destroys kings.
Proverbs 31:3 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings.
- New International Version (NIV)Do not spend your strength on women, your vigor on those who ruin kings.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Do not give your strength to women, your ways to those who destroy kings.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Do not give your strength to women, Nor your ways to that which destroys kings.
Context of Proverbs 31:3
1The words of King Lemuel, the oracle, which his mother taught him: 2What, O my son? And what, O son of my womb? And what [shall I advise you], O son of my vows? Do not give your [generative] strength to women [neither foreign wives in marriages of alliances, nor concubines], Nor your ways to that which destroys kings. 4It is not for kings, O Lemuel, It is not for kings to drink wine, Or for rulers to desire strong drink, 5Otherwise they drink and forget the law and its decrees, And pervert the rights and justice of all the afflicted.
Read all of Proverbs 31Proverbs 31:3 word by word
אַל־תִּתֵּ֣ן לַנָּשִׁ֣ים חֵילֶ֑ךָ וּ֝דְרָכֶ֗יךָ לַֽמְח֥וֹת מְלָכִֽין׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Proverbs 31:3
- Proverbs 5:9Or you will give your honor to others, And your years to the cruel one,
- Proverbs 7:26For she has cast down many [mortally] wounded; Indeed, all who were killed by her were strong.
- Hosea 4:11Prostitution, wine, and new wine take away the mind and the [spiritual] understanding.
- Deuteronomy 17:17He shall not acquire multiple wives for himself, or else his heart will turn away [from God]; nor [for the same reason] shall he acquire great amounts of silver and gold.
- Nehemiah 13:26Did not Solomon king of Israel sin [greatly against God] regarding these things? Yet among the many nations there was no king like him. He was loved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel; nevertheless the foreign women caused even him to sin [by turning to other gods and so, judged by God, he lost his kingdom].
Commentaries on Proverbs 31:3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3Give not thy strength - Do not waste thy substance on women. In such intercourse the strength of body, soul and substance is destroyed. Such connections are those which destroy kings, מלכין melachin, the Chaldee termination instead of the Hebrew.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3To that which destroyeth - The temptations of the harem were then, as now, the curse of all Eastern kingdoms.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2-3The advice to avoid wasting energy on desire for women repeats earlier warnings (Proverbs 5; 6:20–35; 7:1–27).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 3-93-9. Succinct but solemn warnings against vices to which kings are peculiarly tempted, as carnal pleasures and oppressive and unrighteous government are used to sustain sensual indulgence. strength--mental and bodily resources for health and comfort. thy ways--or course of life. to that ... kings--literally, "to the destroying of kings," avoid destructive pleasures (compare Pr 5:9; 7:22, 27; Ho 4:11).Read the comment
Topics related to Proverbs 31:3
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Proverbs 31
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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