God’s Word Translation
Proverbs 31:3
3Don’t give your strength to women or your power to those who ruin 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 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? 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. 5Otherwise, they drink and forget what they have decreed and change the standard of justice for all oppressed people.
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 5:9Either you will surrender your reputation to others and ⌞the rest of⌟ your years to some cruel person,
- Proverbs 7:26because she has brought down many victims, and she has killed all too many.
- Hosea 4:11Prostitutes, old wine, and new wine have robbed them of their senses.
- Deuteronomy 17:17The king must never have a large number of wives, or he will turn away ⌞from God⌟. And he must never own a lot of gold and silver.
- Nehemiah 13:26I said, “Wasn’t it because of marriages like these that King Solomon of Israel sinned? There wasn’t a king like him among all nations. God loved him, and God made him king of all Israel. But his non-Israelite wives led him to sin.
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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