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Monday, July 7th, 2025
the Week of Proper 9 / Ordinary 14
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Complete Jewish Bible

Proverbs 31:5

For they may drink, then forget what has been decreed, and pervert the justice due to the poor.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Drunkenness;   Injustice;   King;   Rulers;   Wine;   Thompson Chain Reference - Injustice;   Justice-Injustice;   Woman;   The Topic Concordance - Drunkenness;   Government;   Sobriety;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Afflicted, Duty toward the;   Injustice;   Kings;   Wine;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Lemuel;   Proverb, the Book of;   Wine;   Woman;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Grapes;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Lemuel;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Agur;   Lemuel;   Proverbs, the Book of;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Lemuel;   Proverbs, Book of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Acrostic;   Ethics;   Lemuel;   Marriage;   Massa;   Proverbs, Book of;   Song of Songs;   Trade and Commerce;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Lemuel ;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Lem'uel;   Wine;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Drink, Strong;   Drunkenness;   Lemuel;   Proverbs, Book of;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Otherwise, he will drink,forget what is decreed,and pervert justice for all the oppressed.
Hebrew Names Version
Lest they drink, and forget the law, And pervert the justice due to anyone who is afflicted.
King James Version
Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.
English Standard Version
lest they drink and forget what has been decreed and pervert the rights of all the afflicted.
New American Standard Bible
Otherwise they will drink and forget what is decreed, And pervert the rights of all the needy.
New Century Version
If they drink, they might forget the law and keep the needy from getting their rights.
Amplified Bible
Otherwise they drink and forget the law and its decrees, And pervert the rights and justice of all the afflicted.
World English Bible
Lest they drink, and forget the law, And pervert the justice due to anyone who is afflicted.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Lest he drinke and forget the decree, and change the iudgement of all the children of affliction.
Legacy Standard Bible
Lest he drink and forget what is decreed,And pervert the justice of all the afflicted.
Berean Standard Bible
lest they drink and forget what is decreed, and deprive all the oppressed of justice.
Contemporary English Version
Drinking makes you forget your responsibilities, and you mistreat the poor.
Darby Translation
—lest they drink and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the children of affliction.
Easy-to-Read Version
They may drink too much and forget what the law says. Then they might take away the rights of the poor.
George Lamsa Translation
Lest you drink and forget the law and forsake the judgment of the afflicted.
Good News Translation
When they drink, they forget the laws and ignore the rights of people in need.
Lexham English Bible
Or else he will drink and forget what has been decreed, and he will pervert the rights of all the afflicted.
Literal Translation
that they not drink and forget what is decreed, and pervert the right of the sons of affliction.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
lest they beinge dronken forget the lawe, & regarde not ye cause of the poore, & of all soch as be in aduersite.
American Standard Version
Lest they drink, and forget the law, And pervert the justice due to any that is afflicted.
Bible in Basic English
For fear that through drinking they may come to have no respect for the law, wrongly judging the cause of those who are in trouble.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Lest they drink, and forget that which is decreed, and pervert the justice due to any that is afflicted.
King James Version (1611)
Lest they drinke, and forget the Law, and peruert the iudgement of any of the afflicted.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Lest they by drnkyng forget the lawe, and peruert the iudgement of all poore mens children.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
He that prepares a net in the way of his own friend, entangles his own feet in it.
English Revised Version
Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any that is afflicted.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Lest perauenture thei drynke, and foryete domes, and chaunge the cause of the sones of a pore man.
Update Bible Version
Or else they will drink, and forget the law, And pervert the justice [due] to any that is afflicted.
Webster's Bible Translation
Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.
New English Translation
lest they drink and forget what is decreed, and remove from all the poor their legal rights.
New King James Version
Lest they drink and forget the law, And pervert the justice of all the afflicted.
New Living Translation
For if they drink, they may forget the law and not give justice to the oppressed.
New Life Bible
Or they might drink and forget the law, and go against the rights of all who are suffering.
New Revised Standard
or else they will drink and forget what has been decreed, and will pervert the rights of all the afflicted.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Lest he drink, and forget that which is decreed, and alter the plea of any who are sorely oppressed.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And lest they drink and forget judgments, and pervert the cause of the children of the poor.
Revised Standard Version
lest they drink and forget what has been decreed, and pervert the rights of all the afflicted.
Young's Literal Translation
Lest he drink, and forget the decree, And change the judgment of any of the sons of affliction.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
For they will drink and forget what is decreed, And pervert the rights of all the afflicted.

Contextual Overview

1 The words of King L'mu'el, the prophecy with which his mother disciplined him: 2 No, my son! No, son of my womb! No, son of my vows! 3 Don't give your strength to women or your ways to that which destroys kings. 4 It is not for kings, L'mu'el, not for kings to drink wine; it is not for rulers to ask, "Where can I find strong liquor?" 5 For they may drink, then forget what has been decreed, and pervert the justice due to the poor. 6 Give strong liquor to one who is perishing, wine to the deeply depressed; 7 let him drink, forget his poverty and cease to remember his troubles. 8 Speak up for those who can't speak for themselves, for the rights of all who need an advocate. 9 Speak up, judge righteously, defend the cause of the poor and the needy.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

pervert: Heb. alter

any of the afflicted: Heb. all the sons of affliction, Habakkuk 2:5

Reciprocal: Leviticus 10:9 - Do not Numbers 6:3 - General Deuteronomy 24:17 - pervert Deuteronomy 27:19 - General 1 Kings 20:12 - drinking Proverbs 3:1 - forget Proverbs 23:33 - and Ecclesiastes 2:3 - yet Ecclesiastes 10:17 - and thy Isaiah 5:23 - justify Isaiah 28:7 - erred Isaiah 56:12 - I will Mark 6:21 - his birthday Titus 1:7 - not given to wine

Cross-References

Genesis 21:22
(vi) At that time Avimelekh and Pikhol the commander of his army spoke to Avraham. They said, "God is with you in everything you do.
Genesis 31:2
He also saw that Lavan regarded him differently than before.
Genesis 31:3
Adonai said to Ya‘akov, "Return to the land of your ancestors, to your kinsmen; I will be with you."
Genesis 31:13
I am the God of Beit-El, where you anointed a standing-stone with oil, where you vowed your vow to me. Now get up, get out of this land, and return to the land where you were born.'"
Genesis 31:42
If the God of my father, the God of Avraham, the one whom Yitz'chak fears, had not been on my side, by now you would certainly have already sent me away with nothing! God has seen how distressed I've been and how hard I've worked, and last night he passed judgment in my favor."
Genesis 31:53
May the God of Avraham and also the god of Nachor, the god of their father, judge between us." But Ya‘akov swore by the One his father Yitz'chak feared.
Genesis 32:9
saying, "If ‘Esav comes to the one camp and attacks it, at least the camp that is left will escape."
Genesis 48:15
Then he blessed Yosef: "The God in whose presence my fathers Avraham and Yitz'chak lived, the God who has been my own shepherd all my life long to this day,
Genesis 50:17
‘Say to Yosef, "I beg you now, please forgive your brothers' crime and wickedness in doing you harm."' So now, we beg of you, forgive the crime of the servants of the God of your father." Yosef wept when they spoke to him;

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Lest they drink, and forget the law,.... The law of God by Moses, which the kings of Israel were obliged to write a copy of, and read over daily, to imprint it on their minds, that they might never forget it, but always govern according to it, Deuteronomy 17:18; or the law of their ancestors, or what was made by themselves, which through intemperance may be forgotten; for this sin stupefies the mind and hurts the memory, and makes men forgetful;

and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted; a king on the throne, or a judge on the bench, drunk, must be very unfit for his office; since he must be incapable of attending to the cause before him, of taking in the true state of the case; and, as he forgets the law, which is his rule of judgment, so he will mistake the point in debate, and put one thing for another; and "change" g and alter, as the word signifies, the judgment of the afflicted and injured person, and give the cause against him which should be for him; and therefore it is of great consequence that kings and judges should he sober. A certain woman, being undeservedly condemned by Philip king of Macedon, when drunk, said,

"I would appeal to Philip, but it shall be when he is sober;''

which aroused him; and, more diligently examining the cause, he gave, a more righteous sentence h.

g ישנה "mutet", Pagninus, Montanus, Junius Tremellius, Piscator, Mercerus, Cocceius, Gejerus, Michaelis "demutet", Schultens. h Valer. Maxim l. 6. c. 2. extern. 1.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Proverbs 31:5. Lest they drink, and forget the law — When they should be administering justice, they are found incapable of it; or, if they go into the judgment-seat, may pervert justice.


 
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