Lectionary Calendar
Sunday, July 27th, 2025
the Week of Proper 12 / Ordinary 17
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Read the Bible

THE MESSAGE

Proverbs 31:3

This verse is not available in the MSG!

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Adultery;   Chastity;   Young Men;   Thompson Chain Reference - Woman;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Chastity;   Kings;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Lemuel;   Proverb, the Book of;   Woman;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Pardon;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Lemuel;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Agur;   Lemuel;   Proverbs, the Book of;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Lemuel;   Proverbs, Book of;   Sex, Biblical Teaching on;   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;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Lemuel;   Proverbs, Book of;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Chastity;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Don’t spend your energy on womenor your efforts on those who destroy kings.
Hebrew Names Version
Don't give your strength to women, Nor your ways to that which destroys kings.
King James Version
Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings.
English Standard Version
Do not give your strength to women, your ways to those who destroy kings.
New American Standard Bible
Do not give your strength to women, Or your ways to that which destroys kings.
New Century Version
Don't waste your strength on women or your time on those who ruin kings.
Amplified Bible
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.
World English Bible
Don't give your strength to women, Nor your ways to that which destroys kings.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Giue not thy strength vnto women, nor thy wayes, which is to destroy Kings.
Legacy Standard Bible
Do not give your excellence to women,Or your ways to that which blots out kings.
Berean Standard Bible
Do not spend your strength on women or your vigor on those who ruin kings.
Contemporary English Version
Don't waste your life chasing after women! This has ruined many kings.
Complete Jewish Bible
Don't give your strength to women or your ways to that which destroys kings.
Darby Translation
Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to them that destroy kings.
Easy-to-Read Version
Don't waste your strength on women. Women destroy kings, so don't waste yourself on them.
George Lamsa Translation
Give not your strength to women, nor your ways to the extravagance of kings.
Good News Translation
Don't spend all your energy on sex and all your money on women; they have destroyed kings.
Lexham English Bible
Do not give your strength to the women, and your ways to destroy kings.
Literal Translation
Do not give your strength to women, or your ways to that which wipes out kings.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
geue not ouer thy substaunce & mynde vnto women, which are the destruccio eue of kynges.
American Standard Version
Give not thy strength unto women, Nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings.
Bible in Basic English
Do not give your strength to women, or your ways to that which is the destruction of kings.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings.
King James Version (1611)
Giue not thy strength vnto women, nor thy wayes to that which destroyeth kings.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Geue not ouer thy strength & wayes vnto women, which are the destruction euen of kynges.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
When a man loves wisdom, his father rejoices: but he that keeps harlots will waste wealth.
English Revised Version
Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Yyue thou not thi catel to wymmen, and thi richessis to do awei kyngis.
Update Bible Version
Don't give your strength to women, Nor your ways to [those women who] destroy kings.
Webster's Bible Translation
Give not thy strength to women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings.
New English Translation
Do not give your strength to women, nor your ways to that which ruins kings.
New King James Version
Do not give your strength to women, Nor your ways to that which destroys kings.
New Living Translation
do not waste your strength on women, on those who ruin kings.
New Life Bible
Do not give your strength to women, or your ways to that which destroys kings.
New Revised Standard
Do not give your strength to women, your ways to those who destroy kings.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Do not give, to women, thy strength, nor thy ways, to them who ruin kings.
Douay-Rheims Bible
Give not thy substance to women, and thy riches to destroy kings.
Revised Standard Version
Give not your strength to women, your ways to those who destroy kings.
Young's Literal Translation
Give not to women thy strength, And thy ways to wiping away of kings.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Do not give your strength to women, Or your ways to that which destroys kings.

Contextual Overview

1 The words of King Lemuel, the strong advice his mother gave him: 2"Oh, son of mine, what can you be thinking of! Child whom I bore! The son I dedicated to God! Don't dissipate your virility on fortune-hunting women, promiscuous women who shipwreck leaders. 4"Leaders can't afford to make fools of themselves, gulping wine and swilling beer, Lest, hung over, they don't know right from wrong, and the people who depend on them are hurt. Use wine and beer only as sedatives, to kill the pain and dull the ache Of the terminally ill, for whom life is a living death. 8"Speak up for the people who have no voice, for the rights of all the down-and-outers. Speak out for justice! Stand up for the poor and destitute!"

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

strength: Proverbs 5:9-11, Proverbs 7:26, Proverbs 7:27, Hosea 4:11

to that: Deuteronomy 17:17, Nehemiah 13:26

Reciprocal: Proverbs 5:10 - wealth Acts 24:25 - temperance

Cross-References

Genesis 21:22
At about that same time, Abimelech and the captain of his troops, Phicol, spoke to Abraham: "No matter what you do, God is on your side. So swear to me that you won't do anything underhanded to me or any of my family. For as long as you live here, swear that you'll treat me and my land as well as I've treated you."
Genesis 28:13
Then God was right before him, saying, "I am God , the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. I'm giving the ground on which you are sleeping to you and to your descendants. Your descendants will be as the dust of the Earth; they'll stretch from west to east and from north to south. All the families of the Earth will bless themselves in you and your descendants. Yes. I'll stay with you, I'll protect you wherever you go, and I'll bring you back to this very ground. I'll stick with you until I've done everything I promised you."
Genesis 30:25
After Rachel had had Joseph, Jacob spoke to Laban, "Let me go back home. Give me my wives and children for whom I've served you. You know how hard I've worked for you."
Genesis 31:3
That's when God said to Jacob, "Go back home where you were born. I'll go with you."
Genesis 31:22
Three days later, Laban got the news: "Jacob's run off." Laban rounded up his relatives and chased after him. Seven days later they caught up with him in the hill country of Gilead. That night God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream and said, "Be careful what you do to Jacob, whether good or bad."
Genesis 35:1
God spoke to Jacob: "Go back to Bethel. Stay there and build an altar to the God who revealed himself to you when you were running for your life from your brother Esau."
Genesis 50:24
At the end, Joseph said to his brothers, "I am ready to die. God will most certainly pay you a visit and take you out of this land and back to the land he so solemnly promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."
Psalms 46:1
A Song of the Sons of Korah God is a safe place to hide, ready to help when we need him. We stand fearless at the cliff-edge of doom, courageous in seastorm and earthquake, Before the rush and roar of oceans, the tremors that shift mountains. Jacob-wrestling God fights for us, God -of-Angel-Armies protects us.
Hebrews 13:5
Don't be obsessed with getting more material things. Be relaxed with what you have. Since God assured us, "I'll never let you down, never walk off and leave you," we can boldly quote, God is there, ready to help; I'm fearless no matter what. Who or what can get to me?

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Give not thy strength unto women,.... Strength of body, which is weakened by an excessive use of venery b with a multiplicity of women; see, Proverbs 5:9; and strength of mind, reason, and wisdom, which is impaired by conversation with such persons; whereby time is consumed and lost, which should be spent in the improvement of knowledge: or "thy riches", as the Septuagint and Arabic versions, thy substance, which harlots devour, and who bring a man to a piece of bread, as the prodigal was, Proverbs 6:26; and even drain the coffers of kings and princes;

nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings; do not give thy mind to take such courses, and pursue such ways and methods, as bring ruin on kings and kingdoms, as conversation with harlots does; see Proverbs 7:26. Some think the design of this advice is to warn against any ambitious views of enlarging his dominions by invading neighbouring countries, and making war with neighbouring kings, to the ruin of them; but the former sense seems best. The Targum is,

"nor thy ways to the daughters of kings.''

Solomon was given to women, who proved very pernicious to him,

1 Kings 11:1. Some render it, "which destroyeth counsel" c; for whoredom weakens the mind as well as the body.

b "Venus enervat vireis", Avienus. c Don Joseph apud Schindler. col. 990.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

To that which destroyeth - The temptations of the harem were then, as now, the curse of all Eastern kingdoms.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Proverbs 31:3. Give 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.


 
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