Proverbs

²Listen, my son! Listen, son of my womb! Listen, my son, the answer to my prayers! ³Do not spend your strength on women, your vigor on those who ruin kings. ⁴It is not for kings, Lemuel— it is not for kings to drink wine, not for rulers to crave beer, ⁵lest they drink and forget what has been decreed, and deprive all the oppressed of their rights. ⁶Let beer be for those who are perishing, wine for those who are in anguish! ⁷Let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more. ⁸Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.