Section 31:1–9
Here are the sayings of King Lemuel
The verses in this section were written or collected by King Lemuel. They contain advice that his mother gave him regarding the way that a good king should rule his people. Her advice focuses on a king’s relationships with women (v. 3), the use of intoxicating drink (vv. 4–7) and justice for the poor (vv. 8–9). English versions divide the paragraphs in this section in several ways. The paragraphs in the Notes will be divided according to these three topics. The title (v. 1) and introduction (v. 2) will each form a separate paragraph.
Some other headings for this section are:
What King Lemuel’s Mother Taught Him (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
Advice to a King (Good News Translation)
-or-
Wise Words of King Lemuel (New Century Version)
Paragraph 31:1
31:1
These are the words of King Lemuel—the burden that his mother taught him: In Hebrew, this verse is the title for section 31:1–9 and perhaps also for the rest of the chapter. See how you formatted the similar title in 30:1a.
King Lemuel: This is the only mention of King Lemuel in the OT.
the burden: There is a textual issue with the word burden :
(1) The Masoretic Text (MT) has the burden. This phrase refers to an oracle or prophetic message. It indicates here that the LORD inspired Lemuel to write the words that his mother instructed him. For example:
King Lemuel—an inspired utterance (New International Version (2011))
(2) Some scholars think that the original Hebrew phrase was “of Massa.” It indicates here that Lemuel was a king in a place named Massa. For example:
Lemuel king of Massa (New Jerusalem Bible)
It is recommended that you follow option (1) along with most versions and commentaries. The LXX also supports this option. See the notes on 30:1a. The same option is recommended there.
his mother taught him: The verb taught refers to moral instruction or training.
Another way to translate this verse is:
The inspired message of King Lemuel that his mother taught him:
In some languages, it may be more natural to translate verse 31:1 as a statement and to combine/reorder some of the phrases. For example:
Here are the ⌊wise⌋ words that the LORD caused King Lemuel to write. His mother taught them to him.
© 2012, 2016, 2020 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.