¹⁷ Happy are you, O land, when your king is the son of the nobility,
    and your princes feast at the proper time,
    for strength, and not for ^(A)drunkenness!

^4 (A)It is not for kings, O Lemuel,
    it is not for kings ^(B)to drink wine,
    or for rulers to take ^(C)strong drink,
⁵ lest they drink and forget what has been decreed
    and ^(D)pervert the rights of all the afflicted.

^21 (A)Their prince shall be one of themselves;
    ^(B)their ruler shall come out from their midst;
^(C)I will make him draw near, and he shall approach me,
    ^(D)for who would dare of himself to approach me?
declares the Lord.

² When a land transgresses, ^(A)it has many rulers,
    but with a man of understanding and knowledge,
    its stability will long continue.
^3 (B)A poor man who oppresses the poor
    is a beating rain that leaves no food.