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Kings and leaders
should not get drunk
    or even want to drink.
Drinking makes you forget
your responsibilities,
    and you mistreat the poor.
Beer and wine are only
for the dying or for those
    who have lost all hope.

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It is not for kings, Lemuel—
    it is not for kings to drink wine,(A)
    not for rulers to crave beer,
lest they drink(B) and forget what has been decreed,(C)
    and deprive all the oppressed of their rights.
Let beer be for those who are perishing,
    wine(D) for those who are in anguish!

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