Enjoy Marriage

15 Drink water from your own cistern,
water flowing from your own well.(A)
16 Should your springs flow in the streets,
streams in the public squares?(B)
17 They should be for you alone
and not for you to share with strangers.
18 Let your fountain be blessed,
and take pleasure in the wife of your youth.(C)
19 A loving deer, a graceful doe[a]
let her breasts always satisfy you;(D)
be lost in her love forever.

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Footnotes

  1. 5:19 Or graceful mountain goat

15 Drink (A)water from your own cistern,
    flowing water from your own well.
16 Should your (B)springs be scattered abroad,
    streams of water (C)in the streets?
17 (D)Let them be for yourself alone,
    and not for strangers with you.
18 Let your (E)fountain be blessed,
    and (F)rejoice in (G)the wife of your youth,
19     a lovely (H)deer, a graceful doe.
Let her breasts (I)fill you at all times with delight;
    be intoxicated[a] always in her love.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 5:19 Hebrew be led astray; also verse 20

15 Drink water from your own cistern,
    running water from your own well.
16 Should your springs overflow in the streets,
    your streams of water in the public squares?
17 Let them be yours alone,
    never to be shared with strangers.
18 May your fountain(A) be blessed,
    and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.(B)
19 A loving doe, a graceful deer(C)
    may her breasts satisfy you always,
    may you ever be intoxicated with her love.

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16 A gracious woman gains honor,
but violent[a] people gain only riches.

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Footnotes

  1. 11:16 Or ruthless

16 (A)A gracious woman gets honor,
    and (B)violent men get riches.

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16 A kindhearted woman gains honor,(A)
    but ruthless men gain only wealth.

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22 A beautiful woman who rejects good sense
is like a gold ring in a pig’s snout.(A)

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22 Like (A)a gold ring in a pig's snout
    is a beautiful woman without discretion.

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22 Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout
    is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion.

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A wife of noble character[a] is her husband’s crown,(A)
but a wife who causes shame
is like rottenness in his bones.(B)

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Footnotes

  1. 12:4 Or A wife of quality, or A wife of good character

(A)An excellent wife is (B)the crown of her husband,
    but she who (C)brings shame is like (D)rottenness in his bones.

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A wife of noble character(A) is her husband’s crown,
    but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones.(B)

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14 Every wise woman builds her house,(A)
but a foolish one tears it down with her own hands.(B)

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14 (A)The wisest of women (B)builds her house,
    but folly with her own hands (C)tears it down.

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14 The wise woman builds her house,(A)
    but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down.

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22 A man who finds a wife finds a good thing(A)
and obtains favor from the Lord.(B)

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22 He who finds (A)a wife finds (B)a good thing
    and (C)obtains favor (D)from the Lord.

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22 He who finds a wife finds what is good(A)
    and receives favor from the Lord.(B)

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Better to live on the corner of a roof
than to share a house with a nagging wife.(A)

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It is (A)better to live in a corner of the housetop
    than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife.

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Better to live on a corner of the roof
    than share a house with a quarrelsome wife.(A)

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19 Better to live in a wilderness
than with a nagging and hot-tempered wife.(A)

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19 It is (A)better to live in a desert land
    than with a quarrelsome and fretful woman.

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19 Better to live in a desert
    than with a quarrelsome and nagging wife.(A)

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24 Better to live on the corner of a roof
than to share a house with a nagging wife.(A)

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24 (A)It is better to live in a corner of the housetop
    than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife.

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24 Better to live on a corner of the roof
    than share a house with a quarrelsome wife.(A)

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