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15 Drink water from your own well—
    share your love only with your wife.[a]
16 Why spill the water of your springs in the streets,
    having sex with just anyone?[b]
17 You should reserve it for yourselves.
    Never share it with strangers.

18 Let your wife be a fountain of blessing for you.
    Rejoice in the wife of your youth.
19 She is a loving deer, a graceful doe.
    Let her breasts satisfy you always.
    May you always be captivated by her love.

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Footnotes

  1. 5:15 Hebrew Drink water from your own cistern, / flowing water from your own well.
  2. 5:16 Hebrew Why spill your springs in the streets, / your streams in the city squares?

15 Drink water from your own cistern,
And [a]fresh water from your own well.
16 Should your (A)springs overflow into the street,
Streams of water in the public squares?
17 Let them be yours alone,
And not for strangers with you.
18 Let your (B)fountain be blessed,
And (C)rejoice in the (D)wife of your youth.
19 Like a loving (E)doe and a graceful mountain goat,
Let her breasts satisfy you at all times;
Be [b]exhilarated always with her love.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 5:15 Lit flowing
  2. Proverbs 5:19 Lit intoxicated

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 respect,
    but ruthless men gain only wealth.

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16 A (A)gracious woman attains honor,
And ruthless men attain 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 lacks discretion
    is like a gold ring in a pig’s snout.

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22 As a (A)ring of gold in a pig’s snout
So is a beautiful woman who lacks 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 worthy wife is a crown for her husband,
    but a disgraceful woman is like cancer in his bones.

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An [a](A)excellent wife is the crown of her husband,
But she who shames him is like (B)rottenness in his bones.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 12:4 Or virtuous

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 A wise woman builds her home,
    but a foolish woman tears it down with her own hands.

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Contrast of the Upright and the Wicked

14 The (A)wise woman builds her house,
But the foolish tears it down with her own hands.

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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 The man who finds a wife finds a treasure,
    and he receives favor from the Lord.

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22 He who finds a (A)wife finds a good thing
And (B)obtains favor 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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It’s better to live alone in the corner of an attic
    than with a quarrelsome wife in a lovely home.

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It is better to live on a corner of a roof
Than [a]in a house shared with a contentious woman.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 21:9 Lit with a woman of contentions and a house of association

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

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19 It’s better to live alone in the desert
    than with a quarrelsome, complaining wife.

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19 (A)It is better to live in a desert land
Than with a contentious and irritating 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 It’s better to live alone in the corner of an attic
    than with a quarrelsome wife in a lovely home.

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24 It is (A)better to live on a corner of the roof,
Than [a]in a house shared with a contentious woman.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 25:24 Lit with a woman of contentions and a house of association

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

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