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15 Drink water out of your own cistern,
    running water out of your own well.
16 Should your springs overflow in the streets,
    streams of water in the public squares?
17 Let them be for yourself alone,
    not for strangers with you.
18 Let your spring be blessed.
    Rejoice in the wife of your youth.
19 A loving doe and a graceful deer—
    let her breasts satisfy you at all times.
    Be captivated always with her love.

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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 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 obtains honor,
    but violent men obtain riches.

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

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22 Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout,
    is a beautiful woman who lacks discretion.

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

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A worthy woman is the crown of her husband,
    but a disgraceful wife is as rottenness in his bones.

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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 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,
    but the foolish one tears it down with her own hands.

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

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22 Whoever finds a wife finds a good thing,
    and obtains favor of Yahweh.

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

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It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop
    than to share a house with a contentious woman.

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

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19 It is better to dwell in a desert land,
    than with a contentious and fretful woman.

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

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24 It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop
    than to share a house with a contentious woman.

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

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