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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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15 Drink water from your own cistern,
And running water from your own well.
16 Should your fountains be dispersed abroad,
[a]Streams of water in the streets?
17 Let them be only your own,
And not for strangers with you.
18 Let your fountain be blessed,
And rejoice with (A)the wife of your youth.
19 (B)As a loving deer and a graceful doe,
Let her breasts satisfy you at all times;
And always be [b]enraptured with her love.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 5:16 Channels
  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 obtains honor,
    but violent men obtain riches.

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16 A gracious woman retains honor,
But ruthless men retain riches.

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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 As a ring of gold in a swine’s snout,
So is a lovely woman who lacks [a]discretion.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 11:22 taste

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

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 12:4 Lit. A wife of valor

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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The Ways of Life and Death

14 The wise woman builds her house,
But the foolish pulls it down with her 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 Whoever finds a wife finds a good thing,
    and obtains favor of Yahweh.

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22 (A)He who finds a wife finds a good thing,
And 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 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 dwell in a corner of a housetop,
Than in a house shared with (A)a contentious woman.

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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 dwell [a]in the wilderness,
Than with a contentious and angry woman.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 21:19 Lit. in the land of the desert

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 (A)It is better to dwell in a corner of a housetop,
Than in a house shared with a contentious woman.

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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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