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Proverbs 5:17-6:14
English Standard Version
Proverbs 5:17-6:14
English Standard Version
17 (A)Let them be for yourself alone,
and not for strangers with you.
18 Let your (B)fountain be blessed,
and (C)rejoice in (D)the wife of your youth,
19 a lovely (E)deer, a graceful doe.
Let her breasts (F)fill you at all times with delight;
be intoxicated[a] always in her love.
20 Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with (G)a forbidden woman
and embrace the bosom of (H)an adulteress?[b]
21 For (I)a man's ways are (J)before the eyes of the Lord,
and he (K)ponders[c] all his paths.
22 The (L)iniquities of the wicked (M)ensnare him,
and he is held fast in the cords of his sin.
23 (N)He dies for lack of discipline,
and because of his great folly he is (O)led astray.
Practical Warnings
6 My son, if you have put up (P)security for your neighbor,
have (Q)given your pledge for a stranger,
2 if you are (R)snared in the words of your mouth,
caught in the words of your mouth,
3 then do this, my son, and save yourself,
for you have come into the hand of your neighbor:
go, hasten,[d] and (S)plead urgently with your neighbor.
4 (T)Give your eyes no sleep
and your eyelids no slumber;
5 save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,[e]
(U)like a bird from the hand of the fowler.
6 (V)Go to (W)the ant, O (X)sluggard;
consider her ways, and (Y)be wise.
7 (Z)Without having any chief,
(AA)officer, or ruler,
8 she prepares her bread (AB)in summer
and (AC)gathers her food in harvest.
9 (AD)How long will you lie there, (AE)O sluggard?
When will you arise from your sleep?
10 (AF)A little sleep, a little slumber,
(AG)a little (AH)folding of the hands to rest,
11 (AI)and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
and want like an armed man.
12 (AJ)A worthless person, a wicked man,
goes about with (AK)crooked speech,
13 (AL)winks with his eyes, signals[f] with his feet,
points with his finger,
14 with (AM)perverted heart (AN)devises evil,
continually (AO)sowing discord;
Footnotes
- Proverbs 5:19 Hebrew be led astray; also verse 20
- Proverbs 5:20 Hebrew a foreign woman
- Proverbs 5:21 Or makes level
- Proverbs 6:3 Or humble yourself
- Proverbs 6:5 Hebrew lacks of the hunter
- Proverbs 6:13 Hebrew scrapes
Proverbs 5:17-6:14
New International Version
Proverbs 5:17-6:14
New International Version
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.
20 Why, my son, be intoxicated with another man’s wife?
Why embrace the bosom of a wayward woman?
21 For your ways are in full view(D) of the Lord,
and he examines(E) all your paths.(F)
22 The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare them;(G)
the cords of their sins hold them fast.(H)
23 For lack of discipline they will die,(I)
led astray by their own great folly.(J)
Warnings Against Folly
6 My son,(K) if you have put up security(L) for your neighbor,(M)
if you have shaken hands in pledge(N) for a stranger,
2 you have been trapped by what you said,
ensnared by the words of your mouth.
3 So do this, my son, to free yourself,
since you have fallen into your neighbor’s hands:
Go—to the point of exhaustion—[a]
and give your neighbor no rest!
4 Allow no sleep to your eyes,
no slumber to your eyelids.(O)
5 Free yourself, like a gazelle(P) from the hand of the hunter,(Q)
like a bird from the snare of the fowler.(R)
6 Go to the ant, you sluggard;(S)
consider its ways and be wise!
7 It has no commander,
no overseer or ruler,
8 yet it stores its provisions in summer(T)
and gathers its food at harvest.(U)
Footnotes
- Proverbs 6:3 Or Go and humble yourself,
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.