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 [a]enraptured with her love.
20 For why should you, my son, be enraptured by (C)an immoral woman,
And be embraced in the arms of a seductress?

21 (D)For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord,
And He [b]ponders all his paths.
22 (E)His own iniquities entrap the wicked man,
And he is caught in the cords of his sin.
23 (F)He shall die for lack of instruction,
And in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 5:19 Lit. intoxicated
  2. Proverbs 5:21 observes, lit. weighs

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)

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