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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.
20 Why be captivated, my son, by an immoral woman,
    or fondle the breasts of a promiscuous woman?

21 For the Lord sees clearly what a man does,
    examining every path he takes.
22 An evil man is held captive by his own sins;
    they are ropes that catch and hold him.
23 He will die for lack of self-control;
    he will be lost because of his great foolishness.

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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?

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