Proverbs 5:17-23
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.
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 5:17-23
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?
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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