Proverbs 5:18-21

English Standard Version

¹⁸Let your ^(A)fountain be blessed,
    and ^(B)rejoice in ^(C)the wife of your youth,
¹⁹    a lovely ^(D)deer, a graceful doe.
Let her breasts ^(E)fill you at all times with delight;
    be intoxicated^[a] always in her love.
²⁰Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with ^(F)a forbidden woman
    and embrace the bosom of ^(G)an adulteress?^[b]
²¹For ^(H)a man's ways are ^(I)before the eyes of the Lord,
    and he ^(J)ponders^[c] all his paths.

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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 5:18-21

New International Version

¹⁸May your fountain^(A) be blessed,
    and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.^(B)
¹⁹A loving doe, a graceful deer^(C)—
    may her breasts satisfy you always,
    may you ever be intoxicated with her love.
²⁰Why, my son, be intoxicated with another man’s wife?
    Why embrace the bosom of a wayward woman?