Proverbs 5:16-23 - Compare All Versions

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Should your springs overflow in the streets, your streams of water in the public squares? Let them be yours alone, never to be shared with strangers. May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth. A loving doe, a graceful deer— may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be intoxicated with her love. Why, my son, be intoxicated with another man’s wife? Why embrace the bosom of a wayward woman? For your ways are in full view of the LORD, and he examines all your paths. The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare them; the cords of their sins hold them fast. For lack of discipline they will die, led astray by their own great folly.

Should your springs be scattered abroad, streams of water in the streets? Let them be for yourself alone, and not for strangers with you. Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth, a lovely deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight; be intoxicated always in her love. Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with a forbidden woman and embrace the bosom of an adulteress? For a man’s ways are before the eyes of the LORD, and he ponders all his paths. The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him, and he is held fast in the cords of his sin. He dies for lack of discipline, and because of his great folly he is led astray.

Why spill the water of your springs in the streets, having sex with just anyone? You should reserve it for yourselves. Never share it with strangers. Let your wife be a fountain of blessing for you. Rejoice in the wife of your youth. She is a loving deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts satisfy you always. May you always be captivated by her love. Why be captivated, my son, by an immoral woman, or fondle the breasts of a promiscuous woman? For the LORD sees clearly what a man does, examining every path he takes. An evil man is held captive by his own sins; they are ropes that catch and hold him. He will die for lack of self-control; he will be lost because of his great foolishness.

Should your springs flow in the streets, streams in the public squares?  They should be for you alone and not for you to share with strangers. Let your fountain be blessed, and take pleasure in the wife of your youth.  A loving deer, a graceful doe   — let her breasts always satisfy you;  be lost in her love forever. Why, my son, would you lose yourself with a forbidden woman or embrace a wayward woman?  For a man’s ways are before the  LORD’s eyes,  and he considers all his paths.  A wicked man’s iniquities will trap him;  he will become tangled in the ropes of his own sin.  He will die because there is no discipline,  and be lost because of his great stupidity.

Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, And rivers of waters in the streets. Let them be only thine own, And not strangers' with thee. Let thy fountain be blessed: And rejoice with the wife of thy youth. Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; Let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; And be thou ravished always with her love. And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, And embrace the bosom of a stranger? For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, And he pondereth all his goings. His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, And he shall be holden with the cords of his sins. He shall die without instruction; And in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.

Should your fountains be dispersed abroad, Streams of water in the streets? Let them be only your own, And not for strangers with you. Let your fountain be blessed, And rejoice with the wife of your youth. As a loving deer and a graceful doe, Let her breasts satisfy you at all times; And always be enraptured with her love. For why should you, my son, be enraptured by an immoral woman, And be embraced in the arms of a seductress? For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, And He ponders all his paths. His own iniquities entrap the wicked man, And he is caught in the cords of his sin. He shall die for lack of instruction, And in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.

Do you know the saying, “Drink from your own rain barrel, draw water from your own spring-fed well”? It’s true. Otherwise, you may one day come home and find your barrel empty and your well polluted. Your spring water is for you and you only, not to be passed around among strangers. Bless your fresh-flowing fountain! Enjoy the wife you married as a young man! Lovely as an angel, beautiful as a rose— don’t ever quit taking delight in her body. Never take her love for granted! Why would you trade enduring intimacies for cheap thrills with a prostitute? for dalliance with a promiscuous stranger? Mark well that GOD doesn’t miss a move you make; he’s aware of every step you take. The shadow of your sin will overtake you; you’ll find yourself stumbling all over yourself in the dark. Death is the reward of an undisciplined life; your foolish decisions trap you in a dead end.

Should your springs overflow into the street, Streams of water in the public squares? Let them be yours alone, And not for strangers with you. Let your fountain be blessed, And rejoice in the wife of your youth. Like a loving doe and a graceful mountain goat, Let her breasts satisfy you at all times; Be exhilarated always with her love. For why should you, my son, be exhilarated with an adulteress, And embrace the breasts of a foreigner? For the ways of everyone are before the eyes of the LORD, And He observes all his paths. His own wrongdoings will trap the wicked, And he will be held by the ropes of his sin. He will die for lack of instruction, And in the greatness of his foolishness he will go astray.

Should your springs (children) be dispersed, As streams of water in the streets? [Confine yourself to your own wife.] Let your children be yours alone, And not the children of strangers with you. Let your fountain (wife) be blessed [with the rewards of fidelity], And rejoice in the wife of your youth. [Song 4:12, 15] Let her be as a loving hind and graceful doe, Let her breasts refresh and satisfy you at all times; Always be exhilarated and delight in her love. Why should you, my son, be exhilarated with an immoral woman And embrace the bosom of an outsider (pagan)? For the ways of man are directly before the eyes of the LORD, And He carefully watches all of his paths [all of his comings and goings]. [2 Chr 16:9; Job 31:4; 34:21; Prov 15:3; Jer 16:17; Hos 7:2; Heb 4:13] The iniquities done by a wicked man will trap him, And he will be held with the cords of his sin. He will die for lack of instruction (discipline), And in the greatness of his foolishness he will go astray and be lost.

Should your springs be dispersed outside, your streams of water in the wide plazas? Let them be for yourself alone, and not for strangers with you. May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in your young wife – a loving doe, a graceful deer; may her breasts satisfy you at all times, may you be captivated by her love always. But why should you be captivated, my son, by an adulteress, and embrace the bosom of a different woman? For the ways of a person are in front of the LORD’s eyes, and the LORD weighs all that person’s paths. The wicked will be captured by his own iniquities, and he will be held by the cords of his own sin. He will die because there was no discipline; because of the greatness of his folly he will reel.