God’s Word Translation
Proverbs 5:20
20Why should you, my son, be intoxicated with an adulterous woman and fondle a loose woman’s breast?
Proverbs 5:20 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger?
- New International Version (NIV)Why, my son, be intoxicated with another man’s wife? Why embrace the bosom of a wayward woman?
- English Standard Version (ESV)Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with a forbidden woman and embrace the bosom of an adulteress?
- New King James Version (NKJV)For why should you, my son, be enraptured by an immoral woman, And be embraced in the arms of a seductress?
Context of Proverbs 5:20
18Let your own fountain be blessed, and enjoy the girl you married when you were young, 19a loving doe and a graceful deer. Always let her breasts satisfy you. Always be intoxicated with her love. Why should you, my son, be intoxicated with an adulterous woman and fondle a loose woman’s breast? 21Each person’s ways are clearly seen by the Lord, and he surveys all his actions. 22A wicked person will be trapped by his own wrongs, and he will be caught in the ropes of his own sin.
Read all of Proverbs 5Proverbs 5:20 word by word
וְלָ֤מָּה תִשְׁגֶּ֣ה בְנִ֣י בְזָרָ֑ה וּ֝תְחַבֵּ֗ק חֵ֣ק נָכְרִיָּֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Proverbs 5:20
- Proverbs 2:16⌞Wisdom will⌟ also save you from an adulterous woman, from a loose woman with her smooth talk,
- Proverbs 6:24to keep you from an evil woman and from the smooth talk of a loose woman.
- Proverbs 7:5in order to guard yourself from an adulterous woman, from a loose woman with her smooth talk.
- Proverbs 22:14The mouth of an adulterous woman is a deep pit. The one who is cursed by the Lord will fall into it.
- Proverbs 23:27A prostitute is a deep pit. A loose woman is a narrow well.
- 1 Kings 11:1King Solomon loved many foreign women in addition to Pharaoh’s daughter. He loved Hittite women and women from Moab, Ammon, Edom, and Sidon.
Commentaries on Proverbs 5:20
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20Emphasis is laid (see the Proverbs 2:16 note) upon the origin of the beguiler.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15-23Verses 15-23 Lawful marriage is a means God has appointed to keep from these destructive vices. But we are not properly united, except as we attend to God's word, seeking his direction and blessing, and acting with affection. Ever remember, that though secret sins may escape the eyes of our fellow-creatures, yet a man's ways are before the eyes of the Lord, who not only sees, but ponders all his goings. Those who are so foolish as to choose the way of…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-23These instructions on loving one's wife and avoiding immoral women were originally for young men starting their careers (see also Proverbs 2:16–22; 7:1–27). This topic is also common in ancient Egyptian wisdom writings.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 15-2015-20. By figures, in which well, cistern, and fountain [Pr 5:15, 18] represent the wife, and rivers of waters [Pr 5:16] the children, men are exhorted to constancy and satisfaction in lawful conjugal enjoyments. In Pr 5:16, fountains (in the plural) rather denote the produce or waters of a spring, literally, "what is from a spring," and corresponds with "rivers of waters."Read the comment
Topics related to Proverbs 5:20
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Proverbs 5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
Commentaries