New Living Translation
Proverbs 5:20
20Why be captivated, my son, by an immoral woman, or fondle the breasts of a promiscuous woman?
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 wife be a fountain of blessing for you. Rejoice in the wife of your youth. 19She 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? 21For the Lord sees clearly what a man does, examining every path he takes. 22An evil man is held captive by his own sins; they are ropes that catch and hold him.
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 2:16Wisdom will save you from the immoral woman, from the seductive words of the promiscuous woman.
- Proverbs 6:24It will keep you from the immoral woman, from the smooth tongue of a promiscuous woman.
- Proverbs 7:5Let them protect you from an affair with an immoral woman, from listening to the flattery of a promiscuous woman.
- Proverbs 22:14The mouth of an immoral woman is a dangerous trap; those who make the Lord angry will fall into it.
- Proverbs 23:27A prostitute is a dangerous trap; a promiscuous woman is as dangerous as falling into a narrow well.
- 1 Kings 11:1Now King Solomon loved many foreign women. Besides Pharaoh’s daughter, he married women from Moab, Ammon, Edom, Sidon, and from among the Hittites.
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
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