39 The positive instruction is now given: Find pleasure in a fulfilling marriage. The “fountain” is another in the series of implied comparisons with the sexual pleasure that must be fulfilled at home. That it should be blessed (the passive participle of בָּרַךְ, barakh) indicates that sexual delight is God-given; having it blessed would mean that it would be endowed with fruitfulness, that it would fulfill all that God intended it to do.
40 The form is a Qal imperative with a vav (ו) of sequence; after the jussive of the first half this colon could be given an equivalent translation or logically subordinated.
41 Or “in the wife you married when you were young” (cf. , ); Heb “in the wife of your youth” (so , ). The genitive functions as an attributive adjective: “young wife” or “youthful wife.” Another possibility is that it refers to the age in which a man married his wife: “the wife you married in your youth.”
42 The construct expression “a doe of loves” is an attributive genitive, describing the doe with the word “loves.” The plural noun may be an abstract plural of intensification (but this noun only occurs in the plural). The same construction follows with a “deer of grace”—a graceful deer. The imagery for intimate love in marriage is now employed to stress the beauty of sexual fulfillment as it was intended. The doe and deer, both implied comparisons, exhibit the grace and love of the wife.
43 The verb שָׁגָה (shagah) means “to swerve; to meander; to reel” as in drunkenness; it signifies a staggering gait expressing the ecstatic joy of a captivated lover. It may also mean “to be always intoxicated with her love” (cf. ).
44 In the interrogative clause the imperfect has a deliberative nuance.
45 Heb “foreigner” (so , ), but this does not mean that the woman is non-Israelite. This term describes a woman who is outside the moral boundaries of the covenant community—she is another man’s wife, but since she acts with moral abandonment she is called “foreign.”
46 Heb “man.”
47 Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
48 814 פָּלַס 2 suggests that the participle מְפַּלֵּס (mépalles) means “to make level [or, straight].” As one’s ways are in front of the eyes of the Lord, they become straight or right. It could be translated “weighs” since it is a denominative from the noun for “balance, scale”; the Lord weighs or examines the actions.
49 Heb “all his”; the referent (the person mentioned in the first half of the verse) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
50 The suffix on the verb is the direct object suffix; “the wicked” is a second object by apposition: They capture him, the wicked. Since “the wicked” is not found in the , it could be an old scribal error; or the Greek translator may have simply smoothed out the sentence. C. H. Toy suggests turning the sentence into a passive idea: “The wicked will be caught in his iniquities” (Proverbs [], ).
51 The word is the subject of the clause, but the pronominal suffix has no clear referent. The suffix is proleptic, referring to the wicked.
52 Heb “his own iniquities will capture the wicked.” The translation shifts the syntax for the sake of smoothness and readability.
53 The lack of discipline and control in the area of sexual gratification is destructive. The one who plays with this kind of sin will become ensnared by it and led to ruin.
54 The Hebrew is structured chiastically: “his own iniquities will capture the wicked, by the cords of his own sin will he be held.”
55 The preposition בּ (bet) is used in a causal sense: “because” (cf. , , ).
56 The word אִוַּלְתּוֹ (’ivvalto, “his folly”) is from the root אול and is related to the noun אֶוִיל (’evil, “foolish; fool”). The noun אִוֶּלֶת (’ivvelet, “folly”) describes foolish and destructive activity. It lacks understanding, destroys what wisdom builds, and leads to destruction if it is not corrected.
57 The verb שָׁגָה (shagah, “to swerve; to reel”) is repeated in a negative sense. If the young man is not captivated by his wife but is captivated with a stranger in sinful acts, then his own iniquities will captivate him and he will be led to ruin.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

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.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

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.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

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.

NLTNew Living Translation

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.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

May your fountain be blessed,

and rejoice in the wife of your youth.

She is a deer of love and a doe of grace;

may her breasts satisfy you always;

by her love may you be intoxicated continually.

Why should you be intoxicated, my child, by a strange woman,

and embrace the bosom of a foreigner?

For before the eyes of Yahweh are human ways,

and all his paths he examines.

His iniquities shall ensnare him, the evildoer,

and in the vanity of his sin he shall be caught.

He shall die for lack of discipline,

and in the greatness of his folly he shall be lost.

KJV 1900King James Version

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.

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