Proverbs 5:19

Pro 5:19 [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.

Ver. 19. Let her be as the loving hind, &c.] The hind and the roe are the females of the hart and roebuck, of which creatures it is noted that of all other beasts they are most enamoured, {a} as I may so speak, with their mates, and even mate again in their heat, and desire after them. This being taken in a good sense, may set forth the ardent affections that husbands should bear to the wives of their bosoms; so they are called, too, because they should be as dear to them as the hearts in their bosoms. A wife is the most proper object of love, {Col 3:18} above parent, friend, child, or any other, though never so dear to us.

And be thou ravished always.] Heb., Err thou always in her love: velut extra te sis et rerum aliarum obliviscare. {b} It implies, saith one, a lawful earnest affection, so as, first, to oversee some blemishes and defects. Love is blind. In facie naevus causa decoris erit. {c} Secondly, so highly to esteem her, and so lovingly to comport with her, that others may think him even to dote on her. Howbeit mulierosity must be carefully avoided, as a harmful error, and that saying of Jerome duly pondered and believed, Quisquis in uxorem ardentior est amator, adulter est. As a man may be drunk with his own drink, and a glutton by excessive devouring of his own meat, so likewise one may be unclean by the intemperate or intempestive abuse of the marriage bed, which ought by no means to be stained or dishonoured with sensual excesses.

{a} Inter utrumque ardor amoris summus, ut Oppianus de cervis agens scribit.

{b} Mercer.

{c} Ovid.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Pro 5:19. Let her be as the loving hind — Hebrew, as the hind of loves; as amiable and delightful as the hinds are to princes and great men, who used to make them tame and familiar, and to take great delight in them, as has been observed by many writers. “The wise man,” says Bishop Patrick, “describes allegorically the felicities of the nuptial state, first under the comparison of a domestic fountain, where a man may quench his natural thirst, and from whence streams, that is, children, may be derived, to serve the public good; and, secondly, under the comparisons, of a young hind and pleasant roe, which naturalists have observed to be very fond creatures, which were usually kept by the greatest persons in their palaces, who diverted themselves with them, and adorned them with chains and garlands.” Let her breasts — Rather, her loves, as Houbigant renders דדוה, at all times, in all ages and conditions; not only love her when she is young and beautiful, but when she is old, or even deformed; and be thou always ravished with her love — Love her fervently. It is a hyperbolical expression.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

5:19 deer: cp. Song 4:5.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

loving . . . roe--other figures for a wife from the well-known beauty of these animals.

breasts--(Compare Sol 1:13; Eze 23:3, Eze 23:8).

ravished--literally, "intoxicated," that is, fully satisfied.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 19. The loving hind and pleasant roe] By אילת aiyeleth, the deer; by יעלה yaalah, the ibex or mountain goat, may be meant.

Let her breasts satisfy thee] As the infant is satisfied with the breasts of its mother; so shouldst thou be with the wife of thy youth.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(19) Loving hind and pleasant roe.—The deer and chamois, from their grace and speed and lustrous eyes, have always been chosen by the Oriental poets as figures of human strength and beauty. (Comp. Son_2:9; Son_2:17; Son_7:3; Son_8:14; Psa_18:33.) Both these animals are said to be remarkable for their affection to their young.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

19. Let her be as] These words, which are not in the Hebrew, are not wanted. Read “A loving hind &c.” The imagery again, which is thoroughly Oriental, reappears in the Song of Solomon (Pro_2:9; Pro_2:17, Pro_7:3, Pro_8:14).

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe,.... That is, the wife of youth; let her always appear to thee as amiable and lovely as these creatures are; or let her be loved by thee as these are by princes and great men (w), who used to keep them tame, keep them clean, wash, comb them, and adorn them, and play with them; or rather, as these creatures are loving to their mates, let thy love be single, chaste, pure, and fervent, as theirs; see Sol 2:9. The pure church of Christ is very different from the apostate church of Rome; the one is compared to a loving and lovely creature, innocent and chaste; the other to a cruel and savage beast, Rev 13:1;

let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; even as it were to be inebriated therewith, and so as not to seek out elsewhere to strange women for satisfaction; see Sol 1:13. The church's breasts are the ordinances of the Gospel, which are said to be like young roes, and afford great pleasure, satisfaction, and refreshment to true believers, Sol 4:5;

and be thou ravished always with her love; greatly delighted with it, both in loving her and being loved by her; and let this always continue in old age as well as in youth; or now as well as formerly, and not for a short time, but for continuance: or, "err thou always in her love" (x); if any error is committed by thee, let it be on the side of love, in loving her too much; better err in loving her than in loving a strange woman.

(w) "Cervus erat forma praestanti", &c. Virgil. Aeneid l. 7. (x) "errabis", Montanus, Raynus, Cocceius; "hallucinaberis", Vatablus; "errato", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Better, “A loving hind (is she) and pleasant roe.” As in the whole circle of Arab and Persian poetry the antelope and the gazelle are the chosen images of beauty, so they served with equal fitness for the masculine and feminine types of it. (Compare the names Tabitha and Dorcas Act 9:36.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Love. This is spoken by way of permission, and to withdraw people from unlawful connections, Ecclesiastes ii. 1., and 1 Corinthians vii. 29. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

As the loving hind, or, as the beloved hind, Heb. the hind of loves; as amiable and delightful as the hinds are, either,

1. To their males, the harts; or,

2. To princes and great men, who used to make them tame and familiar, and to take great delight in them, as hath been noted by many writers; of which see my Latin Synopsis.

Her breasts, i.e. her loves and embraces, expressed by lying between the breasts, Son 1:13; Compare Eze 23:3,8,21.

At all times; at all convenient times; for that there may be excess in the use of the marriage bed is manifest, not only from many scriptures, but from the light of nature, and the consent of wise and sober heathens, who have laid restraints upon men in this particular. A man may be drunk with his own wine, and intemperate with his own wife. Or, in all ages and conditions. Do not only love her when she is young and beautiful, but also when she is old and deformed.

Be thou ravished; love her fervently. It is an hyperbolical expression.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

19. The loving hind and pleasant roe — Animals which were much prized and petted on account of their beauty and affectionate dispositions. They were kept in palaces and courts, and adorned with chains and garlands, and highly esteemed for their graceful playfulness. This seems to indicate the characteristics of a good wife, and also the endearing fondness with which she should be treated. The latter part of the verse may express this sentiment, If thou art entranced with love, let it be with thine own wife. This is not to be understood as a license to excess, but as a prohibition of unlawful indulgence. Zockler translates: “The lovely hind, the graceful gazelle, let her bosom charm thee always. In her love delight thyself evermore. Fitly chosen images,” he remarks, “to illustrate the graceful, lively, facinating nature of a young wife.” Stuart: “A lovely hind and a graceful doe,” etc. There are numerous passages from Eastern poets which show the popularity of this figure in Oriental poetry. “These pretty animals,” says Thomson, “are amiable, affectionate, and loving by universal testimony, and no sweeter comparison can be found.”

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe. The words in italics do not occur in the original. The expression, "the loving hind and pleasant roe," is, therefore, to be attached to the preceding verse, as carrying on the sense and as descriptive of the grace and fascinating charms of the young wife. As combining these attributes, she is to be the object of thy love and devotion, the one in whom thine affections are to find the fulfilment of their desires. Love and grace are her possessions. The loving hind (Hebrew, ayyeleth ahavim); literally, the hind of loves, which may be understood, as in the Authorized Version, as pointing to the fondness of this animal for its young, or as descriptive of its beauty and the extreme gracefulness of its form. In this sense the phrase may be rendered, "the lovely hind." The ayyeleth, or ayyalah, feminine of ayyal, "stag," or "hart," was in all probability the gazelle, Pleasant roe (Hebrew, yhaalath khen); literally, the ibex of grace. The particular expression only occurs here in the Bible. The yaalath is the feminine of yaal, "the ibex" or "mountain goat" according to Bochart, or the "chamois" according to Gesenius. It does not appear that it is so much "the pleasantness" or amiability of this animal which is here alluded to as its gracefulness of form. As terms of endearment, the words entered largely into the erotic poetry of the East. Thus in the Son_4:5 the bride likens her beloved to "a roe or young hart". (cf. also Son_4:1-7 and Son_8:14) while numerous examples might be quoted from the Arabian and Persian poets. They were also employed sometimes as names for women. Compare the superscription of Ps 22, Ayyeleth hash-shakar, "Upon the hind of the dawn." Let her breasts satisfy thee at all times. The love of the wife is to refresh and fully satisfy the husband. The word dadeyah, "her breasts," only occurs here and in Eze_23:3, Eze_23:8, Eze_23:21, and is equivalent to dodeyah, "her love." The marginal reading, "water thee," serves to bring out the literal meaning of the y"ravvuka, derived from ravah, in kal, "to drink largely," "to be satisfied with drink," but misses the emphatic force of the piel, "to be fully satisfied or satiated." This is expressed very forcibly in the Vulgate rendering, "Let her breasts inebriate thee (indebrient te)," which represents the strong influence which the attractions of the wife are to maintain. The LXX, on the other hand, avoiding the rather sensual colouring of the language, substitutes, "May she thine own lead thee, and be with thee always." And be thou ravished always with her love; i.e. let it intoxicate thee. The teacher, by a bold figure, describes the entire fascination which the husband is to allow the wife to exercise over him. The verb shagah is "to reel under the influence of wine," and is so used in the succeeding vers. 20 and 23, and Pro_20:1 and Isa_28:7. The primary meaning, "to err from the way," scarcely applies here, and does not express the idea of the teacher, which is to describe "an intensity of love connected with the feeling of superabundant happiness" (Delitzsch). The Vulgate, In amore ejus delectare jugiter, "In her love delight thyself continually," and the LXX, "For in her love thou shalt be daily engaged," are mere paraphrases.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Satisfy thee - At all convenient times: for that there may be excess in the marriage-bed is manifest. Ravished - Love her fervently. It is an hyperbolical expression.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

you shall always be intoxicated Heb. תשגה. I saw in the words of Rabbi Moshe Hadarshan that תשגה means “you shall always busy yourself,” and it is an Arabic expression. He cited as proof, “to seek shegiah,” meaning to seek business, but I do not know where it is stated. But our Sages explained it as an expression of intoxication (lit. inadvertence), as its apparent meaning. On account of her love, you shall be inadvertent in your other affairs, because she will guard your things. They said concerning Rabbi Eleazar the son of Pedath, that he was preaching in the lower market and his cloak was lying in the upper market. Once a man came and found a snake coiled on it.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.