who abandons the partner of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God.
Parallel translations
- WEB who forsakes the friend of her youth, and forgets the covenant of her God:
- KJV Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.
- NKJV Who forsakes the companion of her youth, And forgets the covenant of her God.
- NASB Who leaves the companion of her youth And forgets the covenant of her God;
- NLT She has abandoned her husband and ignores the covenant she made before God.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
She has abandoned her husband and forgotten the covenant of her God. It matters because it shows sexual sin involves breaking sacred covenant bonds.
Overview
Her unfaithfulness is not merely social but covenantal, forsaking both the companion of her youth and her vows before God. Marriage is portrayed as a covenant under God, not a mere contract. This dignifies marriage and reflects the covenant faithfulness God shows His people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Ezek 16:59–60For this is what the Lord GOD says: I will deal with you according to your deeds, since you have despised the oath by breaking the covenant.
- Jer 3:4Have you not just called to Me, ‘My Father, You are my friend from youth.
- Ezek 16:8Then I passed by and saw you, and you were indeed old enough for love. So I spread My cloak over you and covered your nakedness. I pledged Myself to you, entered into a covenant with you, and you became Mine, declares the Lord GOD.
- Mal 2:14–16Yet you ask, “Why?” It is because the LORD has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have broken faith, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant.
- Prov 5:18May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth:
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Wisdom personified, with God before creation and the agent of all things, anticipates Christ 'in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom' — the wisdom of God made flesh.
How Proverbs 2:17 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.