Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.
Parallel translations
- WEB who forsakes the friend of her youth, and forgets the covenant of her God:
- BSB who abandons the partner of her youth and forgets 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 thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even deal with thee as thou hast done, which hast despised the oath in breaking the covenant.
- Jer 3:4Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My father, thou art the guide of my youth?
- Ezek 16:8Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest mine.
- Mal 2:14–16Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.
- Prov 5:18Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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.