Bible Strands
Proverbs 2:17
who abandons the partner of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Wisdom addresses the reader within a warning against the seductive stranger, marking the moment just before describing the woman's destructive path.
The words — עֹזֶבֶת ('o.zevet) means "who leaves," and בְּרִית (be.rith) translates as "covenant," both describing the woman's active breach of commitment.
The thread — The theme of breaking a sworn vow runs through Ezekiel 16:59, while the "partner of her youth" motif echoes the covenant and marital language in Jeremiah 3:4 and Ezekiel 16:8.
Why it lands — The text states that abandoning a foundational vow destroys relational and spiritual stability, requiring the reader to treat past commitments as binding rather than disposable.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.
Cross-references
- Ezekiel 16:59 For 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.
- Jeremiah 3:4 Have you not just called to Me, ‘My Father, You are my friend from youth.
- Ezekiel 16:8 Then 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.
- Proverbs 5:18 May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth:
- Malachi 2:14 Yet 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.