Proverbs 5:19

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.”