Proverbs 5:14-23

14 "I was almost in utter ruin In the midst of the assembly and congregation."
15 Drink water from your own cistern And fresh water from your own well.
16 Should your 1springs be dispersed abroad, Streams of water in the streets?
17 Let them be yours alone And not for strangers with you.
18 Let your 2fountain be blessed, And 3rejoice in the 4wife of your youth.
19 As a loving 5hind and a graceful doe, Let her breasts satisfy you at all times; Be exhilarated always with her love.
20 For why should you, my son, be exhilarated with an 6adulteress And embrace the bosom of a 7foreigner?
21 For the 8ways of a man are before the eyes of the LORD, And He 9watches all his paths.
22 His 10own iniquities will capture the wicked, And he will be held with the cords of his sin.
23 He will 11die for lack of instruction, And in the greatness of his folly he will go astray.

Proverbs 5:14-23 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO PROVERBS 5

The general instruction of this chapter is to avoid whoredom, and make use of lawful marriage, and keep to that. It is introduced with an exhortation to attend to wisdom and understanding, Pr 5:1,2; one part of which lies in shunning an adulterous woman; who is described by her flattery, with which she deceives; by the end she brings men to, which is destruction and death; and by the uncertainty of her ways, which cannot be known, Pr 5:3-6. Wherefore men are advised to keep at the utmost distance from her, Pr 5:7,8; lest their honour, strength, wealth, and labours, be given to others, Pr 5:9,10; and repentance and mourning follow, when too late, Pr 5:11-14. And, as a remedy against whoredom, entering into a marriage state is advised to, and a strict regard to that; allegorically expressed by a man's drinking water out of his fountain, and by his wife being as a loving hind and pleasant roe to him, the single object of his affections, Pr 5:15-19. As also the consideration of the divine omniscience is proposed, to deter him from the sin of adultery, Pr 5:20,21; as well as the inevitable ruin wicked men are brought into by it, Pr 5:22,23.

Cross References 11

  • 1. Proverbs 5:18; Proverbs 9:17; Song of Songs 4:12, 15
  • 2. Proverbs 9:17; Song of Songs 4:12, 15
  • 3. Ecclesiastes 9:9
  • 4. Malachi 2:14
  • 5. Song of Songs 2:9, 17; Song of Songs 4:5; Song of Songs 7:3
  • 6. Proverbs 5:3
  • 7. Proverbs 2:16; Proverbs 6:24; Proverbs 7:5; Proverbs 23:27
  • 8. Job 14:16; Job 31:4; Job 34:21; Psalms 119:168; Proverbs 15:3; Jeremiah 16:17; Jeremiah 32:19; Hosea 7:2; Hebrews 4:13
  • 9. Proverbs 4:26
  • 10. Numbers 32:23; Psalms 7:15; Psalms 9:15; Psalms 40:12; Proverbs 1:31, 32
  • 11. Job 4:21; Job 36:12

Footnotes 3

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