Proverbs 5:10-20

10 lest strangers be filled with thy strength, and thy labours come into the houses of strangers;

11 And thou repent at last, when the flesh of thy body is consumed,

12 and thou shalt say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart avoided reproofs!

13 I heard not the voice of him that instructed me, and taught me, neither did I apply mine ear.

14 I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly.

15 Drink waters out of thine own vessels, and out of thine own springing wells.

16 Let not waters out of thy fountain be spilt by thee, but let thy waters go into thy streets.

17 Let them be only thine own, and let no stranger partake with thee.

18 Let thy fountain of water be thine own; and rejoice with the wife of thy youth.

19 Let loving hart and thy graceful colt company with thee, and let her be considered thine own, and be with thee at all times; for ravished with her love thou shalt be greatly increased.

20 Be not intimate with a strange woman, neither fold thyself in the arms of a woman not thine own.

Proverbs 5:10-20 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.

Footnotes

• [a]. Alex. omits 'not.'