Proverbs 5:7-17

7 And now, ye sons, hearken to me, And turn not from sayings of my mouth.

8 Keep far from off her thy way, And come not near unto the opening of her house,

9 Lest thou give to others thy honour, And thy years to the fierce,

10 Lest strangers be filled [with] thy power, And thy labours in the house of a stranger,

11 And thou hast howled in thy latter end, In the consumption of thy flesh and thy food,

12 And hast said, `How have I hated instruction, And reproof hath my heart despised,

13 And I have not hearkened to the voice of my directors, And to my teachers have not inclined mine ear.

14 As a little thing I have been all evil, In the midst of an assembly and a company.

15 Drink waters out of thine own cistern, Even flowing ones out of thine own well.

16 Let thy fountains be scattered abroad, In broad places rivulets of waters.

17 Let them be to thee for thyself, And not to strangers with thee.

Proverbs 5:7-17 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.