Proverbs 5:15-23

Proverbs 5:15-23

[15] Drink  waters  out of thine own cistern,  and running waters  out of  thine own well.  [16] Let thy fountains  be dispersed  abroad,  and rivers  of waters  in the streets.  [17] Let them be only thine own, and not strangers'  with thee. [18] Let thy fountain  be blessed:  and rejoice  with the wife  of thy youth.  [19] Let her be as the loving  hind  and pleasant  roe;  let her breasts  satisfy  thee at all times;  and be thou ravished  always  with her love.  [20] And why wilt thou, my son,  be ravished  with a strange woman,  and embrace  the bosom  of a stranger?  [21] For the ways  of man  are before  the eyes  and he pondereth  all his goings.  [22] His own iniquities  shall take  the wicked  himself, and he shall be holden  with the cords  of his sins.  [23] He shall die  without instruction;  and in the greatness  of his folly  he shall go astray. 

What does Proverbs 5:15-23 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Proverbs 5:15-23 point out a better way, namely: fidelity to one"s marriage partner. Strict faithfulness need not result in unhappiness or failure to experience what is best in life, as the world likes to try to make us think. Rather, it guards us from the heartbreak and tragedy that accompany promiscuity. The figures of a cistern and a well ( Proverbs 5:15) refer to one"s wife (cf. Song of Solomon 4:15), who satisfies desire.
The Hebrew text favors taking Proverbs 5:16 as a positive statement ("Let your streams ...") rather than as a question, as in the NASB. The meaning of Proverbs 5:17-18 then becomes, "The influence of the faithful man (His "springs") become a blessing to others." [1] Another view is that the springs and streams in view belong to the man being warned who might share them with a woman of the street. [2]
". . . the wife is viewed not as child-bearer but as pleasure-giver." [3]
The erotic language of Proverbs 5:19-20 may be surprising, but it shows that God approves sexual joy in marriage and it is a prophylactic against unfaithfulness (cf. 1 Corinthians 7:5; 1 Corinthians 7:9). A man can either find his exhilaration ( Proverbs 5:19, i.e, sexual stimulation, also translated intoxication in Proverbs 20:1 and Isaiah 28:7) in his wife or in another woman. The same Hebrew word reads "go astray" in Proverbs 5:23 b. The issue is self-discipline empowered by God"s Spirit.
"We don"t really understand the meaning of the phrase "God is love" ( 1 John 4:8) until we understand that life is fundamentally relationships. And plenitude of relationship is fullness of life. Paucity of relationship is impoverishment of life." [4]
"Lack of discipline" (RSV, Proverbs 5:23 a) is better than "lack of instruction." People usually do not become unfaithful to their spouses because they do not know better but because they do not choose better. [5]
". . . if the young man is not captivated [6] by his wife but becomes captivated with a stranger in sinful Acts , then his own iniquities will captivate him; and he will be led to ruin." [2]
"There is no "free love"-only free exploitation." [8]