Proverbs 5:15-23

¹⁵ Drink water from your own cistern, running water from your own well. ¹⁶ Should your springs overflow in the streets, your streams of water in the public squares? ¹⁷ Let them be yours alone, never to be shared with strangers. ¹⁸ May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth. ¹⁹ A loving doe, a graceful deer- may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be intoxicated with her love. ²⁰ Why, my son, be intoxicated with another man's wife? Why embrace the bosom of a wayward woman? ²¹ For your ways are in full view of the Lord, and he examines all your paths. ²² The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare them; the cords of their sins hold them fast. ²³ For lack of discipline they will die, led astray by their own great folly.

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Other Translations of Proverbs 5:15-23

King James Version

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 satisfy...: Heb. water thee 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 of the Lord, 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. sins: Heb. sin ²³ He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.

English Standard Version

¹⁵ Drink water from your own cistern, flowing water from your own well. ¹⁶ Should your springs be scattered abroad, streams of water in the streets? ¹⁷ Let them be for yourself alone, and not for strangers with you. ¹⁸ Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth, ¹⁹ a lovely deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight; be intoxicatedHebrew be led astray; also verse 20 always in her love. ²⁰ Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with a forbidden woman and embrace the bosom of an adulteress?Hebrew a foreign woman ²¹ For a man's ways are before the eyes of the Lord, and he pondersOr makes level all his paths. ²² The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him, and he is held fast in the cords of his sin. ²³ He dies for lack of discipline, and because of his great folly he is led astray.

The Message

¹⁵ Do you know the saying, "Drink from your own rain barrel, draw water from your own spring-fed well"? ¹⁶ It's true. Otherwise, you may one day come home and find your barrel empty and your well polluted. ¹⁷ Your spring water is for you and you only, not to be passed around among strangers. ¹⁸ Bless your fresh-flowing fountain! Enjoy the wife you married as a young man! ¹⁹ Lovely as an angel, beautiful as a rose - don't ever quit taking delight in her body. Never take her love for granted! ²⁰ Why would you trade enduring intimacies for cheap thrills with a whore? for dalliance with a promiscuous stranger? ²¹ Mark well that God doesn't miss a move you make; he's aware of every step you take. ²² The shadow of your sin will overtake you; you'll find yourself stumbling all over yourself in the dark. ²³ Death is the reward of an undisciplined life; your foolish decisions trap you in a dead end.

New King James Version

¹⁵ Drink water from your own cistern, And running water from your own well. ¹⁶ Should your fountains be dispersed abroad, Streams of water in the streets? ¹⁷ Let them be only your own, And not for strangers with you. ¹⁸ Let your fountain be blessed, And rejoice with the wife of your youth. ¹⁹ As a loving deer and a graceful doe, Let her breasts satisfy you at all times; And always be enraptured with her love. ²⁰ For why should you, my son, be enraptured by an immoral woman, And be embraced in the arms of a seductress? ²¹ For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, And He ponders all his paths. ²² His own iniquities entrap the wicked man, And he is caught in the cords of his sin. ²³ He shall die for lack of instruction, And in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.

New Living Translation

¹⁵ Drink water from your own well- share your love only with your wife. ¹⁶ Why spill the water of your springs in the streets, having sex with just anyone? ¹⁷ You should reserve it for yourselves. Never share it with strangers. ¹⁸ Let your wife be a fountain of blessing for you. Rejoice in the wife of your youth. ¹⁹ She is a loving deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts satisfy you always. May you always be captivated by her love. ²⁰ Why be captivated, my son, by an immoral woman, or fondle the breasts of a promiscuous woman? ²¹ For the Lord sees clearly what a man does, examining every path he takes. ²² An evil man is held captive by his own sins; they are ropes that catch and hold him. ²³ He will die for lack of self-control; he will be lost because of his great foolishness.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on Proverbs 5:15-23

Commentary on Proverbs 5:15-23

(Read Proverbs 5:15-23)

Lawful marriage is a means God has appointed to keep from these destructive vices. But we are not properly united, except as we attend to God's word, seeking his direction and blessing, and acting with affection. Ever remember, that though secret sins may escape the eyes of our fellow-creatures, yet a man's ways are before the eyes of the Lord, who not only sees, but ponders all his goings. Those who are so foolish as to choose the way of sin, are justly left of God to themselves, to go on in the way to destruction.