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Proverbs 5:17

Old Testament Wisdom/Poetry ASV (1901)

What does Proverbs 5:17 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “Let them be for thyself alone, And not for strangers with thee.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

Let them be for thyself alone, And not for strangers with thee.
Proverbs 5:17 — American Standard Version

Context — Proverbs 5

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
14I was well-nigh in all evil In the midst of the assembly and congregation.
15Drink waters out of thine own cistern, And running waters out of thine own well.
16Should thy springs be dispersed abroad, And streams of water in the streets?
17Let them be for thyself alone, And not for strangers with thee.
18Let thy fountain be blessed; And rejoice in the wife of thy youth.
19[As] a loving hind and a pleasant doe, Let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; And be thou ravished always with her love.
20For why shouldest thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, And embrace the bosom of a foreigner?
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“Let them be only thine own, and not strangers’ with thee.] Or “they shall be thine own”f116, as the Targum; meaning not the cistern, the well, or the wife, but the fountains and rivers, or the children; by a man’s cleaving to his own wife, who is a chaste and virtuous woman, he is satisfied that the children he has by her are his own, and not another’s; whereas if he has to do with a common harlot, it is uncertain whose children they are, she prostituting herself to many: it may be applied to the peculiar possession and steadfast retention of the truths of the Gospel, in opposition to all divers and strange doctrines propagated by others; (see <660225> Revelation 2:25 3:11).”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“only thine own--harlots' children have no known father.”
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Related study paths

Read Proverbs 5 in contextBrowse Hebrew word studiesOpen this verse in the study reader

Sources and verification