Proverbs 5:15

Proverbs 5:15 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well.
• New International Version (NIV)Drink water from your own cistern, running water from your own well.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Drink water from your own cistern, flowing water from your own well.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Drink water from your own cistern, And running water from your own well.

Context of Proverbs 5:15

13Oh, why didn’t I listen to my teachers? Why didn’t I pay attention to my instructors? 14I have come to the brink of utter ruin, and now I must face public disgrace.” Drink water from your own well— share your love only with your wife. 16Why spill the water of your springs in the streets, having sex with just anyone? 17You should reserve it for yourselves. Never share it with strangers.

Proverbs 5:15 word by word

שְׁתֵה־מַ֥יִם מִבּוֹרֶ֑ךָ וְ֝נֹזְלִ֗ים מִתּ֥וֹךְ בְּאֵרֶֽךָ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Drinkשָׁתָהshâthâh · to drinkH8354
• watersמַיmayim · waterH4325
• out of thine own cisternבּוֹרbôr · pitH953
• and running watersנָזַלnâzal · to flowH5140
• out ofתָּ֫וֶךְtâvek · midstH8432
• thine own wellבְּאֵרbe'êr · wellH875

Cross-references for Proverbs 5:15

• Proverbs 5:18Let your wife be a fountain of blessing for you. Rejoice in the wife of your youth.
• 1 Corinthians 7:2But because there is so much sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband.
• Hebrews 13:4Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery.

Commentaries on Proverbs 5:15

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 15Drink waters out of thine own cistern - Be satisfied with thy own wife; and let the wife see that she reverence her husband; and not tempt him by inattention or unkindness to seek elsewhere what he has a right to expect, but cannot find, at home.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15The teacher seeks to counteract the evils of mere sensual passion chiefly by setting forth the true blessedness of which it is the counterfeit. The true wife is as a fountain of refreshment, where the weary soul may quench its thirst. Even the joy which is of the senses appears, as in the Song of Solomon, purified and stainless (see Proverbs 5:19 marginal reference).Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15-23Verses 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…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 15-18To drink from one's own well (see also Song 4:12, 15) means to enjoy sexual relations within marriage. Instead of spending sexual energy on immoral women, a man should build a healthy sexual relationship with his wife. Sex should not be shared with strangers. This honors marriage (Genesis 2:22–25) and follows the seventh commandment (Exodus 20:14 and Deuteronomy 5:18).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 15-2015-20. By figures, in which well, cistern, and fountain [Pr 5:15, 18] represent the wife, and rivers of waters [Pr 5:16] the children, men are exhorted to constancy and satisfaction in lawful conjugal enjoyments. In Pr 5:16, fountains (in the plural) rather denote the produce or waters of a spring, literally, "what is from a spring," and corresponds with "rivers of waters."Read the comment

Topics related to Proverbs 5:15

• Adultery
• Chastity
• Cistern
• Harlot (Prostitute)
• Husband
• Temptation
• Water
• Women
• Young Men

In the dictionaries

• Cistern
• Cord
• Mouth
• Cistern; Well; Pool; Aqueduct
• Education
• Hezekiah (2)
• Proverbs, the Book of
• Purity
• Sealed, Fountain
• Song of Songs

Commentaries on Proverbs 5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings