Pro 5:15-21 | Clarke | STEP | Verse 15 Drink 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.

Proverbs 5:15-21

Verse 15

Drink 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. Verse 16

Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad - Let thy children lawfully begotten be numerous. Verse 17

Let them be only thine own - The off-spring of a legitimate connection; a bastard brood, however numerous, is no credit to any man. Verse 18

Let thy fountain be blessed - יהי מקורך ברוך yehi mekorecha baruch. Sit vena tua benedicta. Thy vein; that which carries off streams from the fountain of animal life, in order to disperse them abroad, and through the streets. How delicate and correct is the allusion here! But anatomical allusions must not be pressed into detail in a commentary on Scripture. Verse 19

The loving hind and pleasant roe - By אילת aiyeleth, the deer; by יעלה yaalah, the ibex or mountain goat, may be meant.

Let her breasts satisfy thee - As the infant is satisfied with the breasts of its mother; so shouldst thou be with the wife of thy youth. Verse 21

For the ways of a man - Whether they are public or private, God sees all the steps thou takest in life.