Bible Study Proverbs 5
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Proverbs 5 · WEB

Rejoice in the Wife of Your Youth

Listen — WEB narration 0:00 / 0:00 Narration: World English Bible (David Williams), public domain — AudioTreasure.

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My son, pay attention to my wisdom. Turn your ear to my understanding,
2that you may maintain discretion, that your lips may keep knowledge.
3For the lips of an adulteress drip honey. Her mouth is smoother than oil,
4but in the end she is as bitter as wormwood, and as sharp as a two-edged sword.
5Her feet go down to death. Her steps lead straight to Sheol.
6She gives no thought to the path of life. Her ways are crooked, and she doesn't know it.
7Now therefore, my sons, listen to me. Don't depart from the words of my mouth.
8Remove your way far from her. Don't come near the door of her house,
9lest you give your honor to others, and your years to the cruel one;
10lest strangers feast on your wealth, and your labors enrich another man's house.
11You will groan at your latter end, when your flesh and your body are consumed,
12and say, "How I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof!
13I haven't obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor turned my ear to those who instructed me!
14I was almost in utter ruin, in the middle of the assembly and congregation."
15Drink water from your own cistern, running water from your own well.
16Should your springs be dispersed abroad, streams of water in the streets?
17Let them be for yourself alone, not for strangers with you.
18Let your fountain be blessed. Rejoice in the wife of your youth.
19A loving doe, a graceful deer — let her breasts satisfy you at all times. Be captivated always with her love.
20For why should you, my son, be captivated with an adulteress? Why embrace the bosom of another?
21For a man's ways are before Yahweh's eyes. He examines all his paths.
22The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare him. The cords of his sin hold him firmly.
23He will die for lack of instruction. In the greatness of his folly, he will go astray.
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Summary

Proverbs 5 is the first of three extended warnings against sexual immorality (chapters 5, 6, 7). It describes the adulteress — honey-lipped, smoother than oil — whose end is death, Sheol, and ruin. The chapter then pivots to the positive alternative: rejoice in the wife of your youth, be captivated with her love, drink from your own cistern. The contrast is stark: the adulteress leads to bitter regret and consumed years; the wife of your youth is a fountain of blessing. The chapter closes with God's omniscience as the ultimate accountability.

Themes

  • The deceptive attractiveness of the adulteress: sweet beginning, bitter end
  • The tragic self-awareness of the fool who refused instruction — too late
  • Sexuality as a garden to be cultivated within covenant, not scattered abroad
  • Faithfulness as something active — rejoice, be captivated, be satisfied
  • God's omniscient observation of all paths as the foundation of sexual ethics

Key verses

  • Prov 5:18-19 — “Let your fountain be blessed. Rejoice in the wife of your youth.”
  • Prov 5:21 — “A man's ways are before Yahweh's eyes. He examines all his paths.”
  • Prov 5:3-4 — “The lips of an adulteress drip honey... but in the end she is as bitter as wormwood.”

Context & background

Proverbs 5-7 forms a trilogy on sexual temptation and faithfulness. The "adulteress" or "foreign woman" is a recurring figure in Proverbs 1-9 — she represents not only literal adultery but any seductive path that promises pleasure and delivers destruction. The marriage instruction (vv. 15-19) is one of the most direct affirmations of sexual joy within marriage in the Old Testament — the water imagery (cistern, well, springs) represents sexual intimacy as something to be enjoyed, not merely tolerated. "Rejoice in the wife of your youth" (v. 18) — *simcha*, deep gladness — commands active marital joy. The echo of the Song of Solomon in v. 19 ("loving doe, graceful deer") grounds the instruction in erotic delight within covenant. God's omniscience (v. 21) is not threatening but framing: nothing is hidden.

Cross-references

  • 1 Corinthians 7:3-5 — the duty of sexual faithfulness in marriage — v. 18-19's positive command
  • Hebrews 13:4 — "marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure" — v. 21's accountability
  • Matthew 5:27-28 — "anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery in his heart" — vv. 3-6's eye-guard
  • Romans 6:16 — "don't you know that to whom you yield yourselves as servants to obey, his servants you are?" — v. 22's ensnaring cords
  • Song of Solomon 1-2 — the erotic language of faithful love — v. 19's imagery

Check your reading

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  1. Observe

    What is the adulteress's appeal and end (vv. 3-6)?

  2. Observe

    What does the deluded man say when too late (vv. 12-14)?

  3. Interpret

    What blinds people to long-term consequences?

  4. Interpret

    Is marital joy active or passive?

  5. Apply

    What does staying far from temptation look like?

  6. Apply

    Is God's seeing motivating or comforting in private behavior?

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