DRINK WATER FROM YOUR OWN CISTERN

Passage: Proverbs 5:1-23

Key verse: 15

NIV

Warning Against Adultery

5 My son,(A) pay attention to my wisdom,
    turn your ear to my words(B) of insight,
2 that you may maintain discretion
    and your lips may preserve knowledge.
3 For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey,
    and her speech is smoother than oil;(C)
4 but in the end she is bitter as gall,(D)
    sharp as a double-edged sword.
5 Her feet go down to death;
    her steps lead straight to the grave.(E)
6 She gives no thought to the way of life;
    her paths wander aimlessly, but she does not know it.(F)

7 Now then, my sons, listen(G) to me;
    do not turn aside from what I say.
8 Keep to a path far from her,(H)
    do not go near the door of her house,
9 lest you lose your honor to others
    and your dignity[a] to one who is cruel,
10 lest strangers feast on your wealth
    and your toil enrich the house of another.(I)
11 At the end of your life you will groan,
    when your flesh and body are spent.
12 You will say, “How I hated discipline!
    How my heart spurned correction!(J)
13 I would not obey my teachers
    or turn my ear to my instructors.
14 And I was soon in serious trouble(K)
    in the assembly of God’s people.”(L)

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(M) be blessed,
    and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.(N)
19 A loving doe, a graceful deer(O)—
    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(P) of the Lord,
    and he examines(Q) all your paths.(R)
22 The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare them;(S)
    the cords of their sins hold them fast.(T)
23 For lack of discipline they will die,(U)
    led astray by their own great folly.(V)

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Footnotes
  1. Proverbs 5:9 Or years
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

Warning Against Adultery

5 (A)My son, be attentive to my wisdom;
    (B)incline your ear to my understanding,
2 that you may keep (C)discretion,
    and your lips may (D)guard knowledge.
3 For the lips of (E)a forbidden[a] woman drip honey,
    and her speech[b] is (F)smoother than oil,
4 but in the end she is (G)bitter as (H)wormwood,
    (I)sharp as (J)a two-edged sword.
5 Her feet (K)go down to death;
    her steps follow the path to[c] Sheol;
6 she (L)does not ponder the path of life;
    her ways wander, and she does not know it.

7 And (M)now, O sons, listen to me,
    and do not depart from the words of my mouth.
8 Keep your way far from her,
    and do not go near the door of her house,
9 lest you give your honor to others
    and your years to the merciless,
10 lest strangers take their fill of your strength,
    and your (N)labors go to the house of a foreigner,
11 and at the end of your life you (O)groan,
    when your flesh and body are consumed,
12 and you say, (P)“How I hated discipline,
    and my heart (Q)despised reproof!
13 I did not listen to the voice of my teachers
    or incline my ear to my instructors.
14 (R)I am at the brink of utter ruin
    in the assembled congregation.”

15 Drink (S)water from your own cistern,
    flowing water from your own well.
16 Should your (T)springs be scattered abroad,
    streams of water (U)in the streets?
17 (V)Let them be for yourself alone,
    and not for strangers with you.
18 Let your (W)fountain be blessed,
    and (X)rejoice in (Y)the wife of your youth,
19     a lovely (Z)deer, a graceful doe.
Let her breasts (AA)fill you at all times with delight;
    be intoxicated[d] always in her love.
20 Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with (AB)a forbidden woman
    and embrace the bosom of (AC)an adulteress?[e]
21 For (AD)a man's ways are (AE)before the eyes of the Lord,
    and he (AF)ponders[f] all his paths.
22 The (AG)iniquities of the wicked (AH)ensnare him,
    and he is held fast in the cords of his sin.
23 (AI)He dies for lack of discipline,
    and because of his great folly he is (AJ)led astray.

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Footnotes
  1. Proverbs 5:3 Hebrew strange; also verse 20
  2. Proverbs 5:3 Hebrew palate
  3. Proverbs 5:5 Hebrew lay hold of
  4. Proverbs 5:19 Hebrew be led astray; also verse 20
  5. Proverbs 5:20 Hebrew a foreign woman
  6. Proverbs 5:21 Or makes level
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

Proverbs 5 strongly warns against sexual immorality.

First, we must use discretion in our speech and guard our lips. The path to sexual immorality begins with who we associate with and choose to talk to. By opening this door, we make ourselves susceptible to smooth talk or a line that hooks us into an immoral relationship. Next, we are trapped by where we go and with whom. We would not fall into immorality if we did not go alone somewhere with the opposite sex. (This includes being alone with a digital device for sexual pleasure.) After committing sexual immorality, what is the result? Tragically, lives are ruined (9-14). Immorality makes us lose everything: our strength, spirit, power, wealth, and reputation.

Second, we must reserve sex for marriage. The command, “Drink water from your own cistern,” is a metaphor meaning that sex was made for marriage. There is an intoxicating joy in marital sex. Complete intimacy with your marriage partner brings real love and delight. It is a fountain of blessing to us. To achieve marital purity, we must fear God who sees all our ways and be on guard against the snares of folly and cords of sin.

Prayer: Father, thank you for your strong warning against sexual immorality. Please help me to have discretion and guard my ways before you.

One Word: Let your fountain be blessed (18)