Proverbs 5:16

Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
fountains	מַעְיְנֹתֶ֣יךָ ma'.ye.no.Tei.kha	H4599	a fountain (also collectively) · noun, common feminine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
dispersed	יָפ֣וּצוּ ya.Fu.tzu	H6327	to dash in pieces · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
abroad	ח֑וּצָה Chu.tzah	H2351	properly · noun, common masculine singular absolute + directional suffix
rivers	פַּלְגֵי pal.gei-	H6388	a rill (i.e. small channel of water · noun, common masculine plural construct
waters	מָֽיִם Ma.yim	H4325	water · noun, common masculine plural absolute
streets	בָּ֝רְחֹב֗וֹת ba.re.cho.Vot	H7339	a width · preposition with the article + noun, common feminine plural absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Psalms 128:3 Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table.
Psalms 127:3 Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
Genesis 24:60 And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the…
Deuteronomy 33:28 Israel then shall dwell in safety alone: the fountain of Jacob shall be upon a land of corn and wine; also his heavens shall drop down dew.
Judges 12:9 And he had thirty sons, and thirty daughters, whom he sent abroad, and took in thirty daughters from abroad for his sons. And he judged Isra…
Psalms 68:26 Bless ye God in the congregations, even the Lord, from the fountain of Israel.
Isaiah 48:21 And they thirsted not when he led them through the deserts: he caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them: he clave the rock also, a…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Proverbs 5:15–end

Solomon, having shown the great evil that there is in adultery and fornication, and all such lewd and filthy courses, here prescribes remedies against them. I. Enjoy with satisfaction the comforts of lawful marriage, which was ordained for the prevention of uncleanness, and therefore ought to be made use of in time, lest it should not prove effectual for the cure of that which it might have prevented. Let none complain that God has dealt unkindly with them in forbidding them those pleasures which they have a natural desire of, for he has graciously provided for the regular gratification of them. "Thou mayest not indeed eat of every tree of the garden, but choose thee out one, which thou plea…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Proverbs 5:15

By figures, in which well, cistern, and fountain [Pro 5:15, Pro 5:18] represent the wife, and rivers of waters [Pro 5:16] the children, men are exhorted to constancy and satisfaction in lawful conjugal enjoyments. In Pro 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."

John Gill on Proverbs 5:16

Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad,.... Or "shall abound", as the Targum; that is, streams of water from fountains; which Aben Ezra interprets of a multitude of children, namely, that are lawfully begotten: the "fountains" are the man and his wife in lawful marriage; the streams are their offspring lawfully procreated by them; which may be said to be "dispersed abroad", when being grown up they are disposed of in marriage in other families, and so become fountains to others, and public blessings; and rivers of waters in the streets; meaning a numerous posterity as before; and such as a man is not ashamed publicly to own, whereas he is ashamed of such as are unlawfully begotten; but these…

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Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 5:15-17

The Church Fathers

"Let your fountains be dispersed abroad," etc. Give your son and daughter in marriage to others, and do this openly with many witnesses.
— Bede, Commentary on Proverbs

"Let them be yours alone," etc. Retain in your own power alone with whom you join your children in marriage, and let neither fornicators nor prostitutes be partakers with your offspring.
— Bede, Commentary on Proverbs

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

River — (1.) Heb. ‘aphik, properly the channel or ravine that holds water (2 Sam. 22:16), translated “brook,” “river,” “stream,” but not necessarily a perennial stream (Ezek. 6:3; 31:12; 32:6; 34:13). (2.)…
Roe — (Heb. tsebi), properly the gazelle (Arab. ghazal), permitted for food (Deut. 14:5; comp. Deut. 12:15, 22; 15:22; 1 Kings 4:23), noted for its swiftness and beauty and grace of form (2 Sam. 2:18; 1…
Adultery · 24:15-18;31:1,9-12; — 24:15-18;31:1,9-12;
Harlot (Prostitute) · To be shunned — To be shunned
Husband · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Temptation · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Young Men · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Proverbs 5:16

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Proverbs 5:15–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Proverbs 5:15

John Gill on Proverbs 5:16

Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 5:15-17

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Proverbs 5:16

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Proverbs 5:15–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Proverbs 5:15

John Gill on Proverbs 5:16

Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 5:15-17

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Proverbs 5:15-18

Rashi on Proverbs 5:16