King James Version
Proverbs 5
23 verses with commentary
Warning Against Adultery
My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding:
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
Attending to understanding requires intellectual engagement with wisdom. The Hebrew 'binah' (understanding) denotes discernment between truth and error, right and wrong. This chapter's warnings against adultery demonstrate wisdom's application to the most powerful human drives, showing no area of life falls outside God's moral governance.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2. testimonies--**The word of God is so called, because in it He testifies for truth and against sin.
**seek him--**that is, a knowledge of Him, with desire for conformity to His will.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 5
Chapter Outline
Exhortations to wisdom. The evils of licentiousness.(1-14)
Remedies against licentiousness, The miserable end of the wicked.(15-23)
**Verses 1-14**
Solomon cautions all young men, as his children, to abstain from fleshly lusts. Some, by the adulterous woman, here understand idolatry, false doctrine, which tends to lead astray men's minds and manners; but...
Read full commentary →That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
Guarding discretion and preserving knowledge requires attentiveness to wisdom. The Hebrew 'shamar' (keep/observe) and 'natsar' (preserve/guard) emphasize protective custody. Discretion and knowledge won't maintain themselves - they require vigilant defense against loss. This verse warns that wisdom, once gained, can be lost through neglect. Continuous effort preserves what careless inattention squ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**3. his ways--**the course He reveals as right.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 5
Chapter Outline
Exhortations to wisdom. The evils of licentiousness.(1-14)
Remedies against licentiousness, The miserable end of the wicked.(15-23)
**Verses 1-14**
Solomon cautions all young men, as his children, to abstain from fleshly lusts. Some, by the adulterous woman, here understand idolatry, false doctrine, which tends to lead astray men's minds and manners; but...
Read full commentary →For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: mouth: Heb. palate
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
The strange woman's seduction operates through deceptive speech—honey-sweet words concealing deadly consequences. This illustrates sin's fundamental pattern: promising pleasure while delivering death. Only God's word provides accurate assessment of sin's true nature and eternal ramifications.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
**V.**
(3) **Her mouth is smoother than oil.—**The experience of David also with Ahitophel (Psalm 55:21).
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**4-6. precepts--**are those directions which relate to special conduct, from a word meaning "to inspect."
**statutes--**or ordinances, positive laws of permanent nature. Both words originally denote rather positive than moral laws, such as derive force from the divine appointment, whether their nature or the reasons for them are apprehended by us or not.
**commandments--**or institutions. The...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 5
Chapter Outline
Exhortations to wisdom. The evils of licentiousness.(1-14)
Remedies against licentiousness, The miserable end of the wicked.(15-23)
**Verses 1-14**
Solomon cautions all young men, as his children, to abstain from fleshly lusts. Some, by the adulterous woman, here understand idolatry, false doctrine, which tends to lead astray men's minds and manners; but...
Read full commentary →But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
The adulteress's end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. What began with honey-sweetness (v.3) ends in bitterness and death. The two-edged sword imagery emphasizes fatal consequences - sexual sin kills spiritually and often physically through disease, violence, and destruction of relationships. The contrast between initial pleasure and ultimate pain exposes sin's deceptive nature.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **Bitter as wormwood.—**The *absinthium *of Revelation 8:11, where, apparently, it is considered as a poison. So God’s message to St. John (Revelation 10:10) was in his mouth sweet as honey (comp. Psalm 19:10), but made his belly bitter: that is, he met with much sorrow and trouble in making it known to men, but through this “much tribulation” (Acts 14:22) he “entered into the kingdom of heave...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**4-6. precepts--**are those directions which relate to special conduct, from a word meaning "to inspect."
**statutes--**or ordinances, positive laws of permanent nature. Both words originally denote rather positive than moral laws, such as derive force from the divine appointment, whether their nature or the reasons for them are apprehended by us or not.
**commandments--**or institutions. The...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 5
Chapter Outline
Exhortations to wisdom. The evils of licentiousness.(1-14)
Remedies against licentiousness, The miserable end of the wicked.(15-23)
**Verses 1-14**
Solomon cautions all young men, as his children, to abstain from fleshly lusts. Some, by the adulterous woman, here understand idolatry, false doctrine, which tends to lead astray men's minds and manners; but...
Read full commentary →Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
Her feet go down to death, her steps take hold on hell (sheol - grave, death, underworld). The path of adultery leads inexorably to destruction - not merely risk but certainty. The vivid imagery of descending to sheol emphasizes sexual sin's deadly trajectory. While applied specifically to adultery, the principle extends to all sin - persistent evil leads to death, spiritual and eternal. Only repe...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **Take hold on hell.—**They lead straight to it.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**4-6. precepts--**are those directions which relate to special conduct, from a word meaning "to inspect."
**statutes--**or ordinances, positive laws of permanent nature. Both words originally denote rather positive than moral laws, such as derive force from the divine appointment, whether their nature or the reasons for them are apprehended by us or not.
**commandments--**or institutions. The...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 5
Chapter Outline
Exhortations to wisdom. The evils of licentiousness.(1-14)
Remedies against licentiousness, The miserable end of the wicked.(15-23)
**Verses 1-14**
Solomon cautions all young men, as his children, to abstain from fleshly lusts. Some, by the adulterous woman, here understand idolatry, false doctrine, which tends to lead astray men's minds and manners; but...
Read full commentary →Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
The adulteress's lips drip honey and her mouth is smoother than oil - initial appeal that conceals danger. The Hebrew 'nopheth' (honeycomb) and 'shemen' (oil) describe sensory attractiveness. Sin's deception often involves genuine pleasure that blinds to consequences. What tastes sweet initially produces bitter results (v.4). This verse warns against trusting superficial appeal without examining l...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **Lest thou shouldest ponder **. . .—The meaning of the English version appears to be, “To prevent thy choosing the path of life, she leads thee by devious paths that thou knowest not where thou art.” It may also be rendered, “Far from smoothing for herself the path of life, her steps wander without her observing it.” By these words is described the reckless career of a vicious woman, who at l...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**7. judgments--**rules of conduct formed by God's judicial decisions; hence the wide sense of the word in the Psalms, so that it includes decisions of approval as well as condemnation.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 5
Chapter Outline
Exhortations to wisdom. The evils of licentiousness.(1-14)
Remedies against licentiousness, The miserable end of the wicked.(15-23)
**Verses 1-14**
Solomon cautions all young men, as his children, to abstain from fleshly lusts. Some, by the adulterous woman, here understand idolatry, false doctrine, which tends to lead astray men's minds and manners; but...
Read full commentary →Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
Children must hear and not depart from parental wisdom. The Hebrew 'shama' (hear/obey) and 'suwr' (depart/turn aside) demand both initial attention and continued adherence. This verse emphasizes receptivity to instruction - hearing isn't merely auditory reception but obedient response. Wisdom requires both receiving and retaining, both hearing and heeding.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(h)*. Eighth Discourse:*—*Against Adultery, and in Praise of Marriage *(Proverbs 5:7-23).
(7) **Hear me now therefore, O ye children.—**In this verse Solomon apparently ceases to report the words of his father, and resumes his speech in his own person.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
8. Recognizes the need of divine grace.
BETH. (Psa 119:9-16).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 5
Chapter Outline
Exhortations to wisdom. The evils of licentiousness.(1-14)
Remedies against licentiousness, The miserable end of the wicked.(15-23)
**Verses 1-14**
Solomon cautions all young men, as his children, to abstain from fleshly lusts. Some, by the adulterous woman, here understand idolatry, false doctrine, which tends to lead astray men's minds and manners; but...
Read full commentary →Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house:
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
Remove your way far from the adulteress, and don't come near her house's door. The imperatives demand radical avoidance - don't merely resist but flee. Joseph's example (Gen 39) demonstrates this wisdom - when faced with sexual temptation, he fled. The specific mention of her door emphasizes avoiding even proximity to temptation. This reflects Reformed understanding that humans are weak; therefore...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **Remove thy way **. . .—The great safeguard in such temptations, as all moralists with one mouth advise, is flight.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
9. The whole verse may be read as a question; for,
**by taking heed--**is better, "for" taking heed, that is, so as to do it. The answer is implied, and inferable from Psa 119:5, 10, 18, &c., that is, by God's grace.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 5
Chapter Outline
Exhortations to wisdom. The evils of licentiousness.(1-14)
Remedies against licentiousness, The miserable end of the wicked.(15-23)
**Verses 1-14**
Solomon cautions all young men, as his children, to abstain from fleshly lusts. Some, by the adulterous woman, here understand idolatry, false doctrine, which tends to lead astray men's minds and manners; but...
Read full commentary →Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel:
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
Give not your honor to others nor your years to the cruel. Sexual immorality surrenders dignity and consumes life. The Hebrew 'hod' (honor/splendor) and 'akzari' (cruel/fierce) describe what's lost and who profits. Adultery degrades the adulterer while enriching exploitative partners. Sin robs us of what's valuable and delivers us to what's destructive. Folly is transaction where we lose everythin...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **Thine honour.—**Rather, *freshness, vigour.*
**Thy years.—**The best years of thy life.
**Unto the cruel.—**That is the temptress herself, or her hangers-on and associates, whose sole idea is plunder.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
10-16. We must carefully treasure up the word of God, declare it to others, meditate on it, and heartily delight in it; and then by His grace we shall act according to it.
GIMEL. (Psa 119:17-24).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 5
Chapter Outline
Exhortations to wisdom. The evils of licentiousness.(1-14)
Remedies against licentiousness, The miserable end of the wicked.(15-23)
**Verses 1-14**
Solomon cautions all young men, as his children, to abstain from fleshly lusts. Some, by the adulterous woman, here understand idolatry, false doctrine, which tends to lead astray men's minds and manners; but...
Read full commentary →Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labours be in the house of a stranger; thy wealth: Heb. thy strength
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
Strangers will be filled with your wealth and your labors go to a foreigner's house. The economic consequences of adultery are severe - everything you work for enriches others. The Hebrew 'zur' (stranger/outsider) appears twice, emphasizing that what should benefit your household instead benefits those with no legitimate claim. Sexual sin has financial devastation, not just moral/relational costs.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
10-16. We must carefully treasure up the word of God, declare it to others, meditate on it, and heartily delight in it; and then by His grace we shall act according to it.
GIMEL. (Psa 119:17-24).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 5
Chapter Outline
Exhortations to wisdom. The evils of licentiousness.(1-14)
Remedies against licentiousness, The miserable end of the wicked.(15-23)
**Verses 1-14**
Solomon cautions all young men, as his children, to abstain from fleshly lusts. Some, by the adulterous woman, here understand idolatry, false doctrine, which tends to lead astray men's minds and manners; but...
Read full commentary →And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed,
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
At life's end, you'll mourn when your flesh and body are consumed. The Hebrew 'naham' (groan/lament) describes anguished regret. The consumption of flesh/body likely indicates disease (STDs were known in ancient world) or simply aging's regrets. What seemed pleasurable in youth produces groaning in old age. Deathbed regrets can't undo life's foolish choices. This verse warns: consider end from beg...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **When thy flesh and thy body are consumed.**—Ruin of health has followed ruin of property.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
10-16. We must carefully treasure up the word of God, declare it to others, meditate on it, and heartily delight in it; and then by His grace we shall act according to it.
GIMEL. (Psa 119:17-24).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 5
Chapter Outline
Exhortations to wisdom. The evils of licentiousness.(1-14)
Remedies against licentiousness, The miserable end of the wicked.(15-23)
**Verses 1-14**
Solomon cautions all young men, as his children, to abstain from fleshly lusts. Some, by the adulterous woman, here understand idolatry, false doctrine, which tends to lead astray men's minds and manners; but...
Read full commentary →And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof;
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
The mourner laments: 'How I hated instruction and despised reproof!' This anguished backward look recognizes that rejecting wisdom produced ruin. The Hebrew 'sane' (hate) and 'na'ats' (despise/spurn) describe active rejection, not passive indifference. The tragedy isn't ignorance but willful refusal of knowledge freely offered. This verse captures the unique anguish of avoidable catastrophe - 'I w...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) **How have I hated instruction.—**The last stage of misery is the remorse which comes too late. (Comp. Matthew 25:30.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
10-16. We must carefully treasure up the word of God, declare it to others, meditate on it, and heartily delight in it; and then by His grace we shall act according to it.
GIMEL. (Psa 119:17-24).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 5
Chapter Outline
Exhortations to wisdom. The evils of licentiousness.(1-14)
Remedies against licentiousness, The miserable end of the wicked.(15-23)
**Verses 1-14**
Solomon cautions all young men, as his children, to abstain from fleshly lusts. Some, by the adulterous woman, here understand idolatry, false doctrine, which tends to lead astray men's minds and manners; but...
Read full commentary →And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
The lamenter continues: 'I obeyed not my teachers nor inclined my ear to my instructors.' This confession acknowledges both disobedience and inattention. The Hebrew 'shama' (hear/obey) and 'natah' (incline/extend) describe active engagement that was refused. Teachers were available, instruction was offered, the student simply wouldn't engage. The tragedy is rejected opportunity - wisdom was access...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
10-16. We must carefully treasure up the word of God, declare it to others, meditate on it, and heartily delight in it; and then by His grace we shall act according to it.
GIMEL. (Psa 119:17-24).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 5
Chapter Outline
Exhortations to wisdom. The evils of licentiousness.(1-14)
Remedies against licentiousness, The miserable end of the wicked.(15-23)
**Verses 1-14**
Solomon cautions all young men, as his children, to abstain from fleshly lusts. Some, by the adulterous woman, here understand idolatry, false doctrine, which tends to lead astray men's minds and manners; but...
Read full commentary →I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
Nearly destroyed in the midst of the congregation. The Hebrew 'kimeat' (almost/nearly) and 'raah' (evil/ruin) describe barely avoided catastrophe. Public disgrace threatened - sin committed privately almost became public scandal. This verse warns that secret sins tend toward public exposure. The congregation/assembly witnessing the ruin adds social shame to personal destruction.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14) **I was almost in all evil **. . .—Rather, *I had almost fallen into every sin: I was so infatuated that I might have committed any sin, and that openly before all. *Or, *I* *might have been visited with extremest punishment at the hands of the congregation, death by stoning *(Leviticus 20:10, John 8:5). The offender’s eyes are now opened, and he shudders at the thought of the still greater t...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
10-16. We must carefully treasure up the word of God, declare it to others, meditate on it, and heartily delight in it; and then by His grace we shall act according to it.
GIMEL. (Psa 119:17-24).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 5
Chapter Outline
Exhortations to wisdom. The evils of licentiousness.(1-14)
Remedies against licentiousness, The miserable end of the wicked.(15-23)
**Verses 1-14**
Solomon cautions all young men, as his children, to abstain from fleshly lusts. Some, by the adulterous woman, here understand idolatry, false doctrine, which tends to lead astray men's minds and manners; but...
Read full commentary →Drink Water from Your Own Cistern
Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
Sexual fidelity within marriage is portrayed through water imagery—refreshing, life-giving, and exclusive. The cistern and well represent the covenant wife, whose love should fully satisfy. This elevates marital intimacy as God's good gift while condemning adultery's theft and covenant-breaking.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(15-20) **Drink waters out of thine own cistern **. . .—In these verses Solomon urges his disciples to follow after purity in the married life; he pictures in vivid terms the delights which it affords as compared with the pleasures of sin.
**Out of thine own cistern.—**The “strange woman,” on the other hand, says, “Stolen waters are sweet” (Proverbs 9:17). The same figure is employed in Song of So...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
10-16. We must carefully treasure up the word of God, declare it to others, meditate on it, and heartily delight in it; and then by His grace we shall act according to it.
GIMEL. (Psa 119:17-24).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 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 a...
Read full commentary →Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
Let your fountains be dispersed, and rivers of waters in the streets. This likely ironic statement questions whether sexual capacity should be shared promiscuously. The rhetorical answer (v.17) is no - intimacy should be reserved for marriage. The Hebrew 'palash' (dispersed/spread) describes indiscriminate scattering. Sexual energy is precious resource not to be wasted but carefully directed.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
17-20. Life is desirable in order to serve God; that we may do so aright, we should seek to have our eyes opened to behold His truth, and earnestly desire fully to understand it.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 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 a...
Read full commentary →Let them be only thine own, and not strangers' with thee.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
Let sexual intimacy be yours alone, not shared with strangers. The Hebrew 'zur' (stranger/outsider) indicates those outside covenant marriage relationship. This verse answers v.16's rhetorical question: no, don't disperse your fountains; keep them exclusive. Sexual intimacy belongs within marriage exclusively. Sharing what should be private violates intimacy's nature and degrades what should be sa...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(17) **Let them be only thine own.—**The deepest joys and sorrows of each heart are sacred, and cannot be shared with others (Proverbs 14:10), and so it is with the various relations of family life also, strangers have no part in them.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
17-20. Life is desirable in order to serve God; that we may do so aright, we should seek to have our eyes opened to behold His truth, and earnestly desire fully to understand it.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 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 a...
Read full commentary →Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
This verse commands marital joy and fidelity within God's design. 'Let thy fountain be blessed' (יְהִי־מְקוֹרְךָ בָרוּךְ/yehi-meqorcha baruch) uses 'fountain' as metaphor for one's wife and sexual relationship. 'Rejoice with the wife of thy youth' (וּשְׂמַח מֵאֵשֶׁת נְעוּרֶךָ/usemach me'eshet ne'urecha) commands active delight in marital intimacy. The verb 'samach' (rejoice) is strong—gladness, ce...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(18) **Let thy fountain **. . .—As a reward for purity of life, the blessing of a numerous offspring is invoked. (Comp. Psalm 128:3, where the wife is a “fruitful vine,” and the children numerous and flourishing like olive-branches.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
17-20. Life is desirable in order to serve God; that we may do so aright, we should seek to have our eyes opened to behold His truth, and earnestly desire fully to understand it.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 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 a...
Read full commentary →Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love. satisfy: Heb. water thee be thou: Heb. err thou always in her love
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
The wife should be as a loving deer and pleasant doe; be ravished always with her love. The Hebrew 'ahabiym' (loves/beloved) and 'cheshek' (desire/delight) describe affectionate attraction. 'Ravished' ('shagah') means intoxicated or captivated. Marital sexuality should be mutually satisfying and enduringly delightful. The deer/doe imagery suggests grace, beauty, gentleness. This verse celebrates m...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(19) **Loving hind and pleasant roe.—**The deer and chamois, from their grace and speed and lustrous eyes, have always been chosen by the Oriental poets as figures of human strength and beauty. (Comp. Song of Solomon 2:9; Song of Solomon 2:17; Song of Solomon 7:3; Song of Solomon 8:14; Psalm 18:33.) Both these animals are said to be remarkable for their affection to their young.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
17-20. Life is desirable in order to serve God; that we may do so aright, we should seek to have our eyes opened to behold His truth, and earnestly desire fully to understand it.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 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 a...
Read full commentary →And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger?
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
Why be ravished with a strange woman and embrace an adulteress? The rhetorical question expects negative answer: it makes no sense. When marital satisfaction is available, why pursue adultery? The Hebrew 'nekhar' (foreign/strange) describes the outsider, while 'zarah' (strange woman/adulteress) emphasizes covenant violation. Adultery is irrational - forsaking legitimate pleasure for illegitimate d...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
21-24. God will rebuke those who despise His word and deliver His servants from their reproach, giving them boldness in and by His truth, even before the greatest men.
DALETH. (Psa 119:25-32).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 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 a...
Read full commentary →For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
This verse grounds sexual ethics in divine omniscience. 'The ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD' (כִּי נֹכַח עֵינֵי יְהוָה דַּרְכֵי־אִישׁ/ki nokach einei Yahweh darkei-ish) establishes that God sees all human behavior. 'He pondereth all his goings' (וְכָל־מַעְגְּלֹתָיו מְפַלֵּס/vekhol-ma'gelotav mefalles) uses 'palas' (ponder, weigh, examine), indicating God's careful scrutiny and moral e...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(21) **For the ways of man **. . .—Another reason for avoiding sin is the certainty of detection by the Judge, whose “eyes run to and fro through the whole earth” (2Chronicles 16:9), comp. Psalm 11:4.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
21-24. God will rebuke those who despise His word and deliver His servants from their reproach, giving them boldness in and by His truth, even before the greatest men.
DALETH. (Psa 119:25-32).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 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 a...
Read full commentary →His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins. sins: Heb. sin
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KJV Study Commentary
Sin enslaves through accumulated habit—cords binding ever tighter until escape seems impossible. Yet Reformed theology affirms God's sovereign grace can break any bondage. The sinner's self-deception ('his own iniquities shall take the wicked') shows sin's judicial dimension—we are imprisoned by our own choices while needing divine liberation.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(22, 23) **His own iniquities **. . .—The final scene in the life of the profligate is here described. He has sinned so long that he is “tied and bound,” hand and foot, with the “chain of his sins,” and cannot get free even had he the wish to do so.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
21-24. God will rebuke those who despise His word and deliver His servants from their reproach, giving them boldness in and by His truth, even before the greatest men.
DALETH. (Psa 119:25-32).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 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 a...
Read full commentary →He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.
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KJV Study Commentary
The fool dies for lack of instruction, led astray by his great folly. The Hebrew 'muwth' (die) and 'shagah' (go astray/err) describe fatal wandering. Refusing instruction doesn't lead to freedom but death. The 'greatness' of folly isn't admirable magnitude but destructive enormity. This verse summarizes chapter 5's warning: sexual immorality, rooted in rejecting wisdom, leads to death - social, sp...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(23) **He shall die without instruction.—**Rather, *for want of discipline, *because he would not control himself, “he shall die,” and “for the greatness of his folly (self-will) he shall go astray,” and “wander where there is no way” (Job 12:24).
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
21-24. God will rebuke those who despise His word and deliver His servants from their reproach, giving them boldness in and by His truth, even before the greatest men.
DALETH. (Psa 119:25-32).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 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 a...
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