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class="vheadingv"><b>Verse</b><a href="/bsb/proverbs/5.htm" class="clickchap" style="color:#001320" title="Click any translation name for full chapter">  (Click for Chapter)</a></div><div id="par"><span class="versiontext"><a href="/niv/proverbs/5.htm">New International Version</a></span><br />Should your springs overflow in the streets, your streams of water in the public squares?<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nlt/proverbs/5.htm">New Living Translation</a></span><br />Why spill the water of your springs in the streets, having sex with just anyone?<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/esv/proverbs/5.htm">English Standard Version</a></span><br />Should your springs be scattered abroad, streams of water in the streets?<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/bsb/proverbs/5.htm">Berean Standard Bible</a></span><br />Why should your springs flow in the streets, your streams of water in the public squares?<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/kjv/proverbs/5.htm">King James Bible</a></span><br />Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, <i>and</i> rivers of waters in the streets.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nkjv/proverbs/5.htm">New King James Version</a></span><br />Should your fountains be dispersed abroad, Streams of water in the streets?<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb_/proverbs/5.htm">New American Standard Bible</a></span><br />Should your springs overflow into the street, Streams of water in the public squares?<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb/proverbs/5.htm">NASB 1995</a></span><br />Should your springs be dispersed abroad, Streams of water in the streets?<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb77/proverbs/5.htm">NASB 1977 </a></span><br />Should your springs be dispersed abroad, Streams of water in the streets?<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lsb/proverbs/5.htm">Legacy Standard Bible </a></span><br />Should your springs be dispersed abroad, Streams of water in the streets?<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/amp/proverbs/5.htm">Amplified Bible</a></span><br />Should your springs (children) be dispersed, As streams of water in the streets?<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/csb/proverbs/5.htm">Christian Standard Bible</a></span><br />Should your springs flow in the streets, streams in the public squares?<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/hcsb/proverbs/5.htm">Holman Christian Standard Bible</a></span><br />Should your springs flow in the streets, streams of water in the public squares? <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/asv/proverbs/5.htm">American Standard Version</a></span><br />Should thy springs be dispersed abroad, And streams of water in the streets?<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/cev/proverbs/5.htm">Contemporary English Version</a></span><br />And don't be like a stream from which just any woman may take a drink. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/erv/proverbs/5.htm">English Revised Version</a></span><br />Should thy springs be dispersed abroad, and rivers of water in the streets?<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/gwt/proverbs/5.htm">GOD'S WORD® Translation</a></span><br />Why should water flow out of your spring? Why should your streams flow into the streets?<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/gnt/proverbs/5.htm">Good News Translation</a></span><br />Children that you have by other women will do you no good. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/isv/proverbs/5.htm">International Standard Version</a></span><br />Should your springs flow outside, or streams of water in the street?<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/msb/proverbs/5.htm">Majority Standard Bible</a></span><br />Why should your springs flow in the streets, your streams of water in the public squares?<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/net/proverbs/5.htm">NET Bible</a></span><br />Should your springs be dispersed outside, your streams of water in the wide plazas? <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nheb/proverbs/5.htm">New Heart English Bible</a></span><br />Should your springs overflow in the streets, streams of water in the public squares?<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/wbt/proverbs/5.htm">Webster's Bible Translation</a></span><br />Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/web/proverbs/5.htm">World English Bible</a></span><br />Should your springs overflow in the streets, streams of water in the public squares? <div class="vheading2"><b>Literal Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lsv/proverbs/5.htm">Literal Standard Version</a></span><br />Let your fountains be scattered abroad, "" In broad places streams of waters.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/ylt/proverbs/5.htm">Young's Literal Translation</a></span><br /> Let thy fountains be scattered abroad, In broad places rivulets of waters.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/slt/proverbs/5.htm">Smith's Literal Translation</a></span><br />Thy fountains shall be dispersed without; in the broad places streams of waters.<div class="vheading2"><b>Catholic Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/drb/proverbs/5.htm">Douay-Rheims Bible</a></span><br />Let thy fountains be conveyed abroad, and in the streets divide thy waters. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/cpdv/proverbs/5.htm">Catholic Public Domain Version</a></span><br />Let your fountains be diverted far and wide, and divide your waters in the streets.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nabre/proverbs/5.htm">New American Bible</a></span><br />Should your water sources be dispersed abroad, streams of water in the streets? <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nrsvce/proverbs/5.htm">New Revised Standard Version</a></span><br />Should your springs be scattered abroad, streams of water in the streets?<div class="vheading2"><b>Translations from Aramaic</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lamsa/proverbs/5.htm">Lamsa Bible</a></span><br />Let your water overflow into your streets, let it be disbursed abroad.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/hpbt/proverbs/5.htm">Peshitta Holy Bible Translated</a></span><br />And let your waters overflow in your streets and let them travel in your streets.<div class="vheading2"><b>OT Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/jps/proverbs/5.htm">JPS Tanakh 1917</a></span><br />Let thy springs be dispersed abroad, And courses of water in the streets.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/sep/proverbs/5.htm">Brenton Septuagint Translation</a></span><br />Let not waters out of thy fountain be spilt by thee, but let thy waters go into thy streets.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/parallel/proverbs/5-16.htm">Additional Translations ...</a></span></div></div></div><div id="centbox"><div class="padcent"><a name="audio" id="audio"></a><div class="vheadingv"><b>Audio Bible</b></div><iframe width="100%" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kpUA5ZltBeQ?start=847" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe><span class="p"><br /><br /><br /></span><div class="vheadingv"><b>Context</b></div><span class="hdg"><a href="/bsb/proverbs/5.htm">Avoiding Immorality</a></span><br>…<span class="reftext">15</span>Drink water from your own cistern, and running water from your own well. <span class="reftext">16</span><span class="highl"><a href="/hebrew/4599.htm" title="4599: ma‘·yə·nō·ṯe·ḵā (N-mpc:: 2ms) -- A spring. Or ma ynow; or ma yanah; from ayin; a fountain, figuratively, a source.">Why should your springs</a> <a href="/hebrew/6327.htm" title="6327: yā·p̄ū·ṣū (V-Qal-Imperf-3mp) -- To be dispersed or scattered. A primitive root; to dash in pieces, literally or figuratively.">flow</a> <a href="/hebrew/2351.htm" title="2351: ḥū·ṣāh (N-ms:: 3fs) -- The outside, a street. Or chuts; from an unused root meaning to sever; properly, separate by a wall, i.e. Outside, outdoors.">in the streets,</a> <a href="/hebrew/6388.htm" title="6388: pal·ḡê- (N-mpc) -- A channel, canal. From palag; a rill.">your streams</a> <a href="/hebrew/4325.htm" title="4325: mā·yim (N-mp) -- Waters, water. Dual of a primitive noun; water; figuratively, juice; by euphemism, urine, semen.">of water</a> <a href="/hebrew/7339.htm" title="7339: bā·rə·ḥō·ḇō·wṯ (Prep-b, Art:: N-mp) -- A broad open place, plaza. Or rchowb; from rachab; a width, i.e. avenue or area.">in the public squares?</a> </span><span class="reftext">17</span>Let them be yours alone, never to be shared with strangers.…<div class="cred"><a href="//berean.bible">Berean Standard Bible</a> · <a href="//berean.bible/downloads.htm">Download</a></div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="crossref" id="crossref"></a><div class="vheading">Cross References</div><div id="crf"><span class="crossverse"><a href="/proverbs/5-15.htm">Proverbs 5:15</a></span><br />Drink water from your own cistern, and running water from your own well.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/proverbs/5-17.htm">Proverbs 5:17-18</a></span><br />Let them be yours alone, never to be shared with strangers. / May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth:<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/proverbs/9-17.htm">Proverbs 9:17</a></span><br />“Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is tasty!”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/proverbs/23-27.htm">Proverbs 23:27</a></span><br />For a prostitute is a deep pit, and an adulteress is a narrow well.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/proverbs/7-18.htm">Proverbs 7:18-20</a></span><br />Come, let us take our fill of love till morning. Let us delight in loving caresses! / For my husband is not at home; he has gone on a long journey. / He took with him a bag of money and will not return till the moon is full.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/ecclesiastes/9-9.htm">Ecclesiastes 9:9</a></span><br />Enjoy life with your beloved wife all the days of the fleeting life that God has given you under the sun—all your fleeting days. For this is your portion in life and in your labor under the sun.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/songs/4-12.htm">Song of Solomon 4:12</a></span><br />My sister, my bride, you are a garden locked up, a spring enclosed, a fountain sealed.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/songs/4-15.htm">Song of Solomon 4:15</a></span><br />You are a garden spring, a well of fresh water flowing down from Lebanon.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/jeremiah/2-13.htm">Jeremiah 2:13</a></span><br />“For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living water, and they have dug their own cisterns—broken cisterns that cannot hold water.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/jeremiah/17-13.htm">Jeremiah 17:13</a></span><br />O LORD, the hope of Israel, all who abandon You will be put to shame. All who turn away will be written in the dust, for they have abandoned the LORD, the fountain of living water.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/isaiah/48-1.htm">Isaiah 48:1</a></span><br />“Listen to this, O house of Jacob, you who are called by the name of Israel, who have descended from the line of Judah, who swear by the name of the LORD, who invoke the God of Israel—but not in truth or righteousness—<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/malachi/2-14.htm">Malachi 2:14-15</a></span><br />Yet you ask, “Why?” It is because the LORD has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have broken faith, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. / Has not the LORD made them one, having a portion of the Spirit? And why one? Because He seeks godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit and do not break faith with the wife of your youth.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/1_corinthians/6-18.htm">1 Corinthians 6:18-20</a></span><br />Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a man can commit is outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. / Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; / you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/1_corinthians/7-2.htm">1 Corinthians 7:2-5</a></span><br />But because there is so much sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband. / The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. / The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife. ...<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/ephesians/5-25.htm">Ephesians 5:25-33</a></span><br />Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her / to sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, / and to present her to Himself as a glorious church, without stain or wrinkle or any such blemish, but holy and blameless. ...</div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="tsk" id="tsk"><div class="vheading">Treasury of Scripture</div><p class="tsk2">Let your fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets.</p><p class="hdg">thy</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/deuteronomy/33-28.htm">Deuteronomy 33:28</a></b></br> Israel then shall dwell in safety alone: the fountain of Jacob <i>shall be</i> upon a land of corn and wine; also his heavens shall drop down dew.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/psalms/68-26.htm">Psalm 68:26</a></b></br> Bless ye God in the congregations, <i>even</i> the Lord, from the fountain of Israel.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/isaiah/48-21.htm">Isaiah 48:21</a></b></br> And they thirsted not <i>when</i> he led them through the deserts: he caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them: he clave the rock also, and the waters gushed out.</p><p class="hdg">dispersed</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/genesis/24-60.htm">Genesis 24:60</a></b></br> And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou <i>art</i> our sister, be thou <i>the mother</i> of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/judges/12-9.htm">Judges 12:9</a></b></br> And he had thirty sons, and thirty daughters, <i>whom</i> he sent abroad, and took in thirty daughters from abroad for his sons. And he judged Israel seven years.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/psalms/127-3.htm">Psalm 127:3</a></b></br> Lo, children <i>are</i> an heritage of the LORD: <i>and</i> the fruit of the womb <i>is his</i> reward.</p><div class="vheading">Jump to Previous</div><a href="/psalms/112-9.htm">Abroad</a> <a href="/proverbs/1-20.htm">Broad</a> <a href="/proverbs/1-20.htm">Broadways</a> <a href="/nehemiah/11-36.htm">Courses</a> <a href="/psalms/147-2.htm">Dispersed</a> <a href="/proverbs/5-15.htm">Flowing</a> <a href="/proverbs/3-20.htm">Forth</a> <a href="/psalms/107-35.htm">Fountains</a> <a href="/proverbs/4-10.htm">Open</a> <a href="/proverbs/3-10.htm">Overflow</a> <a href="/proverbs/1-21.htm">Places</a> <a href="/proverbs/1-23.htm">Poured</a> <a href="/proverbs/1-20.htm">Public</a> <a href="/psalms/137-1.htm">Rivers</a> <a href="/psalms/119-136.htm">Rivulets</a> <a href="/psalms/141-7.htm">Scattered</a> <a href="/proverbs/4-23.htm">Springs</a> <a href="/proverbs/1-20.htm">Squares</a> <a href="/psalms/126-4.htm">Streams</a> <a href="/proverbs/1-21.htm">Streets</a> <a href="/proverbs/5-15.htm">Water</a> <a href="/psalms/42-1.htm">Water-Brooks</a> <a href="/proverbs/5-15.htm">Waters</a><div class="vheading2">Jump to Next</div><a href="/proverbs/16-28.htm">Abroad</a> <a href="/proverbs/7-12.htm">Broad</a> <a href="/proverbs/7-12.htm">Broadways</a> <a href="/ecclesiastes/1-6.htm">Courses</a> <a href="/isaiah/11-12.htm">Dispersed</a> <a href="/proverbs/8-24.htm">Flowing</a> <a href="/proverbs/6-14.htm">Forth</a> <a href="/proverbs/8-24.htm">Fountains</a> <a href="/proverbs/7-12.htm">Open</a> <a href="/songs/8-7.htm">Overflow</a> <a href="/proverbs/7-12.htm">Places</a> <a href="/proverbs/25-20.htm">Poured</a> <a href="/proverbs/11-13.htm">Public</a> <a href="/proverbs/21-1.htm">Rivers</a> <a href="/proverbs/21-1.htm">Rivulets</a> <a href="/isaiah/11-12.htm">Scattered</a> <a href="/proverbs/8-24.htm">Springs</a> <a href="/proverbs/7-12.htm">Squares</a> <a href="/proverbs/21-1.htm">Streams</a> <a href="/proverbs/7-12.htm">Streets</a> <a href="/proverbs/8-24.htm">Water</a> <a href="/songs/5-12.htm">Water-Brooks</a> <a href="/proverbs/8-24.htm">Waters</a><div class="vheading2">Proverbs 5</div><span class="reftext">1. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/proverbs/5-1.htm">Solomon exhorts to wisdom</a></span><br><span class="reftext">3. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/proverbs/5-3.htm">He shows the mischief of unfaithfulness and riot</a></span><br><span class="reftext">15. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/proverbs/5-15.htm">He exhorts to contentedness, generosity, and chastity</a></span><br><span class="reftext">22. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/proverbs/5-22.htm">The wicked are overtaken with their own sins</a></span><br></div></div><div id="mdd"><div align="center"><div class="bot2"><table align="center" width="100%"><tr><td><div align="center"> <script id="3d27ed63fc4348d5b062c4527ae09445"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=51ce25d5-1a8c-424a-8695-4bd48c750f35&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script> <script id="b817b7107f1d4a7997da1b3c33457e03"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=cb0edd8b-b416-47eb-8c6d-3cc96561f7e8&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-2'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-0' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-3'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-1' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div align="center" id='div-gpt-ad-1531425649696-0'> </div><br /><br /> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:inline-block;width:200px;height:200px" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3753401421161123" data-ad-slot="3592799687"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script> <br /><br /> </div> </td></tr></table></div></div></div><div id="combox"><div class="padcom"><a name="study" id="study"></a><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top"><a href="/study/proverbs/5.htm">Study Bible</a></td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/study/proverbs/" title="Book Summary and Study">Book ◦</a> <a href="/study/chapters/proverbs/5.htm" title="Chapter summary and Study">Chapter </a></tr></table></div><b>Why should your springs flow in the streets</b><br>This phrase uses the metaphor of "springs" to represent the intimate and private aspects of one's life, particularly in the context of marital fidelity. In ancient Israel, water was a precious resource, and springs were often privately owned and carefully guarded. The rhetorical question suggests the absurdity and danger of allowing something valuable and personal to be exposed and wasted in public. This imagery underscores the importance of keeping one's affections and relationships within the boundaries of marriage, aligning with the broader biblical theme of faithfulness. The idea of springs flowing in the streets can also be seen as a warning against the consequences of infidelity, which can lead to public shame and personal ruin.<p><b>your streams of water in the public squares?</b><br>Continuing the metaphor, "streams of water" further emphasizes the preciousness and purity of marital love and fidelity. In the cultural and historical context of the Bible, public squares were places of commerce and social interaction, not suitable for something as private as one's intimate life. This imagery warns against the dangers of exposing one's personal life to public scrutiny and the moral decay that can result from such exposure. The phrase can be connected to other scriptures that emphasize purity and discretion, such as <a href="/matthew/7-6.htm">Matthew 7:6</a>, which advises against giving what is sacred to those who will not appreciate it. The passage as a whole serves as a call to protect and cherish the sanctity of marriage, reflecting the biblical view of marriage as a covenant that mirrors the relationship between Christ and the Church.<div class="vheading2">Persons / Places / Events</div>1. <b><a href="/topical/s/solomon.htm">Solomon</a></b><br>- The author of Proverbs, known for his wisdom, who provides guidance on moral and ethical living.<br><br>2. <b><a href="/topical/t/the_streets_and_public_squares.htm">The Streets and Public Squares</a></b><br>- Metaphorical places representing public and communal areas where private matters should not be exposed.<br><br>3. <b><a href="/topical/s/springs_and_streams_of_water.htm">Springs and Streams of Water</a></b><br>- Symbolic of one's personal and intimate resources, often interpreted as one's sexual purity or marital fidelity.<div class="vheading2">Teaching Points</div><b><a href="/topical/g/guarding_personal_purity.htm">Guarding Personal Purity</a></b><br>Just as springs and streams are precious and should be protected, so should one's purity and fidelity be guarded against public exposure and misuse.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/v/value_of_marital_fidelity.htm">Value of Marital Fidelity</a></b><br>The verse underscores the importance of keeping intimate matters within the sanctity of marriage, highlighting the value of a faithful relationship.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/c/consequences_of_public_exposure.htm">Consequences of Public Exposure</a></b><br>Allowing personal matters to become public can lead to shame and dishonor, emphasizing the need for discretion and wisdom in relationships.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/w/wisdom_in_relationships.htm">Wisdom in Relationships</a></b><br>Solomon's wisdom teaches us to cherish and protect our relationships, ensuring they are nurtured in private rather than exposed to public scrutiny.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/c/cultural_relevance.htm">Cultural Relevance</a></b><br>In today's society, where personal lives are often shared publicly, this verse serves as a reminder to maintain boundaries and respect the sanctity of marriage.<div class="vheading2">Lists and Questions</div><a href="/top10/lessons_from_proverbs_5.htm">Top 10 Lessons from Proverbs 5</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/who_was_watchman_nee_in_christianity.htm">Should you drink from your own cistern?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/what_life_advice_does_proverbs_give.htm">What wisdom and guidance does Proverbs offer for life?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/how_does_'own_cistern'_fit_with_polygamy.htm">Proverbs 5:15-17: How does the 'drink from your own cistern' analogy reconcile with the fact that polygamy was practiced in biblical times?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/what_are_the_pearly_gates.htm">What are the pearly gates?</a><a name="commentary" id="commentary"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/pulpit/proverbs/5.htm">Pulpit Commentary</a></div><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 16.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets.</span> The figurative language is still continued, and under the terms "fountains" and "rivers of waters," are to be understood children, the legitimate issue of lawful marriage. So Aben Ezra and the majority of modern commentators, Schultens, Doderlein, Holden, Muenscher, Noyes, Wardlaw, etc. The meaning appears to be, "Let thy marriage be blessed with many children, who may go forth abroad for the public good." Other interpretations have been adopted. Thus: <p><span class="note_emph">(1)</span> Delitzsch takes the words fountans and "rivers of waters" as used figuratively for the procreative power, and renders, "Shall thy streams flow abroad, and water brooks in the streets?" and interprets, "Let generative power act freely and unrestrainedly within the marriage relation." <p><span class="note_emph">(2)</span> Schultens and Dathe, followed by Holden, regard the verse as expressing a conclusion on the preceding, "Then shall thy springs be dispersed abroad, even rivers of waters in the streets." The objection to this is that it necessitates the insertion of the copulative <span class="accented">vau</span> (<span class="hebrew">ו</span>) before the verb, <span class="accented">yaphutzu</span>, "be dispersed." <p><span class="note_emph">(3)</span> Zockler and Hitzig read the verse interrogatively, "Shall thy streams flow abroad as water brooks in the streets?" on the analogy of <a href="/proverbs/6-30.htm">Proverbs 6:30</a> and <a href="/psalms/56-7.htm">Psalm 56:7</a>. . . . <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/commentaries/proverbs/5-16.htm">Parallel Commentaries ...</a></span><span class="p"><br /><br /><br /></span><a name="lexicon" id="lexicon"></a><div class="vheading">Hebrew</div><span class="word">Why should your springs</span><br /><span class="heb">מַעְיְנֹתֶ֣יךָ</span> <span class="translit">(ma‘·yə·nō·ṯe·ḵā)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_4599.htm">Strong's 4599: </a> </span><span class="str2">A fountain, a source</span><br /><br /><span class="word">flow</span><br /><span class="heb">יָפ֣וּצוּ</span> <span class="translit">(yā·p̄ū·ṣū)</span><br /><span class="parse">Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_6327.htm">Strong's 6327: </a> </span><span class="str2">To be dispersed or scattered</span><br /><br /><span class="word">in the streets,</span><br /><span class="heb">ח֑וּצָה</span> <span class="translit">(ḥū·ṣāh)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - masculine singular | third person feminine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_2351.htm">Strong's 2351: </a> </span><span class="str2">Separate by a, wall, outside, outdoors</span><br /><br /><span class="word">your streams</span><br /><span class="heb">פַּלְגֵי־</span> <span class="translit">(pal·ḡê-)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - masculine plural construct<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_6388.htm">Strong's 6388: </a> </span><span class="str2">A channel, canal</span><br /><br /><span class="word">of water</span><br /><span class="heb">מָֽיִם׃</span> <span class="translit">(mā·yim)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - masculine plural<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_4325.htm">Strong's 4325: </a> </span><span class="str2">Water, juice, urine, semen</span><br /><br /><span class="word">in the public squares?</span><br /><span class="heb">בָּ֝רְחֹב֗וֹת</span> <span class="translit">(bā·rə·ḥō·ḇō·wṯ)</span><br /><span class="parse">Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine plural<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_7339.htm">Strong's 7339: </a> </span><span class="str2">A broad open place, plaza</span><br /><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><div class="vheading">Links</div><a href="/niv/proverbs/5-16.htm">Proverbs 5:16 NIV</a><br /><a href="/nlt/proverbs/5-16.htm">Proverbs 5:16 NLT</a><br /><a href="/esv/proverbs/5-16.htm">Proverbs 5:16 ESV</a><br /><a href="/nasb/proverbs/5-16.htm">Proverbs 5:16 NASB</a><br /><a href="/kjv/proverbs/5-16.htm">Proverbs 5:16 KJV</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="//bibleapps.com/proverbs/5-16.htm">Proverbs 5:16 BibleApps.com</a><br /><a href="//bibliaparalela.com/proverbs/5-16.htm">Proverbs 5:16 Biblia Paralela</a><br /><a href="//holybible.com.cn/proverbs/5-16.htm">Proverbs 5:16 Chinese Bible</a><br /><a href="//saintebible.com/proverbs/5-16.htm">Proverbs 5:16 French Bible</a><br /><a href="/catholic/proverbs/5-16.htm">Proverbs 5:16 Catholic Bible</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/proverbs/5-16.htm">OT Poetry: Proverbs 5:16 Should your springs overflow in the streets (Prov. Pro Pr) </a></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="left"><a href="/proverbs/5-15.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="Proverbs 5:15"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="Proverbs 5:15" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="/proverbs/5-17.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Proverbs 5:17"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Proverbs 5:17" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="bot"><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="/botmenubhnew2.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>