Proverbs 5:17

Pro 5:17 Let them be only thine own, and not strangers’ with thee.

Ver. 17. Let them be only thine own.] Sint, vel erunt; Let them be, or they shall be. It is both an exhortation and a promise; q.d., Far be it from thee to be a pander to thine own bed, as the Lituanians, of whom Maginus relates that they have their connubii adiutores, their coadjutors in wedlock, and prize them far above all their acquaintance. God also will bless thee with an honest wife, that shall be true to thy bed, and not obtrude upon thee children to keep that are not thine. St Paul gives charge, "that no man go beyond, or defraud his brother in the matter". - that is, in re venerea, in the matter of the marriage bed, as some {a} expound it, but that "every one possess his vessel," - that is, say they, his wife, that "weaker vessel" - in sanctification and honour. {1Th 4:4-6}

{a} Jerome, Chrysost., Heinsius.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Pro_5:17

Let them be only thine own, and not strangers with thee.

Strangers with thee

Strangers with thee in life! Those united in Christ are those only who are united in truth. Strangers with thee in death! Alone wilt thou descend the banks of that dark river. For be assured the hosts of darkness and sin flee terror-stricken from its waters. The Lord and the Church are with them; but strangers with thee. Strangers with thee in eternity! There the little finesses and shams by which rivalry and hatred are concealed in this life will be torn away, and the naked energies of sin will stand isolated and single in their intense and repulsive malignity. Strangers with thee. (Episcopal Recorder.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Distribute them not to the wicked and infidels, but reserve them for thyself, thy family and them that are of the household of faith.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

only thine own--harlots' children have no known father.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 17. Let them be only thine own] The off-spring of a legitimate connection; a bastard brood, however numerous, is no credit to any man.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(17) Let them be only thine own.—The deepest joys and sorrows of each heart are sacred, and cannot be shared with others (Pro_14:10), and so it is with the various relations of family life also, strangers have no part in them.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Let them be only thine own, and not strangers' with thee. Or "they shall be thine own" (u), as the Targum; meaning not the cistern, the well, or the wife, but the fountains and rivers, or the children; by a man's cleaving to his own wife, who is a chaste and virtuous woman, he is satisfied that the children he has by her are his own, and not another's; whereas if he has to do with a common harlot, it is uncertain whose children they are, she prostituting herself to many: it may be applied to the peculiar possession and steadfast retention of the truths of the Gospel, in opposition to all divers and strange doctrines propagated by others; see Rev 2:25.

(u) "erunt tui", Mercerus, Cocceius; "erunt tibi", Baynus; "existent tibi", Schultens.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Thee. Stick to thy own wife. In a moral sense, let those who instruct others, take care not to neglect themselves.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Hereby thou mayst be secured, that thou dost not father and leave thine estate to other men’s children; whereas the parents of harlots’ children are common or uncertain.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Let them be only thine own, and not strangers" with thee. By confining yourself to chaste intercourse with your lawful wife, be assured that your offspring is your own. Promiscuous and unlawful intercourse throws doubt upon the paternity of children. Thy children may be thine, they may belong to another. The natural pride which is felt in a legitimate offspring is the motive put forward to commend the husband to confine himself exclusively to his wife. Grotius on this verse remarks, "Ibi sere ubi prolem metas there where you may reap an offspring." Them; i.e. the children referred to figuratively in the preceding verse, from which the subject of this verse is supplied. The repetition of the pronoun which occurs in the original, "let them belong to thee, to thee," is emphatic, and exclusive of others. The latter clause of the verse, "and not strangers" with thee," covers the whole ground. The idea of their being strangers" is repulsive, and so gives further point to the exhortation.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

You alone shall have them You alone will be honored by them, and no one else will share your honor with you. Since he says above, “Lest strangers be satisfied with your strength,” he says here, “You alone shall have them, and thereby...”

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.