Proverbs 5:17 teaches that a person’s love, desire, and intimacy belong within their own marriage and should not be shared with outsiders. The verse is a call to exclusive faithfulness, given in the form of a father’s counsel to his son. Solomon, the traditional author of the book, speaks to a young man who is being tempted by an adulterous woman.
Let them be for yourself alone, not for strangers with you.
Proverbs 5:17 (WEB)
What Proverbs 5:17 Means
The verse begins with the phrase “Let them be for yourself alone.” Here the “them” refers to the blessings of marital love and intimacy in the preceding verses, the water from your own well. The word “alone” means exclusively. What is meant for your spouse is not to be spread around to others.
The second half, “not for strangers with you,” warns against sharing that closeness with people outside the covenant. “Strangers” in this context means outsiders, people who are not part of your household or marriage. The verse is not saying that you may never have friends of the opposite sex or that every warm conversation is sinful. It is naming the deepest and most personal parts of love as something reserved for one person.
What the verse does not promise is that a faithful life will always feel easy or that temptation will never come. It describes a way of life and a boundary to guard, not a guarantee that everyone who keeps it will be spared hardship. It does, however, teach that faithfulness protects what is most precious.
The Context of Proverbs 5:17
The book of Proverbs is a collection of wise sayings, many of them framed as a parent instructing a child. Chapters 1 through 9 open with a series of speeches from a father to his son, warning him against foolish paths and urging him toward wisdom. Proverbs 5 belongs to this section and deals directly with the danger of sexual immorality, which the book treats as a path that leads to ruin.
Just before verse 17, the surrounding verses describe drinking water from your own cistern and well, a picture of enjoying what is rightfully yours. Just after it, verse 18 calls the reader to rejoice in the wife of his youth, and verses 19 and 20 turn back to the question of why a man would be captivated by another woman. Read in this setting, verse 17 is the hinge of a picture: the good life is one of satisfaction within your own marriage, and the stranger offers only ruin.
Key Phrases in Proverbs 5:17
Hebrews 13:4
Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the bed be undefiled: but God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.
(WEB)
This verse honors marriage and calls it precious in all, guarding the marriage bed from defilement. It connects with Proverbs 5:17 by showing that God regards faithful marriage as sacred and worth protecting.
Proverbs 5:18
Let your spring be blessed. Rejoice in the wife of your youth.
(WEB)
The verse right after the focus of this page urges the reader to rejoice in the wife of his youth. Reading it alongside Proverbs 5:17 shows that exclusive faithfulness is not only a restriction but also a source of joy and blessing.
A Short Prayer From Proverbs 5:17
Lord, you made love and marriage as gifts, and you know how easily our hearts wander toward what is not ours. Guard my heart and the hearts of those I love. Help me to keep what is precious in its proper place and to resist the pull of anything that would divide my loyalty. Give me the wisdom to recognize temptation early, the courage to set healthy boundaries, and the humility to bring my needs honestly into the places you have given me. Let my life reflect your faithfulness. Amen.