Proverbs 5:16-18 Meaning: Should Your Springs Overflow in the Streets?
16Should your springs overflow in the streets, streams of water in the public squares?
17Let them be for yourself alone, not for strangers with you.
18Let your spring be blessed. Rejoice in the wife of your youth.
16Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets.
17Let them be only thine own, and not strangers’ with thee.
18Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth.
16Should thy springs be dispersed abroad, And streams of water in the streets?
17Let them be for thyself alone, And not for strangers with thee.
18Let thy fountain be blessed; And rejoice in the wife of thy youth.
16Let thy fountains be scattered abroad, In broad places rivulets of waters.
17Let them be to thee for thyself, And not to strangers with thee.
18Let thy fountain be blessed, And rejoice because of the wife of thy youth,
16Thy fountains shall be poured forth, as water-brooks in the broadways.
17Let them be only thine own, and not strangers' with thee.
18Let thy fountain be blessed; and have joy of the wife of thy youth.
Meaning in one sentence
Understanding Proverbs 5:16-18: the rhetorical question warns against adultery and calls us to find joy in our own spouse, the wife of our youth.
Context
The book of Proverbs is a collection of wisdom from a father to his son, teaching him how to live well before God. Chapter 5 focuses on one specific danger: the seductive woman and the destruction that comes with adultery. The father builds a careful argument, using water imagery throughout. In verse 15 he says, “Drink water out of your own cistern.” Then come verses 16-18, where the image shifts. Some translations read verse 16 as a question: “Should your springs overflow in the streets?”, implying the answer is no. Others read it as a positive description or command: let your streams flow abroad, understood as a blessing of many legitimate children. Either way, the heart of the passage is clear: your life-giving waters belong within your own marriage, not scattered to strangers. And the goal is not just avoidance, but joy: “Rejoice in the wife of your youth.”
Key Words
The Hebrew word for springs (ma‘yan, H4599) and streams (palgei-mayim, H6388) both picture fresh, life-giving water. In this context they represent the wife’s body, sexual intimacy, or the children that come from that union. The verb overflow (yafutzu, H6327) can be read as a question, “should they overflow?”, making verse 16 a warning against scattering your vitality where it doesn’t belong. The word for fountain (maqor, H4726) in verse 18 is the same root used for the wife herself, the source of blessing. And then comes the command: rejoice (samach, H8055). This is not a mild suggestion. It is a strong, active call to delight, to find your gladness in your own spouse. The language is not clinical or cold. It is warm, intimate, and full of invitation. A man is not just told to avoid sin; he is told to find something better.
How Christians Read This Verse
Christian readers have understood these verses in two main ways. Many early Protestant commentators, including Matthew Henry, Gill, and Wesley, read verse 16 as a promise: faithful marriage yields a large, righteous family that spreads blessing through the community like streams in the streets. Adam Clarke similarly saw the “fountains” as children lawfully begotten. On the other hand, the Cambridge Bible and Barnes read verse 16 as a rhetorical question that warns against adultery: “Should your waters be spilled in the streets? No, keep them for yourself alone.” Poole’s Annotations finds both elements, the honest use of marriage and the avoidance of straying. Across traditions, the common ground is strong: God’s design for marriage is faithful, exclusive, and joyful. The disagreement is over whether the overflowing streams represent children or the sin of scattering.
A common misunderstanding
Some readers take verse 16 as a command to be generous with money or spiritual gifts, letting your blessings “flow in the streets” for everyone to see. That’s not what the passage means. In fact, the immediate context is about sexual fidelity. The “springs” and “streams” are metaphors for your spouse and your intimacy. The streets represent what is public and outside the marriage bed. The warning is not about stinginess; it is about faithfulness.
Living This Out
This week, take a real look at where your heart wanders. Maybe it is a friendship that feels too close, a screen that pulls your attention, or a daydream about someone else. The father’s voice in Proverbs invites you to turn back. If you are married, do one thing to delight in your spouse: a kind word, a thoughtful gesture, undistracted time. If you are single, this passage still speaks. Guard your springs for the one you will marry. Do not let affection or intimacy be scattered in places that cannot hold it. The call is not just to avoid what is wrong, but to embrace what is good, and to find your joy in the gift God has given.
Main takeaway: God calls you to guard your love and intimacy for your spouse alone, and to find your joy in that faithful bond.
For Families
For ages 5, 8
God made marriage special. He wants you to keep your love for one person, your husband or wife. Don’t share your heart with just anyone.
For ages 9, 12
In Proverbs, a father tells his son not to pour out his love like water in the streets. That means don’t give away your romantic feelings to people who aren’t your spouse. Save that love for the one you marry someday. That’s how God designed it to work best, and it leads to real joy.
Questions People Ask
What does "springs overflow in the streets" mean in Proverbs 5:16?
It is a metaphor for sexual intimacy. The streets are public places, meaning outside of marriage. So the verse warns against having sexual relationships outside the covenant of marriage, scattering your passion where it does not belong.
Is Proverbs 5:16-18 about having many children?
Some Christians have understood it that way, seeing the overflowing streams as a picture of many legitimate children. Others see it as a rhetorical question warning against adultery. Both interpretations agree that the passage calls for faithfulness to one’s spouse and joy within that relationship.
Does this passage apply to single people?
Yes. The principle is to guard your heart and body for your future spouse. Do not give away emotional or physical intimacy that belongs to marriage. The call to faithfulness starts before you marry.
Who is "the wife of your youth"?
It refers to the spouse you married when you were young. The phrase is a call to remain faithful and joyful with that same person through all the years of life, not to trade them in for someone new as you age.
For pastors & researchers
Hebrew interlinear, 8 commentaries & word study