5. Warnings against unfaithfulness in marriage ch. 5

Chapters 5-7 all deal with the consequences of sexual sins: eventual disappointment (ch. 5), gradual destruction (ch. 6), and ultimate death (ch. 7).⁶⁷

Chapter 5 first reveals the ugliness under the surface of the attractive seductress (vv. 1-6). Then it clarifies the price of unfaithfulness (vv. 7-14). Finally it extols the wisdom of marital fidelity (vv. 15-23).

 The danger of seduction 5:1-6

The lips of the youth (v. 2) contrast with those of the seductress (v. 3). Knowing what is right and being able to articulate that with one's lips is really a protection against the power of the seductress's speech (vv. 1-6).

The temptress comes with words that are sweet (flattering) and smooth (delightful, v. 3).⁶⁸Nevertheless if swallowed, they make the person tempted by them feel bitter (ashamed) and wounded (hurt, v. 4). Even flirting produces this effect sometimes. The seductress will lead a person down a path that takes him or her to death and the grave (v. 5), though one can experience a living death as a result of following her, too. She has no concern with living a truly worthwhile life but only with gaining some immediate physical and emotional thrill (v. 6).

"God crated sex not only for reproduction but also for enjoyment, and he didn't put the marriage wall' around sex to robus of pleasure but to increasepleasure and protectit."⁶⁹

 The price of unfaithfulness 5:7-14

The price of unfaithfulness is so high that it is unreasonable. Therefore one is wise to avoid tempting himself or herself by continuing to admire the "merchandise."Most marital infidelity occurs because the parties involved continue to spend time together. Here Solomon advised avoiding the company of a temptress (cf. 2 Tim. 2:22; Matt. 5:28-29).

The price of unfaithfulness is not just physical disease (v. 11b), though that may be part of it, but total personal ruin. Infidelity dissipates all of one's powers (v. 9a). Others will exploit him (vv. 9b-10), he will hate himself (vv. 11-13), and he will quite possibly suffer ruin in his community (v. 14). Verse 9b would fit a situation involving blackmail, a not uncommon accompaniment to marital unfaithfulness.

"The use of both flesh' and body' [v. 11] underscores the fact that the whole body is exhausted."⁷⁰

 The importance of fidelity 5:15-23

Verses 15-23 point out a better way, namely, fidelity. Strict faithfulness will not result in unhappiness or failure to experience what is best in life, as the world likes to try to make us think. Rather it guards us from the heartbreak and tragedy that accompany promiscuity. The figures of a cistern and well (v. 15) refer to one's wife (cf. Song of Sol. 4:15) who satisfies desire.

The Hebrew text favors taking verse 16 as a positive statement ("Let your streams . . .") rather than as a question, as in the NASB. The meaning of verses 17-18 then becomes, "The influence of the faithful man (His springs') become a blessing to others."⁷¹Another view is that the springs and streams in view belong to the man being warned who might share them with a woman of the street.⁷²

The erotic language of verses 19-20 is unusual in Scripture, but it shows that God approves sexual joy in marriage and it is a prophylactic against unfaithfulness (1 Cor. 7:5). A man can either find his exhilaration (v. 19, i.e., sexual stimulation, also translated intoxication in 20:1 and Isa. 28:7) in his wife or in another woman. The same Hebrew word reads "go astray"in verse 23b. The issue is self-discipline.

"Lack of discipline"(RSV, v. 23a) is better than "lack of instruction."People usually do not become unfaithful to their spouses because they do not know better but because they do not choose better.⁷³

". . . if the young man is not captivated[Heb. sagah] by his wife but becomes captivatedwith a stranger in sinful acts, then his own iniquities will captivatehim; and he will be led to ruin."⁷⁴