5:17

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

17a Let them be yours alone,

17b
never to be shared with strangers.

5:17a–b

Let them be yours alone, never to be shared with strangers: There are several ways to interpret this verse:

(1) The word them refers to the sexual pleasures that a man gets from making love to a woman. If he makes love to his own wife, these pleasures belong to him alone, since he does not share his wife with other men. He should not have sex with an immoral woman, because such a woman is shared by other men (strangers).

(2) The word them refers to the sexual pleasures that a man gets from his wife. These pleasures should belong to him alone. He should not neglect his wife and cause her to be immoral. If that happened, he would be sharing his wife with other men (strangers).

(3) The word them refers to a man’s sexual affections, which should never be shared with other women (strangers). For example:

Save yourself for your wife and don’t have sex with other women. (Contemporary English Version)

(4) The word them refers to the children that may result from sleeping with another woman. Such children would have to be shared with the husband and family of the other woman (strangers). For example:

Your children should grow up to help you, not strangers. (Good News Translation)

Most English versions are ambiguous. It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). This passage is talking about the wife as the source of sexual pleasure. It is not talking about children, as in interpretation (4). Interpretations (1) and (2) fit better with the form of the Hebrew word for strangers. In Hebrew, this word is masculine, so it probably refers to other men, not other women, as in interpretation (3). Interpretation (1) fits the context better than interpretation (2). As was mentioned in the note on 5:16a–b, this chapter advises the man to be faithful to his wife. It does not advise him to keep his wife from being unfaithful.

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