Proverbs 5:18

18. Let thy fountain be blessed That is, with offspring, so much desired in the East, as they ought to be everywhere.

Wife of thy youth This seems to imply and sanction early marriages, though the words may be no more than a Hebraism for thy young wife. (Comp. Proverbs 2:16.) Let thy young wife, to whom thou art fitly mated, bring thee joy by a vigorous and numerous progeny. This would not be the case if he spent his strength in unlawful gratifications with harlots. For “wife of thy youth,” compare Deuteronomy 24:5; Ecclesiastes 9:1.