Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel:

Lest thou give thine honor unto others, And thy years unto the cruel;

Give not thy honour to strangers, and thy years to the cruel.

Lest thou give to others thy honour, And thy years to the fierce,

For fear that you may give your honour to others, and your wealth to strange men:

Lest thou give thy vigour unto others, And thy years unto the cruel;

lest you give your honor to others, and your years to the merciless;

Do not give your honor to foreigners, and your years to the cruel.

Thine honor - i. e., "The grace and freshness of thy youth" (compare Hosea 14:6; Daniel 10:8). The thought of this is to guard the young man against the sins that stain and mar it. The slave of lust sacrifices "years" that might have been peaceful and happy to one who is merciless.

Lest thou give thine honor - The character of a debauchee is universally detested: by this, even those of noble blood lose their honor and respect.
Thy years unto the cruel - Though all the blandishments of love dwell on the tongue, and the excess of fondness appear in the whole demeanor of the harlot and the prostitute; yet cruelty has its throne in their hearts; and they will rob and murder (when it appears to answer their ends) those who give their strength, their wealth, and their years to them. The unfaithful wife has often murdered her own husband for the sake of her paramour, and has given him over to justice in order to save herself. Murders have often taken place in brothels, as well as robberies; for the vice of prostitution is one of the parents of cruelty.

Lest thou give thine (e) honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel:
(e) That is, your strength and goods to her who will have no pity on you as is read of Samson and the prodigal son.

Lest thou give thine honour unto others,.... To strumpets, their children, attendants, servants, and friends; that is, either wealth or riches, which make men honourable; or their three, credit, and reputation, which are lost by keeping company with such persons; or the outward comeliness of the body, and inward rigour of the mind, which are impaired by adulterous practices. The Targum renders it, "thy strength"; and so the Syriac version, "thy strength of body", which is enervated by such impurities; see Proverbs 31:3; compare with this the kings of the earth that commit fornication with the whore of Rome, giving their power and strength to the beast, Revelation 17:2. Jarchi's note is,
"lest thine heart has respect to other gods, to give them the glory of thine honour and praise;''
and so understands it not of corporeal but of spiritual adultery or idolatry: the Septuagint and Arabic versions are, "thy life"; which agrees with what follows;
and thy years unto the cruel; youthful years, the flower of age, consumed by the cruel lust of uncleanness, which preys upon and wastes both body and substance, and cuts them off in the prime of days; and deprives of years which otherwise, according to the course of nature, and in all probability, might be arrived unto: so harlots, in Plautus (o), are said to sup the blood of men, and to deprive of goods, light, honour, and friends (p). And the harlot herself may be here meant; who, when she has got what she can, has no pity on the man she has ruined, and even will not stick to take away his life upon occasion; as well as is the cause and means of the damnation of his soul: or the jealous husband of the adulterous woman, who will not spare the adulterer when taken by him; or her brethren, her relations and friends; or her other gallants and co-rivals, who, when they have opportunity, will avenge themselves; or the civil magistrate, who executes judgment without mercy on such delinquents, this being a sin punished with death. Jarchi interprets the "cruel" of the prince of hell, the devil; and so the Midrash of the angel of death. The character well agrees with the antichristian beast, the whore of Rome; who, by her sorceries and fornications, has destroyed millions of souls.
(o) Bacchides, Acts. 3. Sc. 1. v. 5. & Sc. 3. v. 67. (p) Truculentus, Acts. 2. Sc. 7. v. 20.

thine honour--in whatever consisting, strength (Proverbs 3:13) or wealth.
thy years--by cutting them off in dissipation.
unto the cruel--for such the sensual are apt to become.

Honour - Thy dignity and reputation, the strength of thy body and mind. Years - The flower of thine age. The cruel - To the harlot, who though she pretends love, yet in truth is one of the most cruel creatures in the world, wasting thy estate and body without pity, and damming thy soul for ever.