Proverbs 25:17

17 so don't visit your neighbor too much, or he may get his fill of you and come to hate you.

Proverbs 25:17 Meaning and Commentary

Proverbs 25:17

Withdraw thy foot from thy neighbour's house
Not but that it is commendable to be neighbourly and friendly, or for one neighbour to visit another; but then it should not be very frequent; a man should not be always or often at his neighbour's house. So the words may be rendered, "make thy foot precious" or "rare at thy neighbour's house" F13; be seldom there; lest he be weary of thee, and [so] hate thee;
or, "lest he be sated with thee" F14; filled with thy company to a loathing of it, as the stomach with eating too much honey, and so his friendship be turned into hatred.


FOOTNOTES:

F13 (rqx) "rarum fac", Montanus, Vatablus, Gejerus, Michaelis, Cocceius; Heb. "praetiosum fac", Piscator.
F14 (Kebvy Np) "ne forte satictur tui", Schultens; so Montanus; "saturatus", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.

Proverbs 25:17 In-Context

15 With patience a ruler may be won over, and a gentle tongue can break bones.
16 If you find honey, eat only what you need; for if you eat too much of it, you may throw it up;
17 so don't visit your neighbor too much, or he may get his fill of you and come to hate you.
18 Like a club, a sword or a sharp arrow is a person who gives false testimony against a neighbor.
19 Relying on an untrustworthy person in a time of trouble is like [relying on] a broken tooth or an unsteady leg.
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.