Proverbs 25:17

17 Do not set foot in your neighbor's house too often. Otherwise, he will see too much of you and 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 you can persuade a ruler, and a soft tongue can break bones.

16 When you find honey, eat only as much as you need. Otherwise, you will have too much and vomit.

17 Do not set foot in your neighbor's house too often. Otherwise, he will see too much of you and hate you.

18 [Like] a club and a sword and a sharp arrow, [so] is a person who gives false testimony against his neighbor.

19 [Like] a broken tooth and a lame foot, [so] is confidence in an unfaithful person in a [time of] crisis.