Proverbs 29:5

5 Whoever flatters a neighbor is spreading a net for the neighbor's feet.

Proverbs 29:5 Meaning and Commentary

Proverbs 29:5

A man that flattereth his neighbour
That speaks smooth things to him gives him flattering titles, speaks fair to his face, highly commends him on one account or another: spreadeth a net for his feet;
has an idle design upon him, and therefore should be guarded against; his view is to draw him into a snare and make a prey of him; he attacks him on his weak side, and hopes to make some advantage of it to himself; wherefore flatterers should be avoided as pernicious persons; or he spreads a net for his own feet, and is taken in the snare which he had laid for his neighbour; or falls into the pit he dug for him, as Gersom observes; see ( Psalms 140:5 ) ( Hosea 5:1 ) .

Proverbs 29:5 In-Context

3 A child who loves wisdom makes a parent glad, but to keep company with prostitutes is to squander one's substance.

4 By justice a king gives stability to the land, but one who makes heavy exactions ruins it.

5 Whoever flatters a neighbor is spreading a net for the neighbor's feet.

6 In the transgression of the evil there is a snare, but the righteous sing and rejoice.

7 The righteous know the rights of the poor; the wicked have no such understanding.