Proverbs 25:17

17 Withdraw thy foot from the house of thy neighbour; lest sometime he be filled (of thee), that is, annoyed (by thee), and hate thee.

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.

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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 A prince shall be made soft by patience; and a soft tongue shall break hardness.

16 Thou hast found honey, eat thou (only) that that sufficeth to thee; lest peradventure thou be (over-)filled, and spew it out.

17 Withdraw thy foot from the house of thy neighbour; lest sometime he be filled (of thee), that is, annoyed (by thee), and hate thee.

18 (Like) A dart, and a sword, and a sharp arrow, (is) a man that speaketh false witnessing against his neighbour.

19 (As) A rotten tooth, and a faint foot is he, that hopeth on an unfaithful man in the day of anguish, (Like a rotten tooth, and a faint foot, is he, who hopeth on, or trusteth in, an unfaithful person on his day of anguish.)