Withdraw thy foot from thy neighbour’s house; lest he be weary of thee, and so hate thee.
Parallel translations
- WEB Let your foot be seldom in your neighbor’s house, lest he be weary of you, and hate you.
- BSB Seldom set foot in your neighbor’s house, lest he grow weary and hate you.
- NKJV Seldom set foot in your neighbor’s house, Lest he become weary of you and hate you.
- NASB Let your foot rarely be in your neighbor’s house, Or he will become weary of you and hate you.
- NLT Don’t visit your neighbors too often, or you will wear out your welcome.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Do not visit your neighbor too often, or he will grow weary of you. Even welcome relationships need restraint.
Overview
Wisdom applies the moderation principle to friendship: overstaying or overburdening a neighbor can turn welcome into resentment. Love considers the other's limits and space. It commends thoughtful, considerate friendship that preserves rather than strains relationships.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Gen 19:2–3And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant’s house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night.
- Rom 15:24Whensoever I take my journey into Spain, I will come to you: for I trust to see you in my journey, and to be brought on my way thitherward by you, if first I be somewhat filled with your company.
- Judg 19:18–21And he said unto him, We are passing from Bethlehemjudah toward the side of mount Ephraim; from thence am I: and I went to Bethlehemjudah, but I am now going to the house of the LORD; and there is no man that receiveth me to house.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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Christ at the center
Wisdom personified, with God before creation and the agent of all things, anticipates Christ 'in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom' — the wisdom of God made flesh.
How Proverbs 25:17 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.