A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet.
Parallel translations
- WEB A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet.
- KJV A man that flattereth his neighbour spreadeth a net for his feet.
- NKJV A man who flatters his neighbor Spreads a net for his feet.
- NASB A man who flatters his neighbor Is spreading a net for his steps.
- NLT To flatter friends is to lay a trap for their feet.
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
Flattery, far from helping a neighbor, sets a trap for him. It warns that insincere praise is a snare rather than a kindness.
Overview
The proverb reveals that the one who flatters his neighbor is actually spreading a net for his feet, leading him into harm. Flattery deceives and endangers rather than serving genuine good. By contrast, the gospel produces sincere love that speaks truth, building others up rather than ensnaring them (Proverbs 27:6).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Job 17:5If a man denounces his friends for a price, the eyes of his children will fail.
- Ps 5:9For not a word they speak can be trusted; destruction lies within them. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.
- Ps 12:2They lie to one another; they speak with flattering lips and a double heart.
- Hos 5:1“Hear this, O priests! Take heed, O house of Israel! Give ear, O royal house! For this judgment is against you because you have been a snare at Mizpah, a net spread out on Tabor.
- Lam 1:13He sent fire from on high, and it overpowered my bones. He spread a net for my feet and turned me back. He made me desolate, faint all the day long.
- Prov 20:19He who reveals secrets is a constant gossip; avoid the one who babbles with his lips.
- 2 Sam 14:17–24And now your servant says, ‘May the word of my lord the king bring me rest, for my lord the king is able to discern good and evil, just like the angel of God. May the LORD your God be with you.’”
- Rom 16:18For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.
- 1 Th 2:5As you know, we never used words of flattery or any pretext for greed. God is our witness!
- Prov 1:17How futile it is to spread the net where any bird can see it!
- Prov 7:5that they may keep you from the adulteress, from the stranger with seductive words.
- Luke 20:20–21So they watched Him closely and sent spies who pretended to be sincere. They were hoping to catch Him in His words in order to hand Him over to the rule and authority of the governor.
- Prov 7:21With her great persuasion she entices him; with her flattering lips she lures him.
- Prov 26:28A lying tongue hates those it crushes, and a flattering mouth causes ruin.
- Prov 26:24–25A hateful man disguises himself with his speech, but he lays up deceit in his heart.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 29:5 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.