A man that flattereth his neighbour spreadeth a net for his feet.
Parallel translations
- WEB A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet.
- BSB A man who flatters his neighbor spreads 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 17:5He that speaketh flattery to his friends, even the eyes of his children shall fail.
- Ps 5:9For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue.
- Ps 12:2They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak.
- Hos 5:1Hear ye this, O priests; and hearken, ye house of Israel; and give ye ear, O house of the king; for judgment is toward you, because ye have been a snare on Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor.
- Lam 1:13From above hath he sent fire into my bones, and it prevaileth against them: he hath spread a net for my feet, he hath turned me back: he hath made me desolate and faint all the day.
- Prov 20:19He that goeth about as a talebearer revealeth secrets: therefore meddle not with him that flattereth with his lips.
- 2 Sam 14:17–24Then thine handmaid said, The word of my lord the king shall now be comfortable: for as an angel of God, so is my lord the king to discern good and bad: therefore the LORD thy God will be with thee.
- Rom 16:18For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.
- 1 Th 2:5For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloke of covetousness; God is witness:
- Prov 1:17Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.
- Prov 7:5That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words.
- Luke 20:20–21And they watched him, and sent forth spies, which should feign themselves just men, that they might take hold of his words, that so they might deliver him unto the power and authority of the governor.
- Prov 7:21With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him.
- Prov 26:28A lying tongue hateth those that are afflicted by it; and a flattering mouth worketh ruin.
- Prov 26:24–25He that hateth dissembleth with his lips, and layeth up deceit within him;
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
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