Proverbs 29:5
in Proverbs 29A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
A man that flattereth his neighbor Spreadeth a net for his steps.
KJV
A man that flattereth his neighbour spreadeth a net for his feet.
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This verse in Proverbs 29
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
A man that flattereth his neighbour spreadeth a net for his feet
on Proverbs 29:5-7
A man that flattereth his neighbour spreadeth a net for his feet warns that praise offered dishonestly is a trap laid for the one who receives it, not a kindness. In the transgression of an evil man there is a snare, but the righteous doth sing and rejoice, sets the same figure against its opposite outcome, sin's own consequences catching the sinner while the righteous walk free of them. The righteous considereth the cause of the poor, but the wicked regardeth not to know it, closes the cluster on the difference a heart for justice makes, one man taking the trouble to understand and the other refusing even to look.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
The man who speaks with flattering and deceitful words to his friend, etc. He who praises his neighbor with deceitful words, indeed sets traps for him, so that by the danger of cautious work, as he becomes more careless with words, he may fall into …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
A man that flattereth his neighbour,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Spreadeth a net for his feet - Beware of a flatterer; he does not flatter merely to please you, but to deceive you and profit himself.
Modern Voices1 voice
The safety of this method was its artificiality; between the King and his public image there was really no relation. But the moderns have invented a much subtler and more poisonous kind of eulogy. The modern method is to take the prince or rich man, …
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| גֶּ֭בֶר | gever | a man | H1397 → | 65 times |
| מַחֲלִ֣יק | machalik | [who] flatters | H2505 → | 65 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | to | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| רֵעֵ֑הוּ | reehu | neighbor his | H7453 → | 188 times |
| רֶ֝֗שֶׁת | reshet | a net | H7568 → | |
| פּוֹרֵ֥שׂ | pores | [is] spreading | H6566 → | 67 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| פְּעָמָֽיו׃ | peamav | footsteps his | H6471 → | 118 times |
גֶּ֭בֶרa man
geverH1397 →65 times
מַחֲלִ֣יק[who] flatters
machalikH2505 →65 times
עַל־to
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
רֵעֵ֑הוּneighbor his
reehuH7453 →188 times
רֶ֝֗שֶׁתa net
reshetH7568 →
פּוֹרֵ֥שׂ[is] spreading
poresH6566 →67 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
פְּעָמָֽיו׃footsteps his
peamavH6471 →118 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 12:2They lie to one another; they speak with flattering lips and a double heart.
it leads to
- Romans 16:18
For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.
- Jeremiah 9:8
Their tongues are deadly arrows; they speak deception. With his mouth a man speaks peace to his neighbor, but in his heart he sets a trap for him.
- Psalms 41:6
My visitor speaks falsehood; he gathers slander in his heart; he goes out and spreads it abroad.
- Romans 16:18
Through
Psalms 5:9For not a word they speak can be trusted; destruction lies within them. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.
it leads to
- Romans 3:13
“Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The venom of vipers is on their lips.”
- Jeremiah 9:3–6
“They bend their tongues like bows; lies prevail over truth in the land. For they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not take Me into account,” declares the LORD.
- Psalms 62:4
They fully intend to cast him down from his lofty perch; they delight in lies; with their mouths they bless, but inwardly they curse. Selah
- Micah 6:12
For the wealthy of the city are full of violence, and its residents speak lies; their tongues are deceitful in their mouths.
- Romans 3:13
Through
Hosea 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…
it leads to
- Hosea 9:8
The prophet is Ephraim’s watchman, along with my God, yet the snare of the fowler lies on all his paths. Hostility is in the house of his God!
- Hosea 9:8
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; GK Chesterton, All Things Considered, The Worship of the Wealthy (1908); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.