Key Verse Spotlight
Proverbs 29:5 - Meaning and Application
Understand how this verse speaks to what you're facing and how to apply it today
Translation: World English Bible — Catholic Edition
" A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet. "
Proverbs 29:5
Verse in Context
Understanding the surrounding verses prevents misinterpretation:
3 Whoever loves wisdom brings joy to his father; but a companion of prostitutes squanders his wealth.
4 The king by justice makes the land stable, but he who takes bribes tears it down.
5 A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet.
6 An evil man is snared by his sin, but the righteous can sing and be glad.
7 The righteous care about justice for the poor. The wicked aren’t concerned about knowledge.
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People flatter their neighbors when they praise good in them, whether in what they do or what they have, when that good is really less than they claim, or even not there at all. They also flatter when they say they feel respect and affection they do not truly have. Such people spread a net for their own feet or for the feet of those they flatter.
It is a trap for the neighbor who is flattered. The flatterer often has a bad plan and speaks well only because he hopes to gain something. So we should be careful with people who praise us too much, since they may be setting a snare for us. We should stay alert.
Flattery can also harm the one who receives it. It feeds pride, makes a person vain and overconfident, and so becomes a net that catches him in sin. Some also take this verse to mean it is a trap for the flatterer’s own feet. A person who flatters others, hoping they will praise him in return, only makes himself foolish and unpleasant, even to the very people he is trying to please.
From This Chapter
Proverbs 29:1
"He who is often rebuked and stiffens his neck will be destroyed suddenly, with no remedy."
Proverbs 29:2
"When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice; but when the wicked rule, the people groan."
Proverbs 29:3
"Whoever loves wisdom brings joy to his father; but a companion of prostitutes squanders his wealth."
Proverbs 29:4
"The king by justice makes the land stable, but he who takes bribes tears it down."
Proverbs 29:6
"An evil man is snared by his sin, but the righteous can sing and be glad."
Proverbs 29:7
"The righteous care about justice for the poor. The wicked aren’t concerned about knowledge."
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