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: King James Version
" A man that flattereth his neighbour spreadeth a net for his feet. "
Proverbs 29:5
Verse in Context
Understanding the surrounding verses prevents misinterpretation:
3 Whoso loveth wisdom rejoiceth his father: but he that keepeth company with harlots spendeth his substance.
4 The king by judgment establisheth the land: but he that receiveth gifts overthroweth
5 A man that flattereth his neighbour spreadeth a net for his feet.
6 In the transgression of an evil man there is a snare: but the righteous doth sing and rejoice.
7 The righteous considereth the cause of the poor: but the wicked regardeth not to know
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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.
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From This Chapter
Proverbs 29:1
"He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy."
Proverbs 29:2
"When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn."
Proverbs 29:3
"Whoso loveth wisdom rejoiceth his father: but he that keepeth company with harlots spendeth his substance."
Proverbs 29:4
"The king by judgment establisheth the land: but he that receiveth gifts overthroweth"
Proverbs 29:6
"In the transgression of an evil man there is a snare: but the righteous doth sing and rejoice."
Proverbs 29:7
"The righteous considereth the cause of the poor: but the wicked regardeth not to know"
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