Proverbs 29:5
A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his steps.
A Conservative Version
In The King James Version
A man that flattereth his neighbour spreadeth a net for his feet.
In Context
4By justice the king establishes the land, but he who exacts gifts overthrows it.
6In the transgression of an evil man there is a snare, but a righteous man sings and rejoices.
Cross References
2 Samuel 14:17Then thy handmaid said, Let, I pray thee, the word of my lord the king be gracious, for as an agent of God, so is my lord the king to discern good and bad. And LORD thy God be with thee.
Psalms 5:9For there is no faithfulness in their mouth. Their inward part is very wickedness. Their throat is an open sepulcher. With their tongue they deceive (LXX/NT).
Proverbs 1:17For in vain is the net spread in the sight of any bird,
Proverbs 7:21With her much fair speech she causes him to yield. With the flattering of her lips she forces him along.
Proverbs 26:24He who hates masquerades with his lips, but he lays up deceit within him.
Lamentations 1:13From on high he has sent fire into my bones, and it prevails against them. He has spread a net for my feet. He has turned me back. He has made me desolate and faint all the day.
Matthew Henry on Proverbs 29:5
4 The king by judgment establisheth the land: but he that receiveth gifts overthroweth it. Here is, 1. The happiness of a people under a good government. The care and business of a prince should be to establish the land, to maintain its fundamental laws, to settle the minds of his subjects and make them easy, to secure their liberties and properties from hostilities and for posterity, and to set in order the things that are wanting; this he must do by judgment, by wise counsels, and by the steady administration of… Read the whole commentary →