Proverbs 29:5-7

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Proverbs 29:5

Those may be said to flatter their neighbours who commend and applaud that good in them (the good they do or the good they have) which really either is not or is not such as they represent it, and who profess that esteem and that affection for them which really they have not; these spread a net for their feet. 1. For their neighbours? feet, whom they flatter. They have an ill design in it; they would not praise them as they do but that they hope to make an advantage of them; and it is... read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Proverbs 29:6

Here is, 1. The peril of a sinful way. There is not only a punishment at the end of it, but a snare in it. One sin is a temptation to another, and there are troubles which, as a snare, come suddenly upon evil men in the midst of their transgressions; nay, their transgression itself often involves them in vexations; their sin is their punishment, and they are holden in the cords of their own iniquity, Prov. 5:22. 2. The pleasantness of the way of holiness. The snare that is in the transgression... read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Proverbs 29:7

It is a pity but that every one who sues sub formâ pauperis?as a pauper, should have an honest cause (they are of all others inexcusable if they have not), because the scripture has so well provided that it should have a fair hearing, and that the judge himself should be of counsel, as for the prisoner, so for the pauper. 1. It is here made the character of a righteous judge that he considers the cause of the poor. It is every man's duty to consider the poor (Ps. 41:1), but the judgment of the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Proverbs 29:5

A man that flattereth his neighbour ,.... That speaks smooth things to him gives him flattering titles, speaks fair to his face, highly commends him on one account or another: spreadeth a net for his feet ; has an idle design upon him, and therefore should be guarded against; his view is to draw him into a snare and make a prey of him; he attacks him on his weak side, and hopes to make some advantage of it to himself; wherefore flatterers should be avoided as pernicious persons; or he... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Proverbs 29:6

In the transgression of an evil man there is a snare ,.... Or, according to the accents in some copies, "in the transgression of a man is an evil snare", as Aben Ezra observes the words may be read; there is a snare in sin to man himself; one sin leads on to another, and a man is snared by the works of his own hands, and is implicated and held in the cords of his own iniquity, and falls into the snare of the devil, out of which he is not easily recovered; and the transgression of one man... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Proverbs 29:7

The righteous considereth the cause of the poor ,.... Not his poverty and distress, so as to relieve him, which yet he does, Psalm 41:1 ; nor the person of the poor in judgment, and which he ought not to do; for as he should not regard a rich man's person, and favour him, because he is rich; so neither a poor man, because he is poor, through an affectation of mercy, Leviticus 19:15 ; but the cause of the poor, and the justice of that, and do him justice, though a poor man. This is to be... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Proverbs 29:5

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. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 29:1-7

Private morality and the public weal I. TRUTHS OF PERSONAL CONDUCT . 1 . The obstinate offender and his doom . ( Proverbs 29:1 .) The repeated complaint against Israel was that they were a "stiff-necked people." Self-willed, haughty, persistent, defying rebuke and chastisement, is the habit described. It invites judgment. "When lesser warnings will not serve, God looks into his quiver for deadly arrows." They who will not bend before the gentle persuasions of God's Holy... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 29:5

A man that flattereth his neighbour ; says only what is agreeable, applauds his words and actions indiscriminately, and makes him think too well of himself he is no true friend (see Proverbs 28:23 ). Spreadeth a net for his feet; his stops ( Proverbs 26:28 ; Job 18:8 , etc.). If a man listens to such flattering words, and is influenced by them, he works his own ruin; self-deceived, he knows not his real condition, and accordingly makes grievous disaster of his life. The LXX . gives... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 29:5

(See homily on Proverbs 27:5 , Proverbs 27:6 .)—C. read more

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