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 spreads a net for his own feet, and is taken in the snare which he had laid for his neighbour; or falls into the pit he dug for him, as Gersom observes; see Psalm 140:5 .