Proverbs 29:5 Explained in Context

Read It With

• Proverbs 29:4–7

Read Proverbs 29:5 with 29:4–7. Read alone, “A man that flattereth his neighbour spreadeth a net for his feet” could turn a compressed observation, warning, comparison, or command into a guarantee or complete policy. The full unit establishes: uses contrastive parallelism to place “The king by judgment establisheth the land” against “he that receiveth gifts overthroweth it”; by 29:7, it uses contrastive parallelism to place “The righteous considereth the cause of the poor” against “the wicked regardeth not to know it”. Together the unit concentrates on justice, truthful judgment, and protection from exploitation, kingship, public authority, and accountable rule, speech, listening, truth, and relational consequence within “Solomonic sayings copied by Hezekiah's men.”

Why This Verse Appears Here

Proverbs 29:4–7 forms a reviewed local cluster inside “Solomonic sayings copied by Hezekiah's men.” Its lines concentrate on justice, truthful judgment, and protection from exploitation, kingship, public authority, and accountable rule, speech, listening, truth, and relational consequence, while each sentence proverb retains its own force and the neighboring database unit does not supply its meaning. Within that relationship, this verse contributes the claim, image, or instruction “A man that flattereth his neighbour spreadeth a net for his feet”.