“A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet”: “Flatters” renders the same root as used of the loose woman’s “smooth words” in 2.16 and 7.5. See also 28.23. “His neighbor”, as in 3.28, may refer to almost anyone and not particularly a person who resides nearby. The purpose of “spreads a net” is to catch something, in this case to cause someone’s downfall. The expression is used in its literal sense in 1.17. It is not certain here who is trapped. If it is the person who is flattered, then the smooth words intend to deceive by causing the flattered person to get an exaggerated opinion of himself. Note that Good News Translation assumes in its text that the flatterer sets a trap for himself and in its footnote offers the other alternative. In either case the saying is a warning against speaking or listening to deceptive flattery.

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Proverbs. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .