A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet.
Hear this, O priests! Pay attention, O house of Israel! Give ear, O house of the king! For the judgment is for you; for you have been a snare at Mizpah and a net spread upon Tabor.
Everyone utters lies to his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.
For there is no truth in their mouth; their inmost self is destruction; their throat is an open grave; they flatter with their tongue.
He who informs against his friends to get a share of their property— the eyes of his children will fail.
For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness.
For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.
So they watched him and sent spies, who pretended to be sincere, that they might catch him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction of the governor. So they asked him, “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach rightly, and show no partiality, but truly teach the way of God.
“From on high he sent fire; into my bones he made it descend; he spread a net for my feet; he turned me back; he has left me stunned, faint all the day long.
A lying tongue hates its victims, and a flattering mouth works ruin.
Whoever hates disguises himself with his lips and harbors deceit in his heart; when he speaks graciously, believe him not, for there are seven abominations in his heart;
Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with a simple babbler.
With much seductive speech she persuades him; with her smooth talk she compels him.
to keep you from the forbidden woman, from the adulteress with her smooth words.
For in vain is a net spread in the sight of any bird,
And your servant thought, ‘The word of my lord the king will set me at rest,’ for my lord the king is like the angel of God to discern good and evil. The Lord your God be with you!” Then the king answered the woman, “Do not hide from me anything I ask you.” And the woman said, “Let my lord the king speak.” The king said, “Is the hand of Joab with you in all this?” The woman answered and said, “As surely as you live, my lord the king, one cannot turn to the right hand or to the left from anything that my lord the king has said. It was your servant Joab who commanded me; it was he who put all these words in the mouth of your servant. In order to change the course of things your servant Joab did this. But my lord has wisdom like the wisdom of the angel of God to know all things that are on the earth.” Then the king said to Joab, “Behold now, I grant this; go, bring back the young man Absalom.”
Unless otherwise indicated, all content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Contact me: openbibleinfo (at) gmail.com.