15 Heb “a man,” but the context here does not suggest that the proverb refers to males only.
16 The form is the Hiphil participle, literally “deals smoothly,” i.e., smoothing over things that should be brought to one’s attention. The flatterer is too smooth; his words are intended to gratify. In this proverb some malice is attached to the flattery, for the words prove to be destructive.
17 The image of “spreading a net” for someone’s steps is an implied comparison (a figure of speech known as hypocatastasis): As one would literally spread a net, this individual’s flattery will come back to destroy him. A net would be spread to catch the prey, and so the idea is one of being caught and destroyed.
18 There is some ambiguity concerning the referent of “his steps.” The net could be spread for the one flattered (cf. , “a net for the neighbor’s feet”; , “their feet,” referring to others), or for the flatterer himself (cf. “you set a trap for yourself”). The latter idea would make the verse more powerful: In flattering someone the flatterer is getting himself into a trap (e.g., 2:16; 7:5; 26:28; 28:23).