Flattery, often understood as excessive and insincere praise given to further one's own interests, is addressed in various passages throughout the Bible. Scripture consistently warns against the use of flattery, highlighting its potential to deceive and lead individuals away from truth and righteousness.

Proverbs 26:28 · "A lying tongue hates those it crushes, and a flattering mouth works ruin." This verse underscores the destructive nature of flattery, equating it with deceit and harm. The use of flattery is portrayed as a tool that can lead to the downfall of both the flatterer and the one who is flattered.

Psalm 12:2-3 · "They lie to one another; they speak with flattering lips and a double heart. May the LORD cut off all flattering lips and the tongue that speaks proud things." Here, flattery is associated with falsehood and duplicity. The psalmist calls for divine intervention against those who use flattery as a means of manipulation and pride.

Proverbs 29:5 · "A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet." This proverb warns that flattery can be a trap, ensnaring both the giver and the receiver. It suggests that flattery is not merely harmless praise but a strategic act that can lead to entrapment and moral compromise.

Job 32:21-22 · "I will be partial to no one, nor will I flatter any man. For I do not know how to flatter, or my Maker would remove me in an instant." Elihu, in his discourse, emphasizes his commitment to truth over flattery, recognizing that flattery is incompatible with integrity and divine favor.

Proverbs 7:21 · "With her great persuasion she entices him; with her flattering lips she lures him." In this passage, flattery is depicted as a tool of seduction, leading individuals into temptation and sin. It serves as a caution against the seductive power of flattering words that can lead one astray.

Romans 16:18 · "For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery, they deceive the hearts of the naive." The Apostle Paul warns the Roman church about those who use flattery to deceive and serve their own interests rather than Christ. Flattery is shown to be a tactic of those who seek to exploit the unsuspecting for personal gain.

1 Thessalonians 2:5 · "As you know, we never used words of flattery or any pretext for greed. God is our witness!" Paul, in his letter to the Thessalonians, distinguishes his ministry from those who use flattery for selfish purposes. He emphasizes sincerity and truthfulness as hallmarks of genuine Christian ministry.

Throughout Scripture, flattery is consistently portrayed as a negative and deceitful practice. It is often linked with falsehood, manipulation, and moral danger, serving as a warning to believers to seek truth and integrity in their words and actions.Job 17:5
He that speaks flattery to his friends, even the eyes of his children shall fail.
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Job 32:21,22
Let me not, I pray you, accept any man's person, neither let me give flattering titles to man.
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Psalm 5:8,9
Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness because of my enemies; make your way straight before my face.
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Psalm 12:2,3
They speak vanity every one with his neighbor: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak.
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Psalm 36:2
For he flatters himself in his own eyes, until his iniquity be found to be hateful.
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Psalm 49:13,18
This their way is their folly: yet their posterity approve their sayings. Selah.
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Psalm 78:36
Nevertheless they did flatter him with their mouth, and they lied to him with their tongues.
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Proverbs 5:3
For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil:
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Proverbs 6:24
To keep you from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.
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Proverbs 7:5,21
That they may keep you from the strange woman, from the stranger which flatters with her words.
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Proverbs 14:20
The poor is hated even of his own neighbor: but the rich has many friends.
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Proverbs 19:4,6
Wealth makes many friends; but the poor is separated from his neighbor.
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Proverbs 20:19
He that goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets: therefore meddle not with him that flatters with his lips.
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Proverbs 22:16
He that oppresses the poor to increase his riches, and he that gives to the rich, shall surely come to want.
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Proverbs 24:24
He that said to the wicked, You are righteous; him shall the people curse, nations shall abhor him:
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Proverbs 25:26
A righteous man falling down before the wicked is as a troubled fountain, and a corrupt spring.
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Proverbs 26:28
A lying tongue hates those that are afflicted by it; and a flattering mouth works ruin.
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Proverbs 27:21
As the fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold; so is a man to his praise.
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Proverbs 28:23
He that rebukes a man afterwards shall find more favor than he that flatters with the tongue.
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Proverbs 29:5
A man that flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet.
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Daniel 11:21,34
And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honor of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.
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Luke 6:26
Woe to you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.
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Galatians 1:10
For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.
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1 Thessalonians 2:4-6
But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which tries our hearts.
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Jude 1:16
These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaks great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage.
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Concerning Salutations and Recreations, &C.
... who desire to ascribe to this flattery, and abuse ... which is all one, make void this
general prohibition of ... an oath to interpret the holy scriptures according to ...
/.../proposition xv concerning salutations and.htm

Scriptures Showing the Sin and Danger of Joining with Wicked and ...
... Scriptures Showing The Sin And Danger Of Joining With ... Flattery, beauty of pretended
religion, false witnessing and ... quarrel, or choose a better general(396) for ...
/.../binning/the works of the rev hugh binning/section v scriptures showing the.htm

From the Close of the General Conference of 1816 to the ...
... his parents to read the Holy Scriptures, the necessity ... to speak in terms of fulsome
flattery, while of ... the cause he had espoused, and general satisfaction to ...
/.../chapter 4 from the close.htm

Shakers, or the United Society of Believers.
... society, both public and private, no flattery nor any ... until it has received the general
approbation of ... the knowledge of the sacred Scriptures, and practically ...
/.../hayward/the book of religions/shakers or the united society.htm

Agrippa, who was Also Called Herod, Having Persecuted the Apostles ...
... rebuke them, nor did he reject their impious flattery. ... others, so fully agrees with
the divine Scriptures. ... In this case, therefore, his general conduct ought ...
/.../pamphilius/church history/chapter x agrippa who was also.htm

Ascetic.
... less of monasticism than of general Christian endurance ... superior to the seductions
of flattery, and loving ... retirement, silence, and the study of the Scriptures. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/basil/basil letters and select works/iii ascetic.htm

The Life of Sir Rob^T. Hamilton of Preston.
... much in reading of the holy scriptures, much in ... as also your public correspondences
and general meetings, go to ... to the influence of fear or flattery); and was ...
/.../howie/biographia scoticana scots worthies/the life of sir rob%5Et.htm

God is Our Refuge
... had fallen upon them, and a general peace had ... in that perpetual divine providence
which the Scriptures call "the ... in cunning, in intrigue, in flattery of the ...
/.../kingsley/all saints day and other sermons/sermon xxii god is our.htm

On Smart Novelists and the Smart Set
... found in scrolls and statute books and scriptures; but men's ... is not a bad description
of the general idea and ... with that social element which we call flattery. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/chesterton/heretics/xv on smart novelists and.htm

The Unseen Watcher
... of Darius the Mede, and commanding general of the ... Most High, not to speak words of
flattery, but to ... had been portrayed in the prophetic scriptures years before ...
/.../white/the story of prophets and kings/chapter 43 the unseen watcher.htm

Who was Daniel in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org

Who is the king of the South in Daniel 11? | GotQuestions.org

What is apostasy and how can I recognize it? | GotQuestions.org

Flattery: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

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