Proverbs 26:4

4 Don't answer a fool according to his foolishness, or you'll be like him yourself.

Proverbs 26:4 Meaning and Commentary

Proverbs 26:4

Answer not a fool according to his folly
Sometimes a fool, or wicked man, is not to be answered at all; as the ministers of Hezekiah answered not a word to Rabshakeh; nor Jeremiah the prophet to Hananiah; nor Christ to the Scribes and Pharisees; and when an answer is returned, it should not be in his foolish way and manner, rendering evil for evil, and railing for railing, in the same virulent, lying, calumniating, and reproachful language; lest thou also be like unto him;
lest thou also, who art a man of understanding and sense, and hast passed for one among men, come under the same imputation, and be reckoned a fool like him.

Proverbs 26:4 In-Context

2 Like a flitting sparrow or a fluttering swallow, an undeserved curse goes nowhere.

3 A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the backs of fools.

4 Don't answer a fool according to his foolishness, or you'll be like him yourself.

5 Answer a fool according to his foolishness, or he'll become wise in his own eyes.

6 The one who sends a message by a fool's hand cuts off his own feet and drinks violence.