Proverbs 26:4

4 Don't respond to the stupidity of a fool; you'll only look foolish 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 You have as little to fear from an undeserved curse as from the dart of a wren or the swoop of a swallow.

3 A whip for the racehorse, a tiller for the sailboat - and a stick for the back of fools!

4 Don't respond to the stupidity of a fool; you'll only look foolish yourself.

5 Answer a fool in simple terms so he doesn't get a swelled head.

6 You're only asking for trouble when you send a message by a fool.