Proverbs 26:4

4 Don't answer a foolish person in keeping with his foolish acts. If you do, you will 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 A curse given for no reason is like a wandering bird or a flying sparrow. It doesn't go anywhere.

3 A whip is for a horse. A harness is for a donkey. And a beating is for the backs of foolish people.

4 Don't answer a foolish person in keeping with his foolish acts. If you do, you will be like him yourself.

5 Answer a foolish person in keeping with his foolish acts. If you do, he won't be wise in his own eyes.

6 Sending a message in the hand of a foolish person is like cutting off your feet or drinking something harmful.