Proverbs 26:4

4 If you answer a silly question, you are just as silly as the person who asked it.

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 Curses cannot hurt you unless you deserve them. They are like birds that fly by and never light.

3 You have to whip a horse, you have to bridle a donkey, and you have to beat a fool.

4 If you answer a silly question, you are just as silly as the person who asked it.

5 Give a silly answer to a silly question, and the one who asked it will realize that he's not as smart as he thinks.

6 If you let a fool deliver a message, you might as well cut off your own feet; you are asking for trouble.