Proverbs 26:4

4 Do not answer fools according to their folly, or you will be a fool 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 sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying, an undeserved curse goes nowhere.

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

4 Do not answer fools according to their folly, or you will be a fool yourself.

5 Answer fools according to their folly, or they will be wise in their own eyes.

6 It is like cutting off one's foot and drinking down violence, to send a message by a fool.