Do not answer a fool according to his folly, Lest you also be like him.
Parallel translations
- WEB Don’t answer a fool according to his folly, lest you also be like him.
- KJV Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him.
- BSB Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be like him.
- NASB Do not answer a fool according to his foolishness, Or you will also be like him.
- NLT Don’t answer the foolish arguments of fools, or you will become as foolish as they are.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Do not answer a fool on his own foolish terms, or you will become like him. Avoid being dragged down to his level.
Overview
Paired deliberately with verse 5, this warns against engaging folly in a way that adopts its assumptions and tone. The two verses together teach discernment: there is a time to refuse the fool's terms. Wisdom knows when silence guards one's own integrity rather than feeding an argument.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Prov 26:5Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.
- 1 Pet 3:9not rendering evil for evil, or insult for insult; but instead blessing; knowing that to this were you called, that you may inherit a blessing.
- Jude 1:9But Michael, the archangel, when contending with the devil and arguing about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him an abusive condemnation, but said, “May the Lord rebuke you!”
- 1 Kgs 12:14and spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke. My father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.”
- Prov 17:14The beginning of strife is like breaching a dam, therefore stop contention before quarreling breaks out.
- Judg 12:1–6The men of Ephraim were gathered together, and passed northward; and they said to Jephthah, “Why did you pass over to fight against the children of Ammon, and didn’t call us to go with you? We will burn your house around you with fire!”
- 2 Sam 19:41–43Behold, all the men of Israel came to the king, and said to the king, “Why have our brothers the men of Judah stolen you away, and brought the king, and his household, over the Jordan, and all David’s men with him?”
- 1 Kgs 12:16When all Israel saw that the king didn’t listen to them, the people answered the king, saying, “What portion have we in David? We don’t have an inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, Israel! Now see to your own house, David.” So Israel departed to their tents.
- 2 Kgs 14:8–10Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, “Come, let us look one another in the face.”
- 1 Pet 2:21–23For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving you an example, that you should follow his steps,
- Isa 36:21But they remained silent, and said nothing in reply, for the king’s commandment was, “Don’t answer him.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Wisdom personified, with God before creation and the agent of all things, anticipates Christ 'in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom' — the wisdom of God made flesh.
How Proverbs 26:4 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.