Proverbs 26:4

“Answer not a fool according to his folly, etc.] 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.”

“Answer not--that is, approvingly by like folly.”

“Two sides of a truth. To “answer a fool according to his folly” is in Proverbs 26:4 to bandy words with him, to descend to his level of coarse anger and vile abuse; in Proverbs 26:5 it is to say the right word at the right time, to expose his unwisdom and untruth to others and to himself, not by a teaching beyond his reach, but by words that he is just able to apprehend. The apparent contradiction between the two verses led some of the rabbis to question the canonical authority of this book. The Pythagoreans had maxims expressing a truth in precepts seemingly contradictory. return to 'Top of Page'”

“According - So as to imitate his folly, by passionate or reproachful speeches. Proverbs 26:5”

“26:4-5 Proverbs are often context sensitive. Whether or not to answer the foolish arguments of fools depends on what kind of fool and what kind of situation.”

“Pro 17:14; Jdg 12:1-6; Sa2 19:41-43; Kg1 12:14, Kg1 12:16; Kg2 14:8-10; Pe1 2:21-23, Pe1 3:9; Jde 1:9 Proverbs 26:5”

“4 Answer not the fool according to his folly, Lest thou thyself also become like unto him. After, or according to his folly, is here equivalent to recognising the foolish supposition and the foolish object of his question, and thereupon considering it, as if, e.g., he asked why the ignorant man was happier than the man who had much knowledge, or how one may acquire the art of making gold; for "a fool can ask more than ten wise men can answer." He who recognises such questions as justifiable, and thus sanctions them, places himself on an equality with the fool, and easily himself becomes one. The proverb that follows affirms apparently the direct contrary: Proverbs 26:5”