Christian Standard Bible
Proverbs 26:4
4Don’t answer a fool according to his foolishness or you’ll be like him yourself.
Proverbs 26:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him.
- New International Version (NIV)Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Do not answer a fool according to his folly, Lest you also be like him.
Context of Proverbs 26:4
2Like a flitting sparrow or a fluttering swallow, an undeserved curse goes nowhere. 3A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the backs of fools. Don’t answer a fool according to his foolishness or you’ll be like him yourself. 5Answer a fool according to his foolishness or he’ll become wise in his own eyes. 6The one who sends a message by a fool’s hand cuts off his own feet and drinks violence.
Read all of Proverbs 26Proverbs 26:4 word by word
אַל־תַּ֣עַן כְּ֭סִיל כְּאִוַּלְתּ֑וֹ פֶּֽן־תִּשְׁוֶה־לּ֥וֹ גַם־אָֽתָּה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Proverbs 26:4
- Proverbs 17:14To start a conflict is to release a flood; stop the dispute before it breaks out.
- Judges 12:1The men of Ephraim were called together and crossed the Jordan to Zaphon. They said to Jephthah, “Why have you crossed over to fight against the Ammonites but didn’t call us to go with you? We will burn your house with you in it!”
- 2 Samuel 19:41Suddenly, all the men of Israel came to the king. They asked him, “Why did our brothers, the men of Judah, take you away secretly and transport the king and his household across the Jordan, along with all of David’s men?”
- 1 Kings 12:14and spoke to them according to the young men’s advice: “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with barbed whips.”
- 2 Kings 14:8Amaziah then sent messengers to Jehoash son of Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, king of Israel, and challenged him: “Come, let’s meet face to face.”
- 1 Peter 2:21For you were called to this, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
- 1 Peter 3:9not paying back evil for evil or insult for insult but, on the contrary, giving a blessing, since you were called for this, so that you may inherit a blessing.
- Jude 1:9Yet when Michael the archangel was disputing with the devil in an argument about Moses’s body, he did not dare utter a slanderous condemnation against him but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”
Commentaries on Proverbs 26:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Answer not a fool - On this and the following verse Bishop Warburton, who has written well on many things, and very indifferently on the doctrine of grace, has written with force and perspicuity: "Had this advice been given simply, and without circumstance, to answer the fool, and not to answer him, one who had reverence for the text would satisfy himself in supposing that the different directions referred to the doing a thing in and out of season; The…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4Two 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…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 4-5Verses 4-5 We are to fit our remarks to the man, and address them to his conscience, so as may best end the debate.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4-5Proverbs often depend on the situation. Deciding whether to respond to foolish arguments depends on the type of fool and the situation.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 4-54-5. Answer not--that is, approvingly by like folly.Read the comment
Topics related to Proverbs 26:4
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Proverbs 26
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
Christian Standard Bible — © 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
Commentaries