Answer (not) a fool according to his folly

[charliedale]

Proverbs 26:4 says
Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself.

verse 5 says this
Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.

So should I answer the fool according to his folly or not?

And what does answering according to his folly mean? Can you answer a fool not according to his folly?

[Mike Miller]

I love this one. What I think this is showing is the difficulty--and inherent risk--of arguing with a fool. On the one hand, to engage a fool's foolish arguments (answering him according to his folly) is foolish. You can't win, and he will simply keep the argument going. You will in essence be acting foolishly yourself. Proverbs 17:12 says, "Let a man meet a she-bear robbed of her cubs rather than a fool in his folly." It's dangerous business arguing with a fool.

On the other hand, to let a fool keep making foolish claims gives tacit endorsement to those claims. He needs to be answered and silenced. Proverbs 26:12 says, "Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him." It's a dangerous thing to let a fool go unchecked.

So, what we have is a dilemma. But remember that Proverbs are general principles. They are not promises, guarantees, or hard and fast rules. Instead, they provide guidance and wisdom so that we might be wise. The fact that these two verses are back to back tells us of the difficulty in knowing how to deal with a fool. It's dangerous to argue with him and dangerous not to correct him. So, what do we do? Only wisdom can tell. Each situation is different, and it will take a truly wise person to know how to navigate the pitfalls and know how rightly to deal with the fool. Sometimes you correct him, and sometimes you let him be.