Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him.
Proverbs 26 gathers a string of sayings about the fool, and this one warns against meeting foolish talk on its own terms. The very next verse tells you to do the opposite — so which is it, and how do you know when?
Three Hebrew words lie behind the English word. One writer takes them in turn.
Eleven times we meet the word fool in this chapter. The Hebrew uses three different words for fool. The first is "avil," which means weakness. The second word, "kesil," occurs nearly fifty times and means fat or dense. The third is the Hebrew "nabal," which comes from the verb to fade or to wither; it means a vulgar, bad man who has given himself over to wickedness. The natural man — his condition, his darkened mind, his sinfulness — matches much of what this book says about the fool.
The reason the verse gives is about what such an argument does to you.
A fool will argue for the sake of ridicule, with no real reasonableness. It is a mistake, then, to lower oneself to the same unwholesome level of argument. Heated words are likely to betray a believer into using the same unsound argument and ridicule. So we make ourselves like the one we so resent! A fool's objections ought to make us most careful to weigh our answers well.
Verse 5 says the opposite of verse 4. One writer says the clash exists only for a reader who has shut out a divine Master.
To man's mind it is a contradiction. No wonder, for he shuns a divine Master — One who owns a man that may be called to act rightly, but who gives a standard like Himself, and who deals with the senseless in what looks like inconsistency. In one case He leaves folly unnoticed, as it deserves. In another He exposes it. So He may convince even a fool of his folly, or warn someone else who is too easily taken in — and that is common enough in this world.
There is still a way to reply that does not drag you down. The same writer points to how the Lord Jesus handled men with cunning questions.
We should avoid mere argument on the same level. Yet it may be very necessary to answer a fool in a way that shows his argument up as folly, without resorting to argument… The wisdom of the Lord Jesus in answering quarrelsome men shows this well. Rather than merely answering their cunning questions, He answered the men. Consider Luke 10:25-37 and Matthew 22:15-22. There could then be no argument: they were silenced.
The New Testament gives the same counsel to Christian workers. Paul told Timothy, "Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels" (2 Timothy 2:23). One writer draws the practical line between an honest questioner and a hostile one.
Foolish questions are usually a sign of a heart unwilling to be subject to the Word of God. Such questions need no answer. Avoid them, or they will only lead to strife… If someone really wants to know the answer to a question, let us give him proper help. But if he asks with the clear intention of disputing against the truth, he deserves no answer.
The clearest case is David and Nabal, the man whose name is that third Hebrew word for a fool. Nabal treated David badly, and David set out to pay him back himself.
David was rashly taking himself out of the place of dependence — the only happy, the only holy place. Nor was it on behalf of the congregation of the Lord. No, it was to avenge himself on one who had treated him badly. Sad mistake! It was a happy thing for him that there was an Abigail in Nabal's house. God was about to use her to keep him from answering a fool according to his folly. This was just what the enemy desired.
There is also a matter of where you spend your strength. Rather than chasing every mocker into his own territory, another writer urges attention to what is yours to keep.
It may be well enough sometimes to answer a fool according to his folly. But it is usually best not to chase these dupes of Satan into the swamps of darkness and error, where their rebellion against the true light has led them. Our business is to keep the fortress of our own souls well guarded.
- The fool — the Hebrew words mean weakness, dullness, and a man given over to wickedness. This is the natural mind, not a slow one.
- The trap — arguing on his level turns you into him; heated words hand you his ridicule as your own weapon.
- The discernment — verses 4 and 5 call for guidance, not a fixed rule. Sometimes you leave folly unnoticed. Sometimes you expose it, to convince the fool or warn a bystander.
- The method — when you must speak, answer the man rather than his question, as the Lord did. Then there is nothing left to argue about.
- The safeguard — a heart set on revenge, like David's toward Nabal, is what the enemy wants. Guard your own soul instead of chasing scoffers into the dark.
Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.
Proverbs stacks two commands side by side that seem to cancel each other out: verse 4 forbids answering a fool, and verse 5 commands it. The difference is not a fixed rule. It depends on the man in front of you, and on what your silence or your answer will do.
Behind the one English word "fool" stand three different Hebrew words.
Eleven times we meet the word fool in this chapter. Three different words are used in the Hebrew for fool. The first is "avil" which signifies weakness. The second word "kesil" occurs nearly fifty times, means fat or dense. The third word is the Hebrew "nabal," which comes from the verb to fade, or to wither; it means a vulgar, bad man who has given himself over to wickedness. The natural man — his condition, his darkened mind, his sinfulness — matches much of what this book says about the fool.
The command not to answer is about the manner of your reply, not the fact of it. Meet ridicule with ridicule and the two of you become indistinguishable.
"Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself." The connection here with the previous verse is obvious. A fool will argue for the sake of ridicule, with no real reasonableness. It is a mistake therefore to lower oneself to the same unwholesome level of argument. Heated words are likely to betray a believer into the use of the same unsound argument and ridicule. Thus we make ourselves like the one whom we so resent!
The second command is not permission to argue on the fool's terms.
There is a delicate balance to keep here. What follows looks on the surface like a contradiction, though of course it is nothing of the kind: "Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes." We must avoid mere argument on the fool's own level. Yet it may be very necessary to answer a fool in a way that exposes his argument as folly, without arguing at all. Titus 1:9 implies this: sound teaching should both encourage and refute those who contradict.
The pair only looks self-defeating if you expect a fixed formula.
Verses 4 and 5 are full of instruction, except to those who do not know to look for a guidance above appearances — a guidance that goes by the realities seen by eyes that see where man cannot. To man's mind it is a contradiction. No wonder, for he refuses a divine Master, who accepts a man that may be called to act rightly but gives a standard like Himself, and who deals with the senseless in what looks like inconsistency. In one case he leaves folly without notice, as it deserves. In another he exposes it, hoping to convince even a fool of his folly, or to warn someone else who is too easily taken in — a thing not uncommon in this world.
Kelly gives a second reason: the answer may be for the bystander, not for the fool.
The Lord Jesus faced men who came to trap Him with questions.
The Spirit of wisdom and understanding marked every step, every word and every action of the Lord Jesus. But there were times when these features were obvious to all. The spies of the chief priests and scribes tried to trap Him with the question, "Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not?" (Luke 20:22)... The Spirit of understanding is seen in His discerning the thoughts and motives of His questioners, and the Spirit of wisdom in His replies that silenced them.
Grant notes that the Lord answered the men themselves, not just their questions.
The verse names the outcome it means to prevent: a man wise in his own eyes.
The wise are lowly and dependent on the only wise God. The foolish man is wise in his own eyes; he who only adds conceit to folly is the most hopeless of men.
Conceit shuts the door on the counsel that could correct him.
"Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him" (Prov. 26:12); of all fools the conceited fool is the worst. Pride makes a man incapable of receiving counsel.
- Read — The two verses are not rivals but one instruction. God judges by realities, not appearances. The same folly may call for silence one day and exposure the next.
- Refuse — Verse 4 bans the fool's method. Ridicule answered by ridicule leaves you looking just like the man you resent.
- Reply — Verse 5 calls for an answer that lets the folly show itself, not an argument fought on the fool's ground.
- Rescue — An answer may be owed to the onlooker as much as to the fool, guarding those who are easily taken in.
- Result — The aim is to keep a man from becoming wise in his own eyes. Pride makes him unable to receive counsel, and that is worse than plain folly.