Bible Study Proverbs 26
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Proverbs 26 · WEB

Don't Answer a Fool According to His Folly

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Like snow in summer, and as rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool.
2Like a fluttering sparrow, like a darting swallow, so the undeserved curse doesn't come to rest.
3A whip is for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the back of fools.
4Don't answer a fool according to his folly, lest you also become like him.
5Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.
6One who sends a message by the hand of a fool is cutting off feet and drinking violence.
7Like the legs of a lame man, so is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
8Like one who binds a stone in a sling, so is he who gives honor to a fool.
9Like a thorn stuck in the hand of a drunk, so is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
10As an archer who wounds everyone, so is he who hires a fool or who hires those who pass by.
11As a dog that returns to his vomit, so is a fool who repeats his folly.
12Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
13The sluggard says, "There is a lion in the road! A fierce lion roams the streets!"
14As a door turns on its hinges, so a sluggard turns on his bed.
15The sluggard buries his hand in the dish. He is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.
16The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who can give a good answer.
17Like one who grabs a dog by the ears, so is he who passes by and meddles in a quarrel not his own.
18Like a madman who shoots torches, arrows, and death,
19is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, "Am I not joking?"
20For lack of wood, a fire goes out. Without gossip, a quarrel dies down.
21As coals are to hot embers, and wood to fire, so is a contentious man to kindling strife.
22The words of a gossip are like dainty morsels. They go down into a person's innermost parts.
23Like silver dross on an earthen vessel are the lips of burning passion with an evil heart.
24A malicious man disguises himself with his lips, but he lays up deceit in his heart.
25When his speech is charming, don't believe him; for there are seven abominations in his heart.
26His malice may be concealed by deception, but his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.
27Whoever digs a pit will fall into it. Whoever rolls a stone, it will roll back on him.
28A lying tongue hates those it hurts, and a flattering mouth works ruin.
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Summary

Proverbs 26 is the most sustained treatment of the fool and the sluggard in the book, along with sharp observations on gossip, strife, and the malicious person who hides behind flattering words. The famous contradiction at the center — "don't answer a fool" (v. 4) and "answer a fool" (v. 5) — is not an error but a genuine paradox requiring wisdom to navigate. The chapter closes with the pit-digging and stone-rolling proverbs: schemes return on their schemers.

Themes

  • The fool — not a buffoon but a morally deficient person incapable of wisdom
  • The sluggard — portrayed with comic exaggeration for satirical effect
  • The paradox of answering the fool: both responses have costs
  • Gossip as fire-fuel — starve it and the quarrel dies
  • The malicious person behind flattering words

Key verses

  • Prov 26:11 — “As a dog that returns to his vomit, so is a fool who repeats his folly.”
  • Prov 26:20 — “For lack of wood, a fire goes out. Without gossip, a quarrel dies down.”
  • Prov 26:4-5 — “Don't answer a fool according to his folly... Answer a fool according to his folly.”

Context & background

Proverbs 26:4-5 is the most famous apparent contradiction in Proverbs — placed side by side deliberately to force the reader to realize that wisdom cannot be reduced to rules. Sometimes engaging a fool's argument gives it more dignity than it deserves (v. 4); sometimes leaving it unanswered makes the fool think he has won the argument (v. 5). The wise person must discern which applies. Verse 11 — "as a dog returns to its vomit" — is quoted in 2 Peter 2:22 to describe those who return to false teaching after being delivered. The pit-digging proverb (v. 27) articulates the moral law of Psalm 7:15-16: the wicked fall into the pit they dug for others. Haman in Esther is the most vivid historical example.

Cross-references

  • 2 Peter 2:22 — quotes v. 11 about returning to sin
  • Esther 7:10 — Haman hanged on the gallows he built for Mordecai — v. 27 enacted in history
  • James 3:5-6 — "a spark sets a forest on fire" — v. 20-21's fire metaphors for strife
  • Matthew 12:36-37 — "everyone will have to give account for every empty word" — v. 28
  • Psalm 7:15-16 — "he who digs a hole and scoops it out falls into the pit he has made" — v. 27

Check your reading

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  1. Observe

    List images for the fool (vv. 1-12).

  2. Observe

    What does v. 20 teach about quarrels?

  3. Interpret

    What does the v. 4-5 juxtaposition teach about wisdom?

  4. Interpret

    Why does the fool return to his folly?

  5. Apply

    Is there a quarrel being kept alive by gossip?

  6. Apply

    What is one's "lion in the street" — the excuse for avoidance?

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