Is This a Bible Contradiction? Proverbs 26:4-5

“Answer not a fool according to his folly,lest you be like him yourself. Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.” (Prov 26:4-5)

A characteristic we give the Bible is that it is unified in teaching. There are no contradictions in the Bible. What you read in one Testament will not be disagreed upon in another Testament (Num 23:19). God doesn’t lie and He doesn’t contradict Himself. He is the same in the past, present, and future (Heb 13:8).

So, what about these 2 verses? In vs. 4, Solomon says “don’t answer the fool,” and then in the next verse, he says, “listen to that fool.” Is Solomon confused? Is this the clearest example in Scripture of a conflict of truth? IIs this a contradiction?

In short, the answer is, “No.”

Many have rightfully concluded that these verses are a good example of O.T. parallelism. One first builds off the other; one verse paints one circumstance and the other verse is applied in other circumstances. When we answer a fool, in the same foolish way that he has expressed himself, we are foolish. We participate in his folly. We too become fools.

But at other times, we can expose his folly by joining him in his folly and, then, letting his folly fall back on him.

For example, someone might say (and this is an extreme example), let’s play with a cobra snake. That’s dumb! That’s dangerous! That fool may really want to play with a cobra; he may not. Either way, it’s a foolish thing to say. Someone who doesn’t know better could get seriously hurt. To expose his folly, you might say, “Let’s play with that cobra.” And then, you might take a step toward that snake. The fool may realize it was a dumb thing to say and not want you to be hurt; his folly has been exposed through your answer. And then, the fool will intervene, and say something like, “I didn’t intend to follow through with this. Don’t do it!”

One way to know what to do with these verses would be this simple truth: if the issue is an unimportant one, don’t answer that fool. If the matter is serious, answer in some way to show them their foolishness.