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NASB | Proverbs 26:4 Do not answer a fool according to his folly, Or you will also be like him. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Proverbs 26:4 Do not answer [nor pretend to agree with the frivolous comments of] a [closed-minded] fool according to his folly, Otherwise you, even you, will be like him. |
Subject: Proverbs 26:4-5 |
Bible Note: As this proverb has been recently referrenced, with the comment that it is "seemingly contradictory", I took a look to see . . . "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." (Proverbs 26:4-5 ESV) An interesting thing about this Proverb, in verse 4, answer - ahah - is in the imperfect tense, while the same word in verse 5 is the imperative tense. The Greek translation in the Septuagint also shows a distinction here. For verse 3, they used "pros thn ekainou aphrosunhn" - "for the sake of that folly", in verse 4, "kata thn aphrosunhn" - "according to folly". JFB puts the difference this way, the first is with like folly, the second is addressing the folly itself. So this couplet, as I understand it, is telling us to not simply keep answering back a fool with his own sort of foolishness, you'll be just like him. Rather, answer back addressing his folly, lest he think himself right for not having been corrected. This is valuable instruction indeed! Love in Christ, Mark |
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Questions and/or Subjects for Prov 26:4 | Author | ||
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Eaglewings 40:31 | ||
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jlpangilinan | ||
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ROGER459 | ||
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mark d seyler |