Prov 26:4 Do not answer a fool according to his folly,
or you will be like him yourself.

Prov 26:5 Answer a fool according to his folly,
or he will be wise in his own eyes.

Here is one of the most famous, and seemingly most blatent, of all the Bible ‘contradictions’.

This pair of verses is marked up by the Skeptic’s Annotated Bible as ‘absurd’.  And, according to Kidner, even some rabbis thought that they were inconsistent, leading them to doubt the authority of the entire book.

But this is to completely misunderstand how proverbs – both inside and outside the Bible – work.

Take the following pair of proverbs…

(a) Many hands make light work.
(b) Too many cooks spoil the broth.

…and the following pair:-

(a) You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.
(b) It’s never too late too learn.

There is, of course, truth in each member of each pair.  Wisdom lies in discerning when each applies.

So it is with this pair of verses.

According to Harper’s Bible Commentary:

‘These two verses demonstrate that the insights couched in proverbial form are not eternal “truth” carved in stone but, rather, depend on context for their application. (This is no doubt why the fool will never understand how to use a proverb correctly [vv. 7, 9].)’

Goldingay (New Bible Commentary) explains:

‘Life is complex and the same easy answer is not applicable to every situation. The wise person is one who can see which piece of wisdom applies in each circumstance.’

The old commentator Matthew Henry states:

‘Wise men have need to be directed how to deal with fools; and they have never more need of wisdom than in dealing with such, to know when to keep silence and when to speak, for there may be a time for both.’

In other words, this pair of verses teach that the way of wisdom is to know when to reason with a foolish person, and when to remain silent.

For Waltke, the point is not that the two proverbs are applicable at different times, but rather that they are both applicable at the same time.  It is a matter, not so much of ‘when’ one should answer, but ‘how’.  Focusing on the meaning of the preposition translated as ‘according to’, Waltke concludes that:

‘both proverbs are absolutes and applicable at the same time, contrary to the opinion of many commentators, who think they are relative to the situation. To be sure there is a time to be silent and a time to speak (Ecc. 4:5), but one must always, not in only certain situation, answer a fool to destabilize him, but, always, not sometimes, without becoming like him.’

O’Dowd agrees that, although it is true ‘in a sense’ that ‘each saying applies to a different situation’, ‘given the context and unity of the poem, these sayings should be read together.’