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Answer the fool, or not? (Proverbs 26:4–5) Bill Mounce Some people say they don't trust the Old Testament because of all the so-called contradictions. One of the apparent contradictions often pointed out is found in Proverbs 26:4–5. Should you, or should you not, answer a fool? Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him. (v. 4) Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes. (v. 5) The placement in the book of these two verses and the similarity of grammar and content clearly suggest they are meant to be read together. Common sense suggests that thinking the verses are contradictory must be a misreading; no editor would put two contradictory statements side by side. The key is to understand the ambiguous Hebrew preposition ke, translated below as "according to." The Septuagint suggests the proper understanding: μὴ ἀποκρίνου ἄφρονι πρὸς τὴν ἐκείνου ἀφροσύνην, ἵνα μὴ ὅμοιος γένῃ αὐτῷ. Do not answer a fool in accordance with his folly, lest you become like him. (italics added)   ἀλλὰ ἀποκρίνου ἄφρονι κατὰ τὴν ἀφροσύνην αὐτοῦ, ἵνα μὴ φαίνηται σοφὸς παῤ ἑαυτῷ. But answer a fool according to his folly, lest he appear to be wise to himself. (italics added) The inclusion of "but" (ἀλλά, alla) and the shift from "in accordance with" (πρός, pros) to "according to" (κατά, kata) show the correct meaning. Do not respond to a fool by speaking the same way he speaks; otherwise, you become like him. However, do respond to a fool so he will not think he is correct ("wise"). As is so often the case, correct interpretation and a little common sense shows that this is not a contradiction. This blog is an extract from my upcoming book, Why I Trust the Bible, due out in September, 2021.

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BillMounce.com 523 NE Everett St., Camas, WA 98607           Want to change how you receive these emails? You can *update your preferences or *unsubscribe from this list Subscription Information This email was sent to Webmaster220 Bible Study Blog   *the blog owner has deleted the hyperlink intentionally William D Mounce, PH.D. William D Mounce (PhD, Aberdeen University) lives as a writer in Washougal, Washington. He is the President of BiblicalTraining.org, a non-profit organization offering world-class educational resources for discipleship in the local church. See www.BillMounce.com for more information. Formerly he was a preaching pastor, and prior to that a professor of New Testament and director of the Greek Program at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He is the author of the bestselling Greek textbook, Basics of Biblical Greek , and many other resources. He was the New Testament chair of the English Standard Version translation of the Bible, and is serving on the NIV translation committee.  Want to buy William D Mounce books on Alibris?