What Does Proverbs 26:5 Mean?
Answer a thick-headed one according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit.THE KEY
The danger is that folly goes unanswered until a person mistakes their own judgment for proof of wisdom.
THE MEANING
A reply can meet folly without taking on its logic, so self-assurance does not stand unchallenged as wisdom. The verse names a closed circle: a person’s own judgment becomes both the claim and its proof.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that confidence in your own judgment proves that judgment is wise.
THE ROOT
חָכָם
ḥākām
GROWS FROM
חכם
ḥ-k-m
To be wise, skillful, or discerning.
“wise” in this verse is ḥākām. The root names wisdom, but the phrase “in his own eyes” shows where this person’s verdict comes from: his own view. The verse exposes self-judgment mistaken for evidence.
ALSO GROWS
ḥokhmāh: Wisdom
חָכְמָה
The related noun names wisdom itself; here, the verse distinguishes wisdom from merely seeing oneself as wise.
ḥăkhāmîm: Wise ones
חֲכָמִים
The plural names people recognized as wise, sharpening the contrast with someone who is wise only in his own eyes.
עֲנֵה
ʿănēh
GROWS FROM
ענה
ʿ-n-h
To answer or respond.
“answer” in this verse is ʿănēh. The Hebrew verb means to respond, while the words that follow specify how the response meets the folly. The reply addresses what is foolish without requiring the responder to become its mirror.
ALSO GROWS
ʿānāh: Answered; responded
עָנָה
This verb form shows the same root in the act of answering, keeping the focus on response rather than retaliation.
maʿăneh: Answer; response
מַעֲנֶה
This related noun makes the root’s movement visible: the answer is a response to what has been said.
THE PATTERN
A self-sealed claim of wisdom is exposed when an answer or correction brings its limits into view.
Uncovered rebuke is better than hidden love.Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool, that he may become wise.THE THREAD
Answer not a thick-headed one according to his folly, lest you also come level with him.These neighboring lines hold two risks together: answering in folly’s own manner can make you like it, while leaving it unanswered can leave its self-image intact. Their pairing makes the reply’s manner as important as whether the folly is answered.
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