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Don’t answer a fool according to his folly,
    lest you also be like him.
Answer a fool according to his folly,
    lest he be wise in his own eyes.

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Don’t answer a fool according to his foolishness(A)
or you’ll be like him yourself.
Answer a fool according to his foolishness(B)
or he’ll become wise in his own eyes.(C)

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17 Like one who grabs a dog’s ears
    is one who passes by and meddles in a quarrel not his own.

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17 A person who is passing by and meddles in a quarrel that’s not his
is like one who grabs a dog by the ears.

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20 For lack of wood a fire goes out.
    Without gossip, a quarrel dies down.
21 As coals are to hot embers,
    and wood to fire,
    so is a contentious man to kindling strife.

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20 Without wood, fire goes out;
without a gossip, conflict dies down.(A)
21 As charcoal for embers and wood for fire,
so is a quarrelsome person for kindling strife.(B)

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22 An angry man stirs up strife,
    and a wrathful man abounds in sin.

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22 An angry person stirs up conflict,
and a hot-tempered one[a] increases rebellion.(A)

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Footnotes

  1. 29:22 Lit a master of rage

33     For as the churning of milk produces butter,
    and the wringing of the nose produces blood;
    so the forcing of wrath produces strife.”

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33 For the churning of milk produces butter,
and twisting a nose draws blood,
and stirring up anger produces strife.(A)

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