Bible study · Proverbs 26:1-28
Proverbs 26: Answer a fool
Read Proverbs 26:1-28 before you meet.
In a few lines
The sayings about the fool (Proverbs 26:1-12) and the sayings about the sluggard (Proverbs 26:13-16) both close on the man wise in his own eyes (Proverbs 26:12, 26:16), in Hebrew the same two words each time, and the reason Proverbs 26:5 gives for answering a fool. And the saying about the dog (Proverbs 26:11) is the one Peter calls "the true proverb" (2 Peter 2:22).
The verse to carry
“For lack of wood a fire goes out. Without gossip, a quarrel dies down.”
Proverbs 26:20
To talk about
1. "Don’t answer a fool according to his folly" (26:4), and "Answer a fool according to his folly" (26:5). When have you found it wiser to answer, and when wiser to let something go?
2. "Do you see a man wise in his own eyes?" (26:12). What helps you notice when you've become wise in your own eyes?
3. "For lack of wood a fire goes out. Without gossip, a quarrel dies down" (26:20). What helps a quarrel die down among friends, or in a group like this one?