The first important point to establish is that a proverb by definition is a generalization. A generalization is considered useful when it is usually true. A generalization is not a guarantee or a promise. We know that this is the case with English proverbs. For instance, we consider the proverbial statement, “Crime doesn’t pay,” to be true. Does that mean that there is never an instance in which crime pays? Of course not. The adage is a generalization, and we accept it as that when we recognize it as a proverbial saying.

Biblical proverbs work in much the same way. Sometimes proverbs seem to present contradictory perspectives. In English consider these pairs: “Birds of a feather flock together.”/“Opposites attract.” “Too many cooks spoil the broth.”/“Two heads are better than one.” “He who hesitates is lost.”/“Look before you leap.” Is only one in each set true? It would be better to recognize that each is true in given situations. In other words, sometimes wisdom would counsel, “Look before you leap,” whereas in other situations wisdom would recognize that “he who hesitates is lost.” Both are true when wisely applied to the situation at hand. The OT has a similar example. In Pr 26:4–5, the advice is first given to restrain from answering a fool according to his folly, lest you become like him. The very next verse turns it around and says that a fool should be answered according to his folly so that he will not become wise in his own eyes. Again, we would have to conclude that both are true. The wise person would know which advice would be best to follow in any given situation. These observations imply that proverbs not only teach wisdom, but require a certain level of wisdom to be used successfully. Wise words must be wisely used by wise people in order to result in wisdom. Proverbs says as much when it observes that “like the useless legs of one who is lame is a proverb in the mouth of a fool” (Pr 26:7), and that “like a thornbush in a drunkard’s hand is a proverb in the mouth of a fool” (Pr 26:9). We must be careful to interpret proverbs without falling prey to any misconceptions about what they are or about what they seek to accomplish. They promote virtues, expose vices, and advance wisdom as a means of character development that is founded on the fear of the Lord. Taken from NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible