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Proverbs 26:5
Be sure to answer the foolish arguments of fools, or they will become wise in their own estimation.
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1 Peter 3 9
Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will grant you his blessing.
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Judges 12:1-6
Then the people of Ephraim mobilized an army and crossed over the Jordan River to Zaphon. They sent this message to Jephthah:“ Why didn’t you call for us to help you fight against the Ammonites? We are going to burn down your house with you in it!”Jephthah replied,“ I summoned you at the beginning of the dispute, but you refused to come! You failed to help us in our struggle against Ammon.So when I realized you weren’t coming, I risked my life and went to battle without you, and the Lord gave me victory over the Ammonites. So why have you now come to fight me?”The people of Ephraim responded,“ You men of Gilead are nothing more than fugitives from Ephraim and Manasseh.” So Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead and attacked the men of Ephraim and defeated them.Jephthah captured the shallow crossings of the Jordan River, and whenever a fugitive from Ephraim tried to go back across, the men of Gilead would challenge him.“ Are you a member of the tribe of Ephraim?” they would ask. If the man said,“ No, I’m not,”they would tell him to say“ Shibboleth.” If he was from Ephraim, he would say“ Sibboleth,” because people from Ephraim cannot pronounce the word correctly. Then they would take him and kill him at the shallow crossings of the Jordan. In all, 42,000 Ephraimites were killed at that time.
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1 Kings 12 14
and followed the counsel of his younger advisers. He told the people,“ My father laid heavy burdens on you, but I’m going to make them even heavier! My father beat you with whips, but I will beat you with scorpions!”
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1 Kings 12 16
When all Israel realized that the king had refused to listen to them, they responded,“ Down with the dynasty of David! We have no interest in the son of Jesse. Back to your homes, O Israel! Look out for your own house, O David!” So the people of Israel returned home.
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2 Samuel 19 41-2 Samuel 19 43
But all the men of Israel complained to the king,“ The men of Judah stole the king and didn’t give us the honor of helping take you, your household, and all your men across the Jordan.”The men of Judah replied,“ The king is one of our own kinsmen. Why should this make you angry? We haven’t eaten any of the king’s food or received any special favors!”“ But there are ten tribes in Israel,” the others replied.“ So we have ten times as much right to the king as you do. What right do you have to treat us with such contempt? Weren’t we the first to speak of bringing him back to be our king again?” The argument continued back and forth, and the men of Judah spoke even more harshly than the men of Israel.
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Isaiah 36:21
But the people were silent and did not utter a word because Hezekiah had commanded them,“ Do not answer him.”
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Proverbs 17:14
Starting a quarrel is like opening a floodgate, so stop before a dispute breaks out.
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2 Kings 14 8-2 Kings 14 10
One day Amaziah sent messengers with this challenge to Israel’s king Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz and grandson of Jehu:“ Come and meet me in battle!”But King Jehoash of Israel replied to King Amaziah of Judah with this story:“ Out in the Lebanon mountains, a thistle sent a message to a mighty cedar tree:‘ Give your daughter in marriage to my son.’ But just then a wild animal of Lebanon came by and stepped on the thistle, crushing it!“ You have indeed defeated Edom, and you are proud of it. But be content with your victory and stay at home! Why stir up trouble that will only bring disaster on you and the people of Judah?”
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1 Peter 2 21-1 Peter 2 23
For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps.He never sinned, nor ever deceived anyone.He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly.
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Jude 1:9
But even Michael, one of the mightiest of the angels, did not dare accuse the devil of blasphemy, but simply said,“ The Lord rebuke you!”( This took place when Michael was arguing with the devil about Moses’ body.)