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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" /><title>Proverbs 27:22 Though you grind a fool like grain with mortar and a pestle, yet his folly will not depart from him.</title><link rel="canonical" href="https://biblehub.com/proverbs/27-22.htm" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/new9.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><meta property="og:image" content="https://biblehub.com/visuals/2/20_Pro_27_22.jpg" /><meta property="og:title" content="Proverbs 27:22 - Do not Boast about Tomorrow" /><meta property="og:site_name" content="Bible Hub" /><meta property="og:description" content="Though you grind a fool like grain with mortar and a pestle, yet his folly will not depart from him." /><script type="application/javascript" 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class="clickchap2" title="Study Bible"> Study </a> <a href="#commentary" class="clickchap2" title="Commentary"> Comm </a> <a href="#lexicon" class="clickchap2" title="Lexicon"> Heb </a> </div><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheadingv"><b>Verse</b><a href="/bsb/proverbs/27.htm" class="clickchap" style="color:#001320" title="Click any translation name for full chapter">  (Click for Chapter)</a></div><div id="par"><span class="versiontext"><a href="/niv/proverbs/27.htm">New International Version</a></span><br />Though you grind a fool in a mortar, grinding them like grain with a pestle, you will not remove their folly from them.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nlt/proverbs/27.htm">New Living Translation</a></span><br />You cannot separate fools from their foolishness, even though you grind them like grain with mortar and pestle.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/esv/proverbs/27.htm">English Standard Version</a></span><br />Crush a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, yet his folly will not depart from him.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/bsb/proverbs/27.htm">Berean Standard Bible</a></span><br />Though you grind a fool like grain with mortar and a pestle, yet his folly will not depart from him.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/kjv/proverbs/27.htm">King James Bible</a></span><br />Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, <i>yet</i> will not his foolishness depart from him.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nkjv/proverbs/27.htm">New King James Version</a></span><br />Though you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, <i>Yet</i> his foolishness will not depart from him.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb_/proverbs/27.htm">New American Standard Bible</a></span><br />Though you pound the fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, His foolishness <i>still</i> will not leave him.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb/proverbs/27.htm">NASB 1995</a></span><br />Though you pound a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, Yet his foolishness will not depart from him.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb77/proverbs/27.htm">NASB 1977 </a></span><br />Though you pound a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, <i>Yet</i> his folly will not depart from him.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lsb/proverbs/27.htm">Legacy Standard Bible </a></span><br />Though you pound an ignorant fool in a mortar with a pestle in the midst of crushed grain, His folly will not turn aside from him.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/amp/proverbs/27.htm">Amplified Bible</a></span><br />Even though you pound a [hardened, arrogant] fool [who rejects wisdom] in a mortar with a pestle like grain, Yet his foolishness will not leave him.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/csb/proverbs/27.htm">Christian Standard Bible</a></span><br />Though you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with grain, you will not separate his foolishness from him.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/hcsb/proverbs/27.htm">Holman Christian Standard Bible</a></span><br />Though you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with grain, you will not separate his foolishness from him. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/asv/proverbs/27.htm">American Standard Version</a></span><br />Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with bruised grain, Yet will not his foolishness depart from him.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/cev/proverbs/27.htm">Contemporary English Version</a></span><br />No matter how hard you beat a fool, you can't pound out the foolishness. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/erv/proverbs/27.htm">English Revised Version</a></span><br />Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar with a pestle among bruised corn, yet will not his foolishness depart from him.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/gwt/proverbs/27.htm">GOD'S WORD® Translation</a></span><br />If you crush a stubborn fool in a mortar with a pestle along with grain, [even then] his stupidity will not leave him. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/gnt/proverbs/27.htm">Good News Translation</a></span><br />Even if you beat fools half to death, you still can't beat their foolishness out of them. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/isv/proverbs/27.htm">International Standard Version</a></span><br />Though you crush a fool in a mortar and pestle as someone might crush grain, his stupidity still won't leave him.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/net/proverbs/27.htm">NET Bible</a></span><br />If you should pound the fool in the mortar among the grain with the pestle, his foolishness would not depart from him. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nheb/proverbs/27.htm">New Heart English Bible</a></span><br />Though you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with grain, yet his foolishness will not be removed from him.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/wbt/proverbs/27.htm">Webster's Bible Translation</a></span><br />Though thou shouldst bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet his foolishness will not depart from him.<div class="vheading2"><b>Majority Text Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/msb/proverbs/27.htm">Majority Standard Bible</a></span><br />Though you grind a fool like grain with mortar and a pestle, yet his folly will not depart from him.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/web/proverbs/27.htm">World English Bible</a></span><br />Though you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with grain, yet his foolishness will not be removed from him. <div class="vheading2"><b>Literal Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lsv/proverbs/27.htm">Literal Standard Version</a></span><br />If you beat the foolish in a mortar, "" Among washed things—with a pestle, "" His folly does not turn aside from off him.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/ylt/proverbs/27.htm">Young's Literal Translation</a></span><br /> If thou dost beat the foolish in a mortar, Among washed things -- with a pestle, His folly turneth not aside from off him.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/slt/proverbs/27.htm">Smith's Literal Translation</a></span><br />If thou shalt pound the foolish in a mortar in the midst of the grain with a pestle, thou shalt not remove from him his folly.<div class="vheading2"><b>Catholic Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/drb/proverbs/27.htm">Douay-Rheims Bible</a></span><br />Though thou shouldst bray a fool in the mortar, as when a pestle striketh upon sodden barley, his folly would not be taken from him. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/cpdv/proverbs/27.htm">Catholic Public Domain Version</a></span><br />Even if you were to crush the foolish with a mortar, as when a pestle strikes over pearled barley, his foolishness would not be taken from him.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nabre/proverbs/27.htm">New American Bible</a></span><br />Though you pound fools with a pestle, their folly never leaves them. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nrsvce/proverbs/27.htm">New Revised Standard Version</a></span><br />Crush a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, but the folly will not be driven out.<div class="vheading2"><b>Translations from Aramaic</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lamsa/proverbs/27.htm">Lamsa Bible</a></span><br />Though you should beat a fool in the midst of an assembly, you will not do him any good, nor will you cause his foolishness to depart from him.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/hpbt/proverbs/27.htm">Peshitta Holy Bible Translated</a></span><br />If you strike a fool in the assembly, you do not help him, neither do you remove his foolishness.<div class="vheading2"><b>OT Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/jps/proverbs/27.htm">JPS Tanakh 1917</a></span><br />Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar with a pestle among groats, Yet will not his foolishness depart from him.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/sep/proverbs/27.htm">Brenton Septuagint Translation</a></span><br />Though thou scourge a fool, disgracing him in the midst of the council, thou wilt <i>still</i> in no wise remove his folly from him.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/parallel/proverbs/27-22.htm">Additional Translations ...</a></span></div></div></div><div id="centbox"><div class="padcent"><a name="audio" id="audio"></a><div class="vheadingv"><b>Audio Bible</b></div><iframe width="100%" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kpUA5ZltBeQ?start=5643" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe><span class="p"><br /><br /><br /></span><div class="vheadingv"><b>Context</b></div><span class="hdg"><a href="/bsb/proverbs/27.htm">Do not Boast about Tomorrow</a></span><br>…<span class="reftext">21</span>A crucible for silver and a furnace for gold, but a man is tested by the praise accorded him. <span class="reftext">22</span><span class="highl"><a href="/hebrew/518.htm" title="518: ’im (Conj) -- If. A primitive particle; used very widely as demonstrative, lo!">Though</a> <a href="/hebrew/3806.htm" title="3806: tiḵ·tō·wōš- (V-Qal-Imperf-2ms) -- To pound, pound fine, bray. A primitive root; to butt or pound.">you grind</a> <a href="/hebrew/853.htm" title="853: ’eṯ- (DirObjM) -- Apparent contracted from 'owth in the demonstrative sense of entity; properly, self."></a> <a href="/hebrew/191.htm" title="191: hā·’ĕ·wîl (Art:: N-ms) -- Foolish. From an unused root; silly.">a fool</a> <a href="/hebrew/7383.htm" title="7383: hā·rî·p̄ō·wṯ (Art:: N-fp) -- Perhaps grain. Or riphah; from ruwph;, grits.">like grain</a> <a href="/hebrew/4388.htm" title="4388: bam·maḵ·têš (Prep-b, Art:: N-ms) -- Mortar. From kathash; a mortar; by analogy, a socket.">with mortar</a> <a href="/hebrew/8432.htm" title="8432: bə·ṯō·wḵ (Prep-b:: N-msc) -- Midst. From an unused root meaning to sever; a bisection, i.e. the centre.">and</a> <a href="/hebrew/5940.htm" title="5940: ba·‘ĕ·lî (Prep-b, Art:: N-ms) -- A pestle. From alah; a pestle.">a pestle,</a> <a href="/hebrew/200.htm" title="200: ’iw·wal·tōw (N-fsc:: 3ms) -- Folly. From the same as 'eviyl; silliness.">yet his folly</a> <a href="/hebrew/3808.htm" title="3808: lō- (Adv-NegPrt) -- Not. Or lowi; or loh; a primitive particle; not; by implication, no; often used with other particles.">will not</a> <a href="/hebrew/5493.htm" title="5493: ṯā·sūr (V-Qal-Imperf-3fs) -- To turn aside. Or suwr; a primitive root; to turn off.">depart</a> <a href="/hebrew/5921.htm" title="5921: mê·‘ā·lāw (Prep-m:: 3ms) -- Properly, the same as al used as a preposition; above, over, upon, or against in a great variety of applications.">from him.</a> </span><span class="reftext">23</span>Be sure to know the state of your flocks, and pay close attention to your herds;…<div class="cred"><a href="//berean.bible">Berean Standard Bible</a> · <a href="//berean.bible/downloads.htm">Download</a></div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="crossref" id="crossref"></a><div class="vheading">Cross References</div><div id="crf"><span class="crossverse"><a href="/jeremiah/13-23.htm">Jeremiah 13:23</a></span><br />Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? Neither are you able to do good—you who are accustomed to doing evil.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/matthew/7-6.htm">Matthew 7:6</a></span><br />Do not give dogs what is holy; do not throw your pearls before swine. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/isaiah/1-5.htm">Isaiah 1:5-6</a></span><br />Why do you want more beatings? Why do you keep rebelling? Your head has a massive wound, and your whole heart is afflicted. / From the sole of your foot to the top of your head, there is no soundness—only wounds and welts and festering sores neither cleansed nor bandaged nor soothed with oil.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/2_peter/2-22.htm">2 Peter 2:22</a></span><br />Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/ecclesiastes/9-3.htm">Ecclesiastes 9:3</a></span><br />This is an evil in everything that is done under the sun: There is one fate for everyone. Furthermore, the hearts of men are full of evil and madness while they are alive, and afterward they join the dead.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/matthew/13-15.htm">Matthew 13:15</a></span><br />For this people’s heart has grown callous; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.’<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/isaiah/26-10.htm">Isaiah 26:10</a></span><br />Though grace is shown to the wicked man, he does not learn righteousness. In the land of righteousness he acts unjustly and fails to see the majesty of the LORD.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/romans/1-28.htm">Romans 1:28-32</a></span><br />Furthermore, since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, He gave them up to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. / They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice. They are gossips, / slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant, and boastful. They invent new forms of evil; they disobey their parents. ...<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/jeremiah/5-3.htm">Jeremiah 5:3</a></span><br />O LORD, do not Your eyes look for truth? You struck them, but they felt no pain. You finished them off, but they refused to accept discipline. They have made their faces harder than stone and refused to repent.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/hebrews/6-4.htm">Hebrews 6:4-6</a></span><br />It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, / who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age— / and then have fallen away—to be restored to repentance, because they themselves are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting Him to open shame.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/ezekiel/3-7.htm">Ezekiel 3:7</a></span><br />But the house of Israel will be unwilling to listen to you, since they are unwilling to listen to Me. For the whole house of Israel is hard-headed and hard-hearted.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/2_timothy/3-7.htm">2 Timothy 3:7-8</a></span><br />who are always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. / Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth. They are depraved in mind and disqualified from the faith.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/psalms/58-3.htm">Psalm 58:3-5</a></span><br />The wicked are estranged from the womb; the liars go astray from birth. / Their venom is like the venom of a snake, like a cobra that shuts its ears, / refusing to hear the tune of the charmer who skillfully weaves his spell.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/john/12-40.htm">John 12:40</a></span><br />“He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so that they cannot see with their eyes, and understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/zechariah/7-11.htm">Zechariah 7:11-12</a></span><br />But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder; they stopped up their ears from hearing. / They made their hearts like flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the LORD of Hosts had sent by His Spirit through the earlier prophets. Therefore great anger came from the LORD of Hosts.</div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="tsk" id="tsk"><div class="vheading">Treasury of Scripture</div><p class="tsk2">Though you should bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/proverbs/23-25.htm">Proverbs 23:25</a></b></br> Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that bare thee shall rejoice.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/exodus/12-30.htm">Exodus 12:30</a></b></br> And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for <i>there was</i> not a house where <i>there was</i> not one dead.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/exodus/14-5.htm">Exodus 14:5</a></b></br> And it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled: and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people, and they said, Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?</p><div class="vheading">Jump to Previous</div><a href="/proverbs/23-35.htm">Beat</a> <a href="/job/30-7.htm">Bray</a> <a href="/proverbs/26-28.htm">Bruised</a> <a href="/proverbs/22-22.htm">Crush</a> <a href="/proverbs/26-28.htm">Crushed</a> <a href="/proverbs/25-10.htm">Depart</a> <a href="/proverbs/26-11.htm">Folly</a> <a href="/proverbs/27-3.htm">Fool</a> <a href="/proverbs/27-3.htm">Foolish</a> <a href="/proverbs/24-9.htm">Foolishness</a> <a href="/proverbs/26-1.htm">Grain</a> <a href="/job/31-10.htm">Grind</a> <a href="/judges/16-21.htm">Grinding</a> <a href="/2_samuel/17-19.htm">Groats</a> <a href="/1_kings/6-7.htm">Hammer</a> <a href="/numbers/11-8.htm">Mortar</a> <a href="/nehemiah/7-72.htm">Pound</a> <a href="/proverbs/25-5.htm">Remove</a> <a href="/proverbs/10-30.htm">Removed</a> <a href="/proverbs/25-7.htm">Shouldest</a> <a href="/proverbs/25-7.htm">Shouldst</a> <a href="/proverbs/26-27.htm">Turneth</a> <a href="/proverbs/6-33.htm">Washed</a> <a href="/proverbs/23-26.htm">Ways</a> <a href="/psalms/147-14.htm">Wheat</a><div class="vheading2">Jump to Next</div><a href="/songs/4-9.htm">Beat</a> <a href="/job/6-5.htm">Bray</a> <a href="/songs/5-7.htm">Bruised</a> <a href="/isaiah/3-15.htm">Crush</a> <a href="/ecclesiastes/12-6.htm">Crushed</a> <a href="/songs/4-8.htm">Depart</a> <a href="/ecclesiastes/1-17.htm">Folly</a> <a href="/proverbs/28-26.htm">Fool</a> <a href="/proverbs/28-26.htm">Foolish</a> <a href="/ecclesiastes/2-2.htm">Foolishness</a> <a href="/ecclesiastes/11-4.htm">Grain</a> <a href="/isaiah/3-15.htm">Grind</a> <a href="/ecclesiastes/12-3.htm">Grinding</a> <a href="/leviticus/2-16.htm">Groats</a> <a href="/ecclesiastes/12-11.htm">Hammer</a> <a href="/isaiah/41-25.htm">Mortar</a> <a href="/songs/5-4.htm">Pound</a> <a href="/proverbs/30-8.htm">Remove</a> <a href="/proverbs/27-25.htm">Removed</a> <a href="/ecclesiastes/5-5.htm">Shouldest</a> <a href="/ecclesiastes/5-5.htm">Shouldst</a> <a href="/proverbs/28-9.htm">Turneth</a> <a href="/proverbs/30-12.htm">Washed</a> <a href="/proverbs/28-6.htm">Ways</a> <a href="/songs/7-2.htm">Wheat</a><div class="vheading2">Proverbs 27</div><span class="reftext">1. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/proverbs/27-1.htm">observations of self love</a></span><br><span class="reftext">5. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/proverbs/27-5.htm">of true love</a></span><br><span class="reftext">11. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/proverbs/27-11.htm">of care to avoid offenses</a></span><br><span class="reftext">23. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/proverbs/27-23.htm">and of the household care</a></span><br></div></div><div id="mdd"><div align="center"><div class="bot2"><table align="center" width="100%"><tr><td><div align="center"> <script id="3d27ed63fc4348d5b062c4527ae09445"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=51ce25d5-1a8c-424a-8695-4bd48c750f35&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script> <script id="b817b7107f1d4a7997da1b3c33457e03"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=cb0edd8b-b416-47eb-8c6d-3cc96561f7e8&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-2'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-0' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-3'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-1' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div align="center" id='div-gpt-ad-1531425649696-0'> </div><br /><br /> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:inline-block;width:200px;height:200px" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3753401421161123" data-ad-slot="3592799687"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script> <br /><br /> </div> </td></tr></table></div></div></div><div id="combox"><div class="padcom"><a name="study" id="study"></a><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top"><a href="/study/proverbs/27.htm">Study Bible</a></td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/study/proverbs/" title="Book Summary and Study">Book ◦</a> <a href="/study/chapters/proverbs/27.htm" title="Chapter summary and Study">Chapter </a></tr></table></div><b>Though you grind a fool like grain with mortar and a pestle</b><br>This phrase uses the imagery of grinding grain, a common practice in ancient agrarian societies, to illustrate the futility of trying to change a fool's nature through external pressure or punishment. The mortar and pestle were essential tools in ancient Israel for preparing food, symbolizing thoroughness and effort. The fool, in biblical terms, is someone who rejects wisdom and instruction (<a href="/proverbs/1-7.htm">Proverbs 1:7</a>). This imagery suggests that no amount of external force can change the inherent nature of a fool, emphasizing the deep-seated nature of folly. The Bible often contrasts the wise and the foolish, highlighting that wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord (<a href="/proverbs/9-10.htm">Proverbs 9:10</a>).<p><b>yet his folly will not depart from him</b><br>This part of the verse underscores the persistence of folly in a fool's heart. Despite attempts to correct or discipline, the fool remains unchanged. This reflects the biblical theme that true transformation comes from within, through a change of heart and mind, rather than through external coercion. The New Testament echoes this idea, emphasizing the need for spiritual rebirth and renewal (<a href="/john/3-3.htm">John 3:3</a>, <a href="/romans/12-2.htm">Romans 12:2</a>). The persistence of folly in a fool can also be seen as a warning against hardening one's heart to wisdom and instruction, as seen in the repeated calls for repentance and transformation throughout Scripture (<a href="/ezekiel/36-26.htm">Ezekiel 36:26-27</a>).<div class="vheading2">Persons / Places / Events</div>1. <b><a href="/topical/f/fool.htm">Fool</a></b><br>In the context of Proverbs, a fool is someone who rejects wisdom and instruction, often characterized by stubbornness and a lack of moral insight.<br><br>2. <b><a href="/topical/m/mortar_and_pestle.htm">Mortar and Pestle</a></b><br>These are tools used for grinding substances into powder. In this proverb, they symbolize intense effort or pressure applied to change someone.<br><br>3. <b><a href="/topical/g/grain.htm">Grain</a></b><br>Represents something valuable and useful, contrasting with the fool's foolishness, which is resistant to change.<div class="vheading2">Teaching Points</div><b><a href="/topical/t/the_intractability_of_foolishness.htm">The Intractability of Foolishness</a></b><br>This proverb teaches that foolishness is deeply ingrained and not easily removed, even with significant effort. It serves as a warning against the futility of trying to change someone who is not open to wisdom.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/t/the_importance_of_wisdom.htm">The Importance of Wisdom</a></b><br>The contrast between the fool and the wise person is a recurring theme in Proverbs. This verse underscores the value of seeking wisdom and being open to instruction.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/r/recognizing_limits_in_relationships.htm">Recognizing Limits in Relationships</a></b><br>In dealing with others, it's important to recognize when efforts to help or change someone are unproductive. This calls for discernment and sometimes stepping back to allow God to work in their hearts.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/s/self-reflection.htm">Self-Reflection</a></b><br>While the focus is on the fool, this verse also invites self-examination. Are there areas in our own lives where we resist wisdom or correction?<br><br><b><a href="/topical/p/prayer_for_transformation.htm">Prayer for Transformation</a></b><br>Since human effort alone cannot change a fool, prayer becomes essential. We should pray for God’s intervention in the lives of those who are resistant to change.<div class="vheading2">Lists and Questions</div><a href="/top10/lessons_from_proverbs_27.htm">Top 10 Lessons from Proverbs 27</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/what_is_human_dignity_in_the_bible.htm">How can we wisely manage our resources and finances?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/is_'iron_sharpens_iron'_historically_valid.htm">Proverbs 27:17 - Historically, did ancient ironworking practices support the claim 'iron sharpens iron,' or is this an anachronistic analogy?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/why_honor_a_blessing_from_deception.htm">Why would a just God honor a blessing obtained through deliberate deception (Genesis 27:28-29)?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/what_does_'word_won't_return_void'_mean.htm">How can wise budgeting reflect biblical stewardship principles?</a><a name="commentary" id="commentary"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/ellicott/proverbs/27.htm">Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers</a></div>(22) <span class= "bld">Though thou shouldest bray </span>(<span class= "ital">i.e., </span>pound) a fool (a self-willed, headstrong person) in a mortar among wheat with a pestle.--This would separate completely the husks from the wheat; but obstinacy has become a part of such a man's nature, and cannot be got rid of even by such violent measures.<p><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/pulpit/proverbs/27.htm">Pulpit Commentary</a></div><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 22.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle.</span> "To bray" is to pound or beat small. "Wheat," <span class="hebrew">רִיפות</span>, <span class="accented">riphoth</span> (only in <a href="/2_samuel/17-19.htm">2 Samuel 17:19</a>), "bruised corn." Vulgate, <span class="accented">In pila quasi ptisanas</span> (barley groats) <span class="accented">feriente</span>; Aquila and Theodotion, <span class="greek">Ἐν μέσῳ ἐμπτισσομένων</span> "In the midst of grains of corn being pounded." The LXX., reading, differently, has, "Though thou scourge a fool, disgracing him (<span class="greek">ἐν μεσῳ συνεδρίου</span>) in the midst of the congregation." Of course, the process of separating the husks from the corn by the use of pestle and mortar is much more delicate and careful than threshing in the usual clumsy way; hence is expressed the idea that the most elaborate pains are wasted on the incorrigible fool (see on Proverbs 1:20). His foolishness will not depart from him. An obstinate, self-willed, unprincipled man cannot be reformed by any means; his folly has become a second nature, and is not to be eliminated by any teaching, discipline, or severity. There is, too, a judicial blindness, when, after repeated warnings wilfully rejected and scorned, the sinner is left to himself, given over to a reprobate mind "Whoso teacheth a fool," Siracides pronounces, "is as one that glueth a potsherd together, and as he that waketh one from a sound sleep" (Ecclus. 22:7). Again, "The inner parts of a fool are like a broken vessel, and he will hold no knowledge as long as he liveth" (Ecclus. 21:14). In Turkey, we are told, great criminals were beaten to pieces in huge mortars of iron, in which they usually pounded rice. "You cannot straighten a dog's tail, try as you may," says a Telugu maxim (Lane). There is a saying of Schiller's which is quite proverbial, "Heaven and earth fight in vain against a dunce." Horace, 'Epist.,' 1:10, 24 - <p><span class="foreign">"Naturam expellas furca, tamen usque recurret."</span> Juvenal, 'Sat.,' 13:239 - <p><span class="foreign">"Tamen ad mores natura recurrit<br />Damnatos, fixa et mutari nescia."</span> <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/commentaries/proverbs/27-22.htm">Parallel Commentaries ...</a></span><span class="p"><br /><br /><br /></span><a name="lexicon" id="lexicon"></a><div class="vheading">Hebrew</div><span class="word">Though</span><br /><span class="heb">אִ֥ם</span> <span class="translit">(’im)</span><br /><span class="parse">Conjunction<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_518.htm">Strong's 518: </a> </span><span class="str2">Lo!, whether?, if, although, Oh that!, when, not</span><br /><br /><span class="word">you grind</span><br /><span class="heb">תִּכְתּֽוֹשׁ־</span> <span class="translit">(tiḵ·tō·wōš-)</span><br /><span class="parse">Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_3806.htm">Strong's 3806: </a> </span><span class="str2">To pound, pound fine, bray</span><br /><br /><span class="word">a fool</span><br /><span class="heb">הָאֱוִ֨יל ׀</span> <span class="translit">(hā·’ĕ·wîl)</span><br /><span class="parse">Article | Noun - masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_191.htm">Strong's 191: </a> </span><span class="str2">Foolish</span><br /><br /><span class="word">in a mortar</span><br /><span class="heb">בַּֽמַּכְתֵּ֡שׁ</span> <span class="translit">(bam·maḵ·têš)</span><br /><span class="parse">Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_4388.htm">Strong's 4388: </a> </span><span class="str2">A mortar, a socket</span><br /><br /><span class="word">with a pestle</span><br /><span class="heb">בַּֽעֱלִ֑י</span> <span class="translit">(ba·‘ĕ·lî)</span><br /><span class="parse">Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_5940.htm">Strong's 5940: </a> </span><span class="str2">A pestle</span><br /><br /><span class="word">along with</span><br /><span class="heb">בְּת֣וֹךְ</span> <span class="translit">(bə·ṯō·wḵ)</span><br /><span class="parse">Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_8432.htm">Strong's 8432: </a> </span><span class="str2">A bisection, the centre</span><br /><br /><span class="word">grain,</span><br /><span class="heb">הָ֭רִיפוֹת</span> <span class="translit">(hā·rî·p̄ō·wṯ)</span><br /><span class="parse">Article | Noun - feminine plural<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_7383.htm">Strong's 7383: </a> </span><span class="str2">Perhaps grain</span><br /><br /><span class="word">[yet] his folly</span><br /><span class="heb">אִוַּלְתּֽוֹ׃</span> <span class="translit">(’iw·wal·tōw)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_200.htm">Strong's 200: </a> </span><span class="str2">Silliness</span><br /><br /><span class="word">will not</span><br /><span class="heb">לֹא־</span> <span class="translit">(lō-)</span><br /><span class="parse">Adverb - Negative particle<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_3808.htm">Strong's 3808: </a> </span><span class="str2">Not, no</span><br /><br /><span class="word">depart</span><br /><span class="heb">תָס֥וּר</span> <span class="translit">(ṯā·sūr)</span><br /><span class="parse">Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person feminine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_5493.htm">Strong's 5493: </a> </span><span class="str2">To turn aside</span><br /><br /><span class="word">from him.</span><br /><span class="heb">מֵ֝עָלָ֗יו</span> <span class="translit">(mê·‘ā·lāw)</span><br /><span class="parse">Preposition-m | third person masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_5921.htm">Strong's 5921: </a> </span><span class="str2">Above, over, upon, against</span><br /><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><div class="vheading">Links</div><a href="/niv/proverbs/27-22.htm">Proverbs 27:22 NIV</a><br /><a href="/nlt/proverbs/27-22.htm">Proverbs 27:22 NLT</a><br /><a href="/esv/proverbs/27-22.htm">Proverbs 27:22 ESV</a><br /><a href="/nasb/proverbs/27-22.htm">Proverbs 27:22 NASB</a><br /><a href="/kjv/proverbs/27-22.htm">Proverbs 27:22 KJV</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="//bibleapps.com/proverbs/27-22.htm">Proverbs 27:22 BibleApps.com</a><br /><a href="//bibliaparalela.com/proverbs/27-22.htm">Proverbs 27:22 Biblia Paralela</a><br /><a href="//holybible.com.cn/proverbs/27-22.htm">Proverbs 27:22 Chinese Bible</a><br /><a href="//saintebible.com/proverbs/27-22.htm">Proverbs 27:22 French Bible</a><br /><a href="/catholic/proverbs/27-22.htm">Proverbs 27:22 Catholic Bible</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/proverbs/27-22.htm">OT Poetry: Proverbs 27:22 Though you grind a fool (Prov. Pro Pr) </a></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="left"><a href="/proverbs/27-21.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="Proverbs 27:21"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="Proverbs 27:21" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="/proverbs/27-23.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Proverbs 27:23"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Proverbs 27:23" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="bot"><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="/botmenubhnew2.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>