Proverbs 27:22
New International Version
Though you grind a fool in a mortar, grinding them like grain with a pestle, you will not remove their folly from them.

New Living Translation
You cannot separate fools from their foolishness, even though you grind them like grain with mortar and pestle.

English Standard Version
Crush a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, yet his folly will not depart from him.

Berean Standard Bible
Though you grind a fool like grain with mortar and a pestle, yet his folly will not depart from him.

King James Bible
Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him.

New King James Version
Though you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, Yet his foolishness will not depart from him.

New American Standard Bible
Though you pound the fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, His foolishness still will not leave him.

NASB 1995
Though you pound a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, Yet his foolishness will not depart from him.

NASB 1977
Though you pound a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, Yet his folly will not depart from him.

Legacy Standard Bible
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.

Amplified Bible
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.

Christian Standard Bible
Though you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with grain, you will not separate his foolishness from him.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Though you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with grain, you will not separate his foolishness from him.

American Standard Version
Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with bruised grain, Yet will not his foolishness depart from him.

Contemporary English Version
No matter how hard you beat a fool, you can't pound out the foolishness.

English Revised Version
Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar with a pestle among bruised corn, yet will not his foolishness depart from him.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
If you crush a stubborn fool in a mortar with a pestle along with grain, [even then] his stupidity will not leave him.

Good News Translation
Even if you beat fools half to death, you still can't beat their foolishness out of them.

International Standard Version
Though you crush a fool in a mortar and pestle as someone might crush grain, his stupidity still won't leave him.

Majority Standard Bible
Though you grind a fool like grain with mortar and a pestle, yet his folly will not depart from him.

NET Bible
If you should pound the fool in the mortar among the grain with the pestle, his foolishness would not depart from him.

New Heart English Bible
Though you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with grain, yet his foolishness will not be removed from him.

Webster's Bible Translation
Though thou shouldst bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet his foolishness will not depart from him.

World English Bible
Though you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with grain, yet his foolishness will not be removed from him.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
If you beat the foolish in a mortar, "" Among washed things—with a pestle, "" His folly does not turn aside from off him.

Young's Literal Translation
If thou dost beat the foolish in a mortar, Among washed things -- with a pestle, His folly turneth not aside from off him.

Smith's Literal Translation
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.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
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.

Catholic Public Domain Version
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.

New American Bible
Though you pound fools with a pestle, their folly never leaves them.

New Revised Standard Version
Crush a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, but the folly will not be driven out.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
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.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
If you strike a fool in the assembly, you do not help him, neither do you remove his foolishness.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar with a pestle among groats, Yet will not his foolishness depart from him.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Though thou scourge a fool, disgracing him in the midst of the council, thou wilt still in no wise remove his folly from him.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Do not Boast about Tomorrow
21A crucible for silver and a furnace for gold, but a man is tested by the praise accorded him. 22Though you grind a fool like grain with mortar and a pestle, yet his folly will not depart from him. 23Be sure to know the state of your flocks, and pay close attention to your herds;…

Cross References
Jeremiah 13:23
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.

Matthew 7:6
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.

Isaiah 1:5-6
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.

2 Peter 2:22
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.”

Ecclesiastes 9:3
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.

Matthew 13:15
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.’

Isaiah 26:10
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.

Romans 1:28-32
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. ...

Jeremiah 5:3
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.

Hebrews 6:4-6
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.

Ezekiel 3:7
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.

2 Timothy 3:7-8
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.

Psalm 58:3-5
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.

John 12:40
“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.”

Zechariah 7:11-12
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.


Treasury of Scripture

Though you should bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him.

Proverbs 23:25
Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that bare thee shall rejoice.

Exodus 12:30
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 there was not a house where there was not one dead.

Exodus 14:5
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?

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Beat Bray Bruised Crush Crushed Depart Folly Fool Foolish Foolishness Grain Grind Grinding Groats Hammer Mortar Pound Remove Removed Shouldest Shouldst Turneth Washed Ways Wheat
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Proverbs 27
1. observations of self love
5. of true love
11. of care to avoid offenses
23. and of the household care














Though you grind a fool in a mortar, grinding him like grain with a pestle, you will not remove his folly from him
Though you grind a fool
The imagery here is vivid and intense, drawing from ancient practices of grinding grain. The Hebrew word for "fool" used in Proverbs often refers to someone who is morally deficient or obstinate in their ways. This phrase suggests that even the most rigorous attempts to correct or discipline a fool may prove ineffective. The grinding process, which was a common and necessary part of daily life in ancient Israel, symbolizes thorough and relentless effort. Yet, the verse implies that external pressure alone cannot change a person's heart or character if they are unwilling to learn or repent.

in a mortar
A mortar, along with a pestle, was a tool used in ancient times for grinding grain or spices. This metaphor emphasizes the thoroughness and intensity of the corrective process. In a spiritual sense, it suggests that God or life circumstances may allow us to undergo trials and challenges to refine us. However, the verse points out that such external measures are insufficient for a fool who resists wisdom and instruction. The mortar represents the environment or circumstances that apply pressure, but without internal transformation, change is elusive.

grinding him like grain
Grain grinding was a laborious task, essential for producing flour for bread, a staple of the ancient diet. This phrase underscores the exhaustive effort to bring about change in a fool. The comparison to grain suggests a process meant to produce something useful and nourishing. Spiritually, it can be seen as the intention behind divine discipline or life's challenges—to produce growth and maturity. However, the verse highlights the futility of such efforts on a fool who clings to folly, illustrating the stubbornness of human nature when it resists divine wisdom.

with a pestle
The pestle, used to crush and grind, symbolizes the force and persistence applied in attempts to correct or educate. In the context of ancient Israel, this would be a familiar image, as every household would have used a mortar and pestle. The pestle represents the tools or methods employed to instigate change, whether through teaching, discipline, or life experiences. Yet, the verse suggests that even the most persistent efforts may not penetrate the hardened heart of a fool, emphasizing the need for personal willingness to embrace wisdom.

you will not remove his folly from him
This concluding phrase delivers the sobering truth that external efforts alone cannot eradicate folly from a fool. The Hebrew concept of "folly" often encompasses moral and spiritual foolishness, not just intellectual deficiency. The verse serves as a cautionary reminder of the limitations of human effort in transforming others. It underscores the necessity of divine intervention and personal repentance for true change. From a conservative Christian perspective, this highlights the importance of prayer, the work of the Holy Spirit, and the individual's openness to God's wisdom as essential for genuine transformation.

(22) Though thou shouldest bray (i.e., 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.

Verse 22. - Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle. "To bray" is to pound or beat small. "Wheat," רִיפות, riphoth (only in 2 Samuel 17:19), "bruised corn." Vulgate, In pila quasi ptisanas (barley groats) feriente; Aquila and Theodotion, Ἐν μέσῳ ἐμπτισσομένων "In the midst of grains of corn being pounded." The LXX., reading, differently, has, "Though thou scourge a fool, disgracing him (ἐν μεσῳ συνεδρίου) 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 -

"Naturam expellas furca, tamen usque recurret." Juvenal, 'Sat.,' 13:239 -

"Tamen ad mores natura recurrit
Damnatos, fixa et mutari nescia."


Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Though
אִ֥ם (’im)
Conjunction
Strong's 518: Lo!, whether?, if, although, Oh that!, when, not

you grind
תִּכְתּֽוֹשׁ־ (tiḵ·tō·wōš-)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 3806: To pound, pound fine, bray

a fool
הָאֱוִ֨יל ׀ (hā·’ĕ·wîl)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 191: Foolish

in a mortar
בַּֽמַּכְתֵּ֡שׁ (bam·maḵ·têš)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4388: A mortar, a socket

with a pestle
בַּֽעֱלִ֑י (ba·‘ĕ·lî)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5940: A pestle

along with
בְּת֣וֹךְ (bə·ṯō·wḵ)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 8432: A bisection, the centre

grain,
הָ֭רִיפוֹת (hā·rî·p̄ō·wṯ)
Article | Noun - feminine plural
Strong's 7383: Perhaps grain

[yet] his folly
אִוַּלְתּֽוֹ׃ (’iw·wal·tōw)
Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 200: Silliness

will not
לֹא־ (lō-)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

depart
תָס֥וּר (ṯā·sūr)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 5493: To turn aside

from him.
מֵ֝עָלָ֗יו (mê·‘ā·lāw)
Preposition-m | third person masculine singular
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against


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OT Poetry: Proverbs 27:22 Though you grind a fool (Prov. Pro Pr)
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