Proverbs 27:22

Proverbs 27:22 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him.
• New International Version (NIV)Though you grind a fool in a mortar, grinding them like grain with a pestle, you will not remove their folly from them.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Crush a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, yet his folly will not depart from him.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Though you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, Yet his foolishness will not depart from him.

Context of Proverbs 27:22

20Hell and decay are never satisfied, and a person’s eyes are never satisfied. 21The crucible is for refining silver and the smelter for gold, but a person ⌞is tested⌟ by the praise given to him. If you crush a stubborn fool in a mortar with a pestle along with grain, ⌞even then⌟ his stupidity will not leave him. 23Be fully aware of the condition of your flock, and pay close attention to your herds. 24Wealth is not forever. Nor does a crown last from one generation to the next.

Proverbs 27:22 word by word

אִ֥ם תִּכְתּֽוֹשׁ־אֶת־הָאֱוִ֨יל׀ בַּֽמַּכְתֵּ֡שׁ בְּת֣וֹךְ הָ֭רִיפוֹת בַּֽעֱלִ֑י לֹא־תָס֥וּר מֵ֝עָלָ֗יו אִוַּלְתּֽוֹ׃ פRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Though thou shouldest brayכָּתַשׁkâthash · to poundH3806
• a foolאֱוִיל'ĕvîyl · fool(ish)H191
• in a mortarמַכְתֵּשׁmaktêsh · hollowH4388
• amongתָּ֫וֶךְtâvek · midstH8432
• wheatרִיפָהrîyphâh riphâh · grainH7383
• with a pestleעֱלִי‛ĕlîy · pestleH5940
• will not his foolishnessאִוֶּ֫לֶת'ivveleth · follyH200
• departסוּרsûr ώûr · to turn aside: departH5493

Cross-references for Proverbs 27:22

• Proverbs 23:25May your father and your mother be glad. May she who gave birth to you rejoice.
• Exodus 12:30Pharaoh, all his officials, and all the ⌞other⌟ Egyptians got up during the night. There was loud crying throughout Egypt because in every house someone had died.
• Exodus 14:5When Pharaoh (the king of Egypt) was told that the people had fled, he and his officials changed their minds about them. They said, “What have we done? We’ve lost our slaves because we’ve let Israel go.”
• Exodus 15:9“The enemy said, ‘I’ll pursue them! I’ll catch up with them! I’ll divide the loot! I’ll take all I want! I’ll use my sword! I’ll take all they have!’
• 2 Chronicles 28:22When he had this trouble, King Ahaz became more unfaithful to the Lord.
• Isaiah 1:5“Why do you still want to be beaten? Why do you continue to rebel? Your whole head is infected. Your whole heart is failing.
• Jeremiah 5:3Lord, your eyes look for the truth. You strike these people, but they don’t feel it. You crush them, but they refuse to be corrected. They are more stubborn than rocks. They refuse to turn back.
• Jeremiah 44:15Then all the men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods, all the women who were standing there, and all the people who lived at Pathros in Egypt answered Jeremiah. They said,
• Revelation 16:10The fifth angel poured his bowl on the throne of the beast. Its kingdom turned dark. People gnawed on their tongues in anguish

Commentaries on Proverbs 27:22

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 22Though thou shouldest bray a fool - Leaving all other conjectures, of which commentators are full, I would propose, that this is a metaphor taken from pounding metallic ores in very large mortars, such as are still common in the East, in order that, when subjected to the action of the fire, the metal may be the more easily separated from the ore. However you may try, by precept or example, or both, to instruct a stupid man, your labor is lost; his…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 22Bray - To pound wheat in a mortar with a pestle, in order to free the wheat from its husks and impurities, is to go through a far more elaborate process than threshing. But the folly of the fool is not thus to be got rid of. It sticks to him to the last; all discipline, teaching, experience seem to be wasted on him.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 22Verse 22 Some are so bad, that even severe methods do not answer the end; what remains but that they should be rejected? The new-creating power of God's grace alone is able to make a change.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 22A fool's character is full of foolishness.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2222. The obstinate wickedness of such is incurable by the heaviest inflictions.Read the comment

Topics related to Proverbs 27:22

• Bray
• Mortar
• Wheat
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• Answer
• Boast
• Bray
• Contentious
• Look
• Mortar
• Soul
• Wrath
• Fool; Folly
• Hezekiah (2)

Commentaries on Proverbs 27

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings