Proverbs 27:22 (DBY)

Passage

If thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will not his folly depart from him.

Nearby Context

Proverbs 27:20 Sheol and destruction are insatiable; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.

Proverbs 27:21 The fining-pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold; so let a man be to the mouth that praiseth him.

Proverbs 27:22 If thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will not his folly depart from him.

Proverbs 27:23 Be well acquainted with the appearance of thy flocks; look well to thy herds:

Proverbs 27:24 for wealth is not for ever; and doth the crown [endure] from generation to generation?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "thou", "shouldest", "bray", "fool", "mortar", "wheat", "pestle", and "folly". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "thou" and "shouldest", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 21's "The fining-pot is for silver and the..." into verse 23's "Be well acquainted with the appearance of...", so "thou" and "shouldest" belong inside that flow. In Proverbs context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "thou" and "shouldest" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.