Proverbs 26:11
Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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Proverbs 26:11
Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly.
English Standard Version (ESV)
This page isn't yet indexed by search engines.
This proverb isn't just about repeated mistakes; it highlights the disgusting nature of the fool's compulsion, comparing it to the repulsive act of a dog returning to its vomit. It underscores that true change requires more than just temporary regret; it means breaking free from that deeply ingrained, nauseating pull back into folly.
This proverb stands within a section of Proverbs that offers a series of sharp, memorable observations about various types of foolishness. It follows several verses discussing the unreliability of fools and precedes a cluster focusing on the laziness of the sluggard. The core idea is the persistent, almost compulsive nature of a fool's errors, illustrated by the deeply unappealing image of a dog returning to something it just expelled.
Ever seen someone backslide into the same bad habit they swore they'd quit? This proverb paints a stark, unforgettable picture of why that happens.
The imagery here is intentionally shocking.
A Disgusting Image
A dog returning to its vomit is one of the most repulsive things you can imagine. It's unnatural, disgusting, and goes against all instincts of self-preservation. Yet, the proverb uses this to describe the fool's behavior.
The Fool's "Delight"
The shocking part? The fool, unlike the dog who might be driven by sheer compulsion, chooses to return to his folly. The commentary notes that the fool 'delights in his folly.' Even though he's likely experienced the painful consequences, and even though it's inherently destructive and disgusting, he goes back for more.
A Spiritual Parallel
This isn't just about bad habits; it speaks to a deeper spiritual reality. When we, as humans, turn away from God and repeat our sins after experiencing conviction or consequences, we're acting like that dog. It highlights how sin, once indulged, can become a nauseating, yet strangely compelling, cycle.
Why do people get stuck in cycles of sin and foolishness? This proverb suggests it becomes more than just a mistake – it becomes who they are.
The proverb gets to the heart of why repentance can be so difficult for some.
Beyond Temporary Discomfort
A fool isn't just someone who makes a mistake once. He's someone who repeats his folly. The commentators point out that the fool has 'smarted for their sins' and had 'qualms upon his conscience,' yet returns.
Habitual Sin
This repetitive action isn't just a momentary lapse; it suggests that the folly has become deeply ingrained. It's like 'a second nature,' as one commentator puts it. The sinful behavior isn't an interruption of their normal life; it their normal life.
Understand the original words
keleb · Hebrew Noun
An animal considered ceremonially unclean in the ancient Near East, often used metaphorically to describe someone who is vile, worthless, or lacking in discernment.
ewil · Hebrew Noun
In the wisdom literature, a person who lacks moral discernment, rejects instruction, is morally deficient, and acts in defiance of God's revealed truth.
iwwelet · Hebrew Noun
A reckless act, moral deficiency, or lack of wisdom that manifests in one's conduct; it is characterized by a stubborn refusal to learn from divine instruction.
This passage directly quotes the proverb found in Proverbs 26:11, applying it to false teachers who have turned back to their corrupt ways after professing righteousness.
Jeremiah 3:22This verse speaks of backsliding people returning to their sin, using imagery of unfaithfulness that parallels the unthinking, disgusting return to sin described in Proverbs.
Galatians 5:1Paul urges believers not to be entangled again with the 'yoke of slavery,' highlighting the danger of returning to a former state of sin that Christ has already liberated them from.
Hebrews 6:4-6This passage describes the impossibility of restoring to repentance those who fall away after experiencing God's truth, as they crucify Christ again by their repeated sin.
pooleProverbs 26:11: "As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly."
As a dog returneth to his vomit, to lick up that which he had lately vomited, forgetting how burdensome and vexatious it was to him, so a fool returneth to his folly; such like is the impudence and madness of sinners, who having smarted for their sins, and been forced to forsake them far a time, do afterwards return to the commission of them.
gillProverbs 26:11: "As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly."
As a dog returneth to his vomit,.... Who being sick with what he has eaten, casts it up again, and afterwards returns unto it and licks it up; so a fool returneth to his folly, or "repeats" (a) it, time after time, many times, as Ben Melech; or a wicked man turns to his wickedness, who, having had some qualms upon his conscience for sin, for a while forsakes it; but that fit being over, and he forgetting all hi…
This proverb isn't just about repeated mistakes; it highlights the disgusting nature of the fool's compulsion, comparing it to the repulsive act of a dog returning to its vomit. It underscores that true change requires more than just temporary regret; it means breaking free from that deeply ingrained, nauseating pull back into folly.
This proverb stands within a section of Proverbs that offers a series of sharp, memorable observations about various types of foolishness. It follows several verses discussing the unreliability of fools and precedes a cluster focusing on the laziness of the sluggard. The core idea is the persistent, almost compulsive nature of a fool's errors, illustrated by the deeply unappealing image of a dog returning to something it just expelled.
This proverb stands within a section of Proverbs that offers a series of sharp, memorable observations about various types of foolishness. It follows several verses discussing the unreliability of fools and precedes a cluster focusing on the laziness of the sluggard. The core idea is the persistent, almost compulsive nature of a fool's errors, illustrated by the deeply unappealing image of a dog returning to something it just expelled.
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The Challenge of True Change
This highlights the depth of the change God calls us to. It’s not just about stopping a bad behavior for a while; it’s about a transformation where folly is no longer our natural inclination.
"Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly." — This proverb isn't just about repeated mistakes; it highlights the disgusting nature of the fool's compulsion, comparing it to the repulsive act of a dog returning to its vomit. It underscores that…