diff --git a/usr/local/share/bastille/verify.sh b/usr/local/share/bastille/verify.sh
index 178e06cc..4ae5c48e 100644
--- a/usr/local/share/bastille/verify.sh
+++ b/usr/local/share/bastille/verify.sh
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ verify_template() {
 
             ## line count must match newline count
             # shellcheck disable=SC2046
-            if [ $(wc -l "${_path}" | awk '{print $1}') -ne $(grep -c printf '\n' "${_path}") ]; then
+            if [ $(wc -l "${_path}" | awk '{print $1}') -ne $(grep -c $'\n' "${_path}") ]; then
                 info "[${_hook}]:"
                 error_notify "${BASTILLE_TEMPLATE}:${_hook} [failed]."
                 error_notify "Line numbers don't match line breaks."