Proverbs 13:24
in Proverbs 13He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him diligently.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
He that spareth his rod hateth his son; But he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.
KJV
He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.
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This verse in Proverbs 13
Commentary
8 notes on this verseThen the provident guide of the soul has regard to this, that he may circumscribe her pleasures and cut off her desires, that she may not delight herself in them. That father's corrections are profitable, who spares not the rod, that he may render his son's soul obedient to salutary precepts. For he visits with a rod, as we read, I will visit their offences with the rod. And so he who smites the soul of the Israelites with a rod on the cheek, by this Divine punishment instructs her in the discipline of patience.
This site's exposition
He who spares the rod hates his son
on Proverbs 13:24-25
“He who spares the rod hates his son” is stated without softening, and “he who loves him disciplines him diligently”. Readers divide on whether the proverb commands physical correction directly or states a principle of parental seriousness, and the verse does not settle the question.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
You fathers, educate your children in the Lord, bringing them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and teach them such trades as are agreeable and suitable to the Lord, lest they by such opportunity become extravagant and continue without punishment from their …
A commentator
Apostolic ConstitutionsCONSTITUTIONS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES · Written before 380.
proposed
You fathers, educate your children in the Lord, bringing them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and teach them such trades as are agreeable and suitable to the Lord, lest they by such opportunity become extravagant and continue without punishment from their parents, and so become slack before their time and go astray from that which is good. Therefore do not be afraid to reprove them and to teach them wisdom with severity. For your corrections will not kill them but rather preserve them.… [Thus Solomon says,] "He that spares his rod hates his son," and afterwards, "Beat his sides while he is an infant, lest he be hardened and disobey you." He, therefore, who neglects to admonish and instruct his own son, hates his own child. Teach, therefore, your children the word of the Lord. Bring them under with cutting stripes, and make them subject from infancy, teaching them the holy Scriptures, which are Christian and divine, and delivering to them every sacred writing, "not giving them such liberty that they get the mastery" and act against your opinion. Do not permit them to club together with peer groups. For so they will be turned to disorderly ways and will fall into fornication. And if this happens by the carelessness of their parents, those who gave them birth will be guilty of their souls. For if the offending children get into the company of debauched persons by the negligence of those who gave them life, they will not be punished alone by themselves, but their parents also will be condemned on their account. For this cause, endeavor at the time when they are of an age fit for marriage, to join them in wedlock and settle them together, lest in the heat and fervor of their age their course of life become dissolute and you be required to give an account by the Lord God in the day of judgment. .
"He that spares the rod hates his son." For, give us a person who with right faith and true understanding can say with all the energy of his heart, "My soul thirsts for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?" For such a person there is no need of the terror of hell, to say nothing of temporal punishments or imperial laws, seeing that with him it is so indispensable a blessing to cleave to the Lord that he not only dreads being parted from that happiness as a heavy punishment but can scarcely even bear delay in its attainment. But yet, before the good sons can say they have "a desire to depart, and to be with Christ," many must first be recalled to their Lord by the stripes of temporal scourging, like evil servants, and in some degree like good-for-nothing fugitives.
The Medieval Church1 voice
He who spares the rod hates his son, etc. For both a good father teaches his son, and a catholic teacher instructs his disciple, lest he deflects to iniquity, solicitously.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
He that spareth his rod hateth his son,....
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
He that spareth his rod hateth his son - That is, if he hated him, he could not do him a greater disservice than not to correct him when his obstinacy or disobedience requires it. We have met with this subject already, and it is a favourite with Solomon. See Psa 34:10 (note) and Psa 37:3 (note). The Rev. Mr. Holden makes some sensible observations on this passage: “By the neglect of early correction the desires (passions) obtain ascendancy; the temper becomes irascible, peevish, querulous.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| חוֹשֵׂ֣ךְ | chosekh | [one who] restrains | H2820 → | 28 times |
| שִׁ֭בְטוֹ | shivtov | rod his | H7626 → | 190 times |
| שׂוֹנֵ֣א | sone' | [is] hating | H8130 → | 146 times |
| בְנ֑וֹ | veno | son his | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| וְ֝אֹהֲב֗וֹ | veohavo | and [one who] loves him | H157 → | 211 times |
| שִֽׁחֲר֥וֹ | shicharo | he seeks early him | H7836 → | 12 times |
| מוּסָֽר׃ | musar | discipline | H4148 → | 50 times |
חוֹשֵׂ֣ךְ[one who] restrains
chosekhH2820 →28 times
שִׁ֭בְטוֹrod his
shivtovH7626 →190 times
שׂוֹנֵ֣א[is] hating
sone'H8130 →146 times
בְנ֑וֹson his
venoH1121 →4930 times
וְ֝אֹהֲב֗וֹand [one who] loves him
veohavoH157 →211 times
שִֽׁחֲר֥וֹhe seeks early him
shicharoH7836 →12 times
מוּסָֽר׃discipline
musarH4148 →50 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Proverbs 29:15A rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a child left to himself disgraces his mother.
it leads to
- Proverbs 29:17
Discipline your son, and he will give you rest; he will bring delight to your soul.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 22:15
Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 10:1
The proverbs of Solomon: A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son grief to his mother.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 17:25
A foolish son brings grief to his father and bitterness to her who bore him.
- Proverbs 22:6
Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.
- Proverbs 29:17
Through
Proverbs 19:18Discipline your son, for in that there is hope; do not be party to his death.
it leads to
- Proverbs 29:15
A rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a child left to himself disgraces his mother.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 23:13–14
Do not withhold discipline from a child; although you strike him with a rod, he will not die.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 29:15
Through
Proverbs 22:15Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him.
it leads to
- Proverbs 19:18
Discipline your son, for in that there is hope; do not be party to his death.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 19:18
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Proverbs

This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Ambrose of Milan, Letters 61-70; Apostolic Constitutions, CONSTITUTIONS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES; Augustine of Hippo, THE CORRECTION OF THE DONATISTS 6:21; Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Nilus of Sinai, CONSTITUTIONS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES 4:2.11.
