Proverbs 19:18
in Proverbs 19Discipline your son, for in that there is hope; do not be party to his death.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Chasten thy son, seeing there is hope; And set not thy heart on his destruction.
KJV
Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying.
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This verse in Proverbs 19
Commentary
6 notes on this verseLet not thy soul spare for his crying - This is a hard precept for a parent. Nothing affects the heart of a parent so much as a child’s cries and tears. But it is better that the child may be caused to cry, when the correction may be healthful to his soul, than that the parent should cry afterwards, when the child is grown to man’s estate, and his evil habits are sealed for life.
This site's exposition
Discipline your son, for in that
on Proverbs 19:18-19
The command "Discipline your son, for in that there is hope" is urgent, correction offered while it can still take root. A man of great anger must pay the penalty. The household discipline of the first verse is answered by the civil discipline of the second.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
"He who is patient will sustain loss," etc. For if provoked by the hardness of the opposing brother, whom you began to teach, you fall into the vice of impatience, you indeed incur the loss of your own virtue. And when by scolding him too …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Chasten thy son while there is hope,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
23:13). let not . . . spare--literally, "do not lift up thy soul" (Ps 24:4; 25:1), that is, do not desire to his death; a caution to passionate parents against angry chastisement.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
While there is hope - While he is still young, and capable of being reformed. Crying - Better, as in the margin, Do not set thy soul on his destruction; words which either counsel forbearance in the act of chastisement (compare Eph 6:4; Col 3:21); or urge that a false clemency is a real cruelty. The latter sense is preferable. The father is warned that to forbear from chastising is virtually to expose the son who needs it to a far worse penalty.
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יַסֵּ֣ר | yaser | discipline | H3256 → | 43 times |
| בִּ֭נְךָ | binkha | son your | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| כִּי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יֵ֣שׁ | yesh | there | H3426 → | 140 times |
| תִּקְוָ֑ה | tikvah | [is] hope | H8615 → | 34 times |
| וְאֶל־ | veel- | and to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הֲ֝מִית֗וֹ | hamito | putting to death him | H4191 → | 839 times |
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תִּשָּׂ֥א | tisa' | you lift up | H5375 → | 656 times |
| נַפְשֶֽׁךָ׃ | nafshekha | desire your | H5315 → | 754 times |
יַסֵּ֣רdiscipline
yaserH3256 →43 times
בִּ֭נְךָson your
binkhaH1121 →4930 times
כִּי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
יֵ֣שׁthere
yeshH3426 →140 times
תִּקְוָ֑ה[is] hope
tikvahH8615 →34 times
וְאֶל־and to
veel-H413 →5510 times
הֲ֝מִית֗וֹputting to death him
hamitoH4191 →839 times
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תִּשָּׂ֥אyou lift up
tisa'H5375 →656 times
נַפְשֶֽׁךָ׃desire your
nafshekhaH5315 →754 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 13:24He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him diligently.
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 23:13–14
Do not withhold discipline from a child; although you strike him with a rod, he will not die.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 29:15
A rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a child left to himself disgraces his mother.
Reached by 2 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 2 separate paths from here.
- Hebrews 12:6–8
For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastises every son He receives.”
- Proverbs 29:17
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 13:24
He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him diligently.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 13:24
Through
Proverbs 29:15A rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a child left to himself disgraces his mother.
it leads to
- Proverbs 10:1
The proverbs of Solomon: A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son grief to his mother.
- Proverbs 17:25
A foolish son brings grief to his father and bitterness to her who bore him.
- Proverbs 10:1
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).