Proverbs 23:13
in Proverbs 23Do not withhold discipline from a child; although you strike him with a rod, he will not die.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Withhold not correction from the child; For if thou beat him with the rod, he will not die.
KJV
Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.
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This verse in Proverbs 23
Commentary
8 notes on this verseAs small children who are negligent in learning become more attentive and obedient after being punished by their teacher or tutor, and as they do not listen before the lash, but, after feeling the pain of a beating, hear and respond as though their ears were just recently opened, improving also in memory, so likewise with those who neglect divine doctrine and spurn the commandments. For, after they experience God's correction and discipline, then the commandments of God which had always been known to them and always neglected are most readily received as though by ears freshly cleansed.
This site's exposition
Apply your heart to instruction
on Proverbs 23:12-14
"Apply your heart to instruction" reopens the father's direct appeal. A child struck "with a rod, he will not die," and "you will deliver his soul from Sheol" states the stakes. The correction aims at the child's whole future more than at the moment's offense.
This site's exposition
Do not withhold discipline from a child
Albert Barnes turns the verse around. A child struck with the rod will not die from it, and withholding discipline may kill him. Jamieson, Fausset & Brown weigh a small risk of bodily harm against a great hope of spiritual good.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
If the evil will is always to be left to its own freedom, why are careless shepherds rebuked, and why is it said to them, "The wandering sheep you have not called back, that which was lost you have not sought"?
When someone presumes to commit a sin against God, he ought to suffer a monastic penance. This should be done in a kind and devout spirit, so that through rebuke he may be corrected in this life in such a way that he may not …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Withhold not correction from the child,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
i. e., “You will not kill your son by scourging him, you may kill him by with holding the scourge.” Pro 23:14 Hell - Sheol, the world of the dead.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
While there is little danger that the use of the "divine ordinance of the rod" will produce bodily harm, there is great hope of spiritual good. The pleasure afforded the teacher by the pupil's progress is a motive to diligence.
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תִּמְנַ֣ע | timna' | you withhold | H4513 → | 29 times |
| מִנַּ֣עַר | minaar | from a youth | H5288 → | 239 times |
| מוּסָ֑ר | musar | discipline | H4148 → | 50 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| תַכֶּ֥נּוּ | takenu | you will strike him | H5221 → | 499 times |
| בַ֝שֵּׁ֗בֶט | vashevet | with the rod | H7626 → | 190 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָמֽוּת׃ | yamut | he will die | H4191 → | 839 times |
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תִּמְנַ֣עyou withhold
timna'H4513 →29 times
מִנַּ֣עַרfrom a youth
minaarH5288 →239 times
מוּסָ֑רdiscipline
musarH4148 →50 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
תַכֶּ֥נּוּyou will strike him
takenuH5221 →499 times
בַ֝שֵּׁ֗בֶטwith the rod
vashevetH7626 →190 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יָמֽוּת׃he will die
yamutH4191 →839 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 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
A rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a child left to himself disgraces his mother.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 29:17
Discipline your son, and he will give you rest; he will bring delight to your soul.
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 3 separate paths from here.
- 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 23:13–14
Through
Proverbs 19:18Discipline your son, for in that there is hope; do not be party to his death.
it leads to
- Proverbs 13:24
He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him diligently.
Reached by 3 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.
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 10:1
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Proverbs
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, LETTER 173; Basil of Caesarea, HOMILY ON THE BEGINNING OF PROVERBS 5; Caesarius of Arles, SERMONS 235:3; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.