He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him diligently.
Parallel translations
- WEB One who spares the rod hates his son, but one who loves him is careful to discipline him.
- KJV He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.
- NKJV He who spares his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him promptly.
- NASB He who withholds his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him diligently.
- NLT Those who spare the rod of discipline hate their children. Those who love their children care enough to discipline them.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
To withhold needed discipline is actually to hate one's child; true love disciplines diligently. Loving correction shapes a child's character.
Overview
This well-known proverb teaches that loving parents correct their children rather than indulge them, framing neglect of discipline as a failure of love. 'The rod' represents firm, formative correction, to be applied with care and not cruelty, aiming at the child's good. It mirrors the Father's loving discipline of His own children for their growth in holiness (Hebrews 12:6).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Prov 29:17Discipline your son, and he will give you rest; he will bring delight to your soul.
- Prov 23:13–14Do not withhold discipline from a child; although you strike him with a rod, he will not die.
- Prov 29:15A rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a child left to himself disgraces his mother.
- Prov 19:18Discipline your son, for in that there is hope; do not be party to his death.
- Heb 12:6–8For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastises every son He receives.”
- Prov 22:15Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him.
- Prov 3:12for the LORD disciplines the one He loves, as does a father the son in whom he delights.
- Prov 8:36But he who fails to find me harms himself; all who hate me love death.”
- Luke 14:26“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be My disciple.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Wisdom personified, with God before creation and the agent of all things, anticipates Christ 'in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom' — the wisdom of God made flesh.
How Proverbs 13:24 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.