He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.
Parallel translations
- WEB One who spares the rod hates his son, but one who loves him is careful to discipline him.
- BSB He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him diligently.
- 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 29:17Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest; yea, he shall give delight unto thy soul.
- Prov 23:13–14Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.
- Prov 29:15The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.
- Prov 19:18Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying.
- Heb 12:6–8For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
- Prov 22:15Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.
- Prov 3:12For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.
- Prov 8:36But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death.
- Luke 14:26If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, 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.