Translation commentary on Proverbs 13:24

This verse returns to the theme of a father’s discipline. See the comments on verse 1.

“He who spares the rod hates his son”: The view that bodily punishment is essential in the training of children is repeated several times in Proverbs. See also 22.15; 23.13-14; 29.15. “He who spares” translates a masculine singular participle that New Revised Standard Version and others render as a plural “those who spare.” “Spares” means restrains or holds back. This verb is used in 10.19 in regard to restraining the lips.

“The rod” (literally “his rod”) renders a general term for a staff, club, or symbol of authority. New Jerusalem Bible says “Whoever fails to use the stick,” where “the stick” is a small branch used for spanking a child. Most modern translations make it clear that “spare the rod” means avoiding bodily punishment. However, not all express physical punishment; for example, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy “Whoever does not correct his son.” :More common are translations that refer to physical punishment, for example, Bible en français courant “Whoever refuses to strike his son” and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “Whoever refuses to give his son a blow.”

“Hates his son” expresses in an emphatic manner that the father does not really love his son or does not truly care about the training of his child. To really care for the child, in the view of Proverbs, the father must be prepared to use physical correction. Many modern version express “hates his son” as “does not love him.”

“But he who loves him is diligent to discipline him”: “He” is replaced in many English translations by “those who,” “you,” or “one” to avoid the exclusive masculine singular subject. “Who loves him” is “the father who loves him” or “the father who loves his child.” “Diligent” renders a word whose exact meaning is uncertain. One meaning is “early” and in this case refers to the early beginning of child discipline. Accordingly, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch translates “Whoever loves his son begins early to bring him up with discipline.” We may also express this as “Whoever loves his child begins to train him with discipline while he is still young.” “Discipline” translates the same word used in 3.11. See there for comments. For a model translation see Good News Translation.

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Proverbs. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

complete verse (Proverbs 13:24)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 13:24:

  • Kupsabiny: “A person who holds his child softly, hates (him/her),
    and/but the one who punishes/disciplines, loves (him/her).” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “One who loves his children
    admonishes them,
    One who does not love his children
    does not admonish them.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “You (sing.) do- not -love your (sing.) child if you (sing.) do- not -discipline him. If you (sing.) love him, you (sing.) straightens his behavior.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “The one who does not whip/beat/spank his child, he does not love his child, because the one-who-loves his child, he is thorough/diligent to instruct/command (him).” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • English: “Those who do not punish their children for bad behavior do not really love them;
    those who love their children start to discipline them when the children are still young.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 13:24

13:24

Notice the parallel parts that contrast in meaning:

24a He who spares the rod hates his son,

24b but he who loves him disciplines him diligently.

These two lines form a chiasm. The parts in 13:24a occur in the opposite order from the parallel parts in 13:24b. If a chiasm is not natural in your language, you may need to change the order of the parallel parts. For example:

24a Whoever fails to use the stick hates his child ;

24b whoever is free with correction loves him. (New Jerusalem Bible)

13:24a–b

spares the rod…disciplines him diligently: In the ancient Near East, it was common to use physical punishment as a means of discipline. These phrases contrast a parent who refuses to use physical discipline with a parent who diligently uses it.

spares the rod: The word rod refers to a stick or cane. A parent who spares the rod refrains from using punishment to discipline a child who has done wrong. The purpose of disciplining with a rod was not to injure a child or to cause pain (see Proverbs 23:13), but give consequences for his/her wrong actions. Therefore, be careful to translate in a way that does not encourage harsh or violent beatings. In English, the translation of “switch” (a thin, flexible rod used for physical discipline) might be better than rod.

In some languages, it may be helpful to supply a verb indicating what the parent was doing with the rod. If the verb is specific enough, you may choose to leave the word rod out of the translation completely. A few versions translate the word rod in a way that refers to punishment in general. For example:

Whoever refuses to spank his son (God’s Word)
-or-
If you do not punish your children (New Century Version)

disciplines him diligently: A parent who loves his child takes care or is diligent to “discipline” him. The word translated as disciplines is the same word that was used in 13:18a. But here, given the mention of “the rod,” it probably means “correct” or “discipline” rather than “instruct” or “advise.” Some other ways to translate 13:24b are:

Those who love their children care enough to discipline them. (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
but he who loves him disciplines him diligently (New American Standard Bible)

hates his son…loves him: The word hates is a figure of speech (hyperbole). It emphasizes that a father does not truly love his child if he does not use physical punishment to correct him. In some languages, the word hates may literally indicate that the father feels hatred for his child. If that is true in your language, it may be better to use a different expression. For example:

If you don’t punish your children, you don’t love them. (Good News Translation, New Century Version)

You can maintain the emphasis of the hyperbole hates by using the words “truly” or “actually.” For example:

24a If a person does not ⌊truly⌋ love his son

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