English Standard Version
Proverbs 19:18
18Discipline your son, for there is hope; do not set your heart on putting him to death.
Proverbs 19:18 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying.
- New International Version (NIV)Discipline your children, for in that there is hope; do not be a willing party to their death.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Chasten your son while there is hope, And do not set your heart on his destruction.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Discipline your children while there is hope. Otherwise you will ruin their lives.
Context of Proverbs 19:18
16Whoever keeps the commandment keeps his life; he who despises his ways will die. 17Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed. Discipline your son, for there is hope; do not set your heart on putting him to death. 19A man of great wrath will pay the penalty, for if you deliver him, you will only have to do it again. 20Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future.
Read all of Proverbs 19Proverbs 19:18 word by word
יַסֵּ֣ר בִּ֭נְךָ כִּי־יֵ֣שׁ תִּקְוָ֑ה וְאֶל־הֲ֝מִית֗וֹ אַל־תִּשָּׂ֥א נַפְשֶֽׁךָ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Proverbs 19:18
- Proverbs 13:24Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.
- Proverbs 22:15Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him.
- Proverbs 23:14If you strike him with the rod, you will save his soul from Sheol.
- Proverbs 29:15The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.
- Hebrews 12:7It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?
Commentaries on Proverbs 19:18
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18Let 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.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18While 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 Ephesians 6:4; Colossians 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…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 18Verse 18 When parents keep under foolish tenderness, they do their best to render children a comfort to them, and happy in themselves.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18Gaining wisdom needs discipline for everyone, including children (see Proverbs 10:17; 13:1, 10; 15:31–32; 17:10). The short-term sadness from discipline is worth avoiding disaster.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1818. (Compare Pr 13:24; 23:13). let not ... spare--literally, "do not lift up thy soul" (Psa 24:4; 25:1), that is, do not desire to his death; a caution to passionate parents against angry chastisement.Read the comment
Topics related to Proverbs 19:18
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Proverbs 19
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries