19:18

This proverb advises fathers to discipline their children. Notice the relationship between the parallel lines:

18a Discipline your son, for in that there is hope;

18b do not be party to his death.

The first line gives a motivation for obeying this advice. The second line gives a bad result of not obeying the advice. The parallelism implies that a person who fails to discipline his son is willing for his son to die.

In Hebrew, the commands are masculine singular. They are addressed to a father. The father was responsible for discipline in the home.

As in similar proverbs, there is no intention to exclude the mother. It is also assumed that parents should discipline daughters as well as sons. In some languages, it may be more natural to use a term that includes both. For example:

18a Discipline your children… (New International Version (2011))

18b do not be a willing party to their death. (New International Version (2011))

19:18a

Discipline your son: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Discipline refers here to physical punishment. This punishment is intended to correct the child’s wrong behavior.

for in that there is hope: In Hebrew, this clause is literally “for there is hope.” There are two ways to interpret the connection of this clause with the command to discipline the child:

(1) This clause gives the motivation or reason for the father to discipline his son. He should discipline his son, because then there is hope that the son will stop doing things that are wrong. For example:

Discipline your child, for there is hope (NET Bible)

(2) This clause gives the time during which the father should discipline his son. He should discipline his son while there is still hope that the child will stop doing things that are wrong. For example:

Discipline your children while there is hope (New Revised Standard Version)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). Interpretation (2) does not fit the normal use of the Hebrew words that introduce the clause.

19:18b

do not be party to his death: This clause is more literally “do not lift up your soul/desire to kill him.” It indicates that the father should not “desire” or “be determined” to kill his son. There are two ways to interpret this clause:

(1) If a father decides not to discipline his son, it is as if he desires to cause his son’s death. It is implied that a child who is not disciplined develops habits of doing wrong. These will eventually lead to his death. For example:

If you don’t, you are helping them destroy themselves. (Good News Translation)

(2) When a father disciplines his son, he should not get so angry that he tries to beat him to death. For example:

but do not get so angry as to kill him (New Jerusalem Bible)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), along with most versions and scholars. In the context of Proverbs, discipline is based on love rather than anger (3:12, 13:24). The purpose of physical punishment is to make children turn from foolishness (22:15) and save them from death (23:14).

This proverb uses strong language to emphasize the disastrous consequences of not disciplining a child. In some languages, including English, a literal translation of this clause may imply the wrong meaning. It may imply that a father who does not discipline his child truly wants to cause his death. Some ways to avoid this implication are:

• Change the command to a simile. For example:

If you don’t discipline him, it’s as if you want to cause his death.

• Leave the command to “not desire” the son’s death implied. For example:

Do not be the one responsible for his death. (God’s Word)
-or-
if you don’t punish them, you are destroying them (Contemporary English Version)

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