“Do not withhold discipline from a child”: “Do not withhold” is a negative command; in Hebrew the positive command expressing the same advice is in the next verse. To “withhold” something means to refuse to give it, for whatever reason. This may be expressed in various ways; in English, for example, we could say, “Do not hesitate to. . .” (Scott, Good News Translation) or “Don’t fail to. . .” (Contemporary English Version). A common rendering in other languages is “Don’t be afraid to.” “Discipline” is the same Hebrew word that is rendered “instruction” in the previous verse. As the next line makes clear, the sense here is “physical correction” or “. . . punishment”; see 22.15 where Hebrew uses the same term in the expression “the rod of discipline.” The Hebrew word for “child” may be used for a child of any age, even for a baby, but it is more frequently used to refer to “youth,” that is, an older child or young person. Translators are advised to use terms in this line that are not limited to small children.

“If you beat him with a rod, he will not die”: “Beat him with a rod” means to give the child or young person a beating as a punishment or correction for misbehavior. This may be expressed in the way that people naturally use to describe punishing their children. A number of English versions keep the word “rod,” which is not normally used in this context: for instance, “punish him with the rod” (New International Version). More natural renderings in English are “take the stick to him” (Revised English Bible) and “a good spanking” (Good News Translation); note, however, that the word “spanking” is more appropriate for young children than for older children. “He will not die” is generally understood to mean that the child will not die as a result of the beating. Contemporary English Version and Good News Translation both express this sense as “. . . won’t kill them.” One Pacific translation says for this line, “If you whip his backside, he won’t die from it.” But some take “he will not die” to mean that by giving the child physical correction the parent will save him from death (that may come to him if he doesn’t learn how to behave). So Revised English Bible says “and save him from death.” This is in line with what is expressed in the next verse.

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 .