Translation commentary on Proverbs 22:15

This saying about disciplining children expresses similar thoughts to 13.24. In structure, the second line of the verse continues and adds to the thought of the first.

“Folly is bound up in the heart of a child”: For “Folly” see 5.23, where it is the way of thinking of fools. “Folly is bound up in the heart of a child” is a figurative expression, which means something like “It is in the nature of children to be silly.” Revised English Bible expresses this well with “Folly is deep-rooted in the hearts of children”; Good News Translation is also a good model.

“But the rod of discipline drives it far from him”: There is no connecting word like “but” in Hebrew, and some English versions feel that it is not required here. This line explains how the bad situation described in line 1 can be reversed. “The rod of discipline” is taken by most commentators and translators to mean physical correction or punishment: “a good beating” (Revised English Bible), “the teacher’s cane” (Scott), and “a good spanking” (Good News Translation). “Drives it far from him” or “drives it far away” (New Revised Standard Version) really means to “get rid of it [folly] altogether”; this is expressed by some translations as “drive it out of them” (Revised English Bible) or “remove it.”

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 22:15)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 22:15:

  • Kupsabiny: “Children do foolish things,
    but if (they) are punished/disciplined (they) will get rid of/move away from those things.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Unnecessary matters will be coming
    into the hearts of children,
    but by rebuking them
    such matters must be removed far from them.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “(It is) already the behavior of the children to do-foolishness, but this behavior can-be-straightened if they will-be-disciplined.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Already-original is the foolishness of all children, but if you (sing.) beat/whip (them), it-is-possible that it-be-changed.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • English: “Children naturally do things that are foolish,
    but if you punish/spank them , they will stop doing foolish things/learn to behave as they should.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 22:15

22:15

The first line of this proverb describes the natural tendency of a child to act foolishly. The second line describes the remedy—physical punishment.

15a Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child,

15b but the rod of discipline drives it far from him.

22:15a

Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child: This clause indicates that moral foolishness is figuratively tied or fastened to the heart of a child. It implies that a child is born with a tendency to do wrong. Foolishness is part of his original character. This clause does not refer to silly or childish play. Some ways to translate this figure of speech are:

• Use a different figure of speech to describe the connection between Foolishness and the heart of a child. For example:

Folly is anchored in the heart of a youth (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
Folly is deep-rooted in the hearts of children (Revised English Bible)

• Translate the meaning without using a figure of speech. For example:

A youngster’s heart is filled with foolishness (New Living Translation (2004))

Foolishness: In Hebrew, this word refers to moral foolishness, not mental stupidity.

a child: In this context, the word child probably refers to a young child, as in 22:6a.

22:15b

but: In Hebrew, there is no conjunction here. Verse 22:15b describes how to change the situation in 22:15a. It does not describe two contrasting situations. In some languages, it may be more natural not to use a conjunction here.

the rod of discipline: In Hebrew, this phrase refers to bodily discipline or punishment, such as a spanking or using a switch. It can also represent any punishment that causes enough pain to correct bad behavior.

drives it far from him: This clause means that physical discipline or punishment will remove a child’s tendency to be morally foolish.

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

but physical discipline will drive it far away (New Living Translation (2004))

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