Proverbs 23:11-13
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
11 For their redeemer is strong;
he will defend their cause against you.(A)
12 Apply your heart to instruction,
and your ear to words of knowledge.
13 [a]Do not withhold discipline from youths;
if you beat them with the rod, they will not die.(B)
Footnotes
- 23:13–14 The young will not die from instructional blows but from their absence, for (premature) death results from uncorrected folly. The sardonic humor means the exhortation is not to be taken literally, as an argument for corporal punishment. The next verses (vv. 15–16) are exceedingly tender toward the young.
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