SUMMARY
Proverbs 23:13-14 gives advice about disciplining children.
ANALYSIS
As is noted in “Corporal Punishment” entry in Bible in the World, Proverbs speaks regularly of disciplining children, often through corporal punishment. Such proverbs have been quoted to defend the practice of physical punishment of children. These particular verses have been at the forefront of such behavior. In the comments in the Corporal Punishment entry, several possible reactions are listed including rejecting such proverbs outright, going for the principle rather than the particulars, matching these proverbs with other parts of Scripture, and sharing one’s own observations about the effects of child abuse.
