Proverbs 23:14

If you strike ¹  him with the rod, you will deliver him ²  from death. ³ 

Punish him with the rod and save his soul from death.

You shall strike him with the rod And rescue his soul from Sheol.

Physical discipline may well save them from death.

A good spanking, in fact, might save them from something worse than death.

Give him blows with the rod, and keep his soul safe from the underworld.

If you beat them with the rod, you will save their lives from Sheol.

You shall beat him with a rod, And deliver his soul from hell.

If you strike ¹  him with the rod, you will deliver him ²  from death. ³ 

¹ tn Or “punish” (NIV). The syntax of these two lines suggests a conditional clause (cf. NCV, NRSV).

² tn Heb “his soul.” The term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “soul”) functions as a synecdoche of part (= soul) for the whole (= person); see BDB 660 s.v. 4.

³ tn The term שְׁאוֹל (shÿ’ol, “Sheol”) in this context probably means “death” (so NIV, NCV, NLT) and not the realm of the departed (wicked) spirits (cf. NAB “the nether world”). In the wisdom of other lands, Ahiqar 6:82 says, “If I strike you, my son, you will not die.” The idea is that discipline helps the child to a full life; if the child dies prematurely, it would be more than likely a consequence of not being trained by discipline. In the book of Proverbs the “death” mentioned here could be social as well as physical.