22 Heb “bring.” The Hiphil imperative “come; enter” means “to apply the heart,” to use the heart or mind in the process. The same would be true in the second half: “to bring the ears” would mean to listen very carefully. Cf. “Pay attention.”
23 Or “punish” (). The syntax of these two lines suggests a conditional clause (cf. , ).
24 Heb “his soul.” The term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “soul”) functions as a synecdoche of part (= soul) for the whole (= person); see 660 4.
25 The term שְׁאוֹל (shé’ol, “Sheol”) in this context probably means “death” (so , , ) and not the realm of the departed (wicked) spirits (cf. “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.
26 Heb “my son,” although the context does not limit this exhortation to male children.
27 Heb “my kidneys”; in biblical Hebrew the term was used for the innermost being, the soul, the central location of the passions. Cf. , “my inmost being.”
28 This twelfth saying simply observes that children bring joy to their parents when they demonstrate wisdom. The quatrain is arranged in a chiastic structure (:B’A’): The first line (A) speaks of wisdom in the child, and it is paired with the last line (A’) which speaks of the child’s saying what is right. In between these brackets are two lines (B and B’) concerning joy to the parent.
29 The verb in this line is אַל־יְקַנֵּא (’al-yéqanne’), the Piel jussive negated. The verb means “to be jealous, to be zealous”; it describes passionate intensity for something. In English, if the object is illegitimate, it is called “envy”; if it is correct, it is called “zeal.” Here the warning is not to envy the sinners. The second colon could use the verb in the positive sense to mean “but rather let your passion burn for the fear of the Lord.”
30 Heb “the fear of the Lord.” This expression features an objective genitive: “fearing the Lord.”
31 Heb “end” (so ); “a reward.”
32 The saying is an understatement; far from being cut off, the “hope” will be realized in the end. So this saying, the thirteenth, advises people to be zealous for the fear of the Lord, their religion, rather than for anything that sinners have to offer.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

Apply your heart to instruction

and your ear to words of knowledge.

Do not withhold discipline from a child;

if you strike him with a rod, he will not die.

If you strike him with the rod,

you will save his soul from Sheol.

My son, if your heart is wise,

my heart too will be glad.

My inmost being will exult

when your lips speak what is right.

Let not your heart envy sinners,

but continue in the fear of the Lord all the day.

Surely there is a future,

and your hope will not be cut off.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

Apply your heart to instruction

and your ears to words of knowledge.

Do not withhold discipline from a child;

if you punish them with the rod, they will not die.

Punish them with the rod

and save them from death.

My son, if your heart is wise,

then my heart will be glad indeed;

my inmost being will rejoice

when your lips speak what is right.

Do not let your heart envy sinners,

but always be zealous for the fear of the Lord.

There is surely a future hope for you,

and your hope will not be cut off.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

Apply yourself to discipline

and listen to words of knowledge.

Don’t withhold discipline from a youth;

if you punish him with a rod, he will not die.

Punish him with a rod,

and you will rescue his life from Sheol.

My son, if your heart is wise,

my heart will indeed rejoice.

My innermost being will celebrate

when your lips say what is right.

Don’t let your heart envy sinners;

instead, always fear the Lord.

For then you will have a future,

and your hope will not be dashed.

NLTNew Living Translation

Commit yourself to instruction;

listen carefully to words of knowledge.

Don’t fail to discipline your children.

The rod of punishment won’t kill them.

Physical discipline

may well save them from death.

My child, if your heart is wise,

my own heart will rejoice!

Everything in me will celebrate

when you speak what is right.

Don’t envy sinners,

but always continue to fear the Lord.

You will be rewarded for this;

your hope will not be disappointed.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Apply your heart to instruction,

and your ear to sayings of knowledge.

Do not withhold discipline from a child,

if you will beat him with the rod, he will not die.

As for you, with the rod you shall beat him,

and his life you will save from Sheol.

My child, if your heart is wise,

my heart will be glad—even me!

And my insides will rejoice

when your lips speak what is upright.

May your heart not envy the sinners,

but live in fear of Yahweh all day.

Surely there is a future,

and your hope will not be cut off.

KJV 1900King James Version

Apply thine heart unto instruction,

And thine ears to the words of knowledge.

Withhold not correction from the child:

For if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.

Thou shalt beat him with the rod,

And shalt deliver his soul from hell.

My son, if thine heart be wise,

My heart shall rejoice, even mine.

Yea, my reins shall rejoice,

When thy lips speak right things.

Let not thine heart envy sinners:

But be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long.

For surely there is an end;

And thine expectation shall not be cut off.

Public Domain