Relationships and family
What does the Bible say about disciplining children?
Proverbs links loving parents with correction, while the New Testament warns fathers not to exasperate their children. Discipline in Scripture aims at growth, never harm.
What Scripture says
Proverbs 13:24
“One who spares the rod hates his son, but one who loves him is careful to discipline him.”
Proverbs 22:15
“Folly is bound up in the heart of a child; the rod of discipline drives it far from him.”
Hebrews 12:11
“All chastening seems for the present to be not joyous but grievous; yet afterward it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”
Ephesians 6:4
“You fathers, don’t provoke your children to wrath, but nurture them in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”
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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. See all Bible questions or verses by topic.