I saw among the simple,
    I noticed among the young men,
    a youth who had no sense.(A)

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I looked among the naive young men
    and noticed among the youth, one who had no sense.

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Start(A) children off on the way they should go,(B)
    and even when they are old they will not turn from it.(C)

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Train children in the way they should go;
    when they grow old, they won’t depart from it.

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15 Folly is bound up in the heart of a child,
    but the rod of discipline will drive it far away.(A)

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15 Folly is bound up in a child’s heart;
    the rod of discipline removes it.

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Saying 13

13 Do not withhold discipline from a child;
    if you punish them with the rod, they will not die.
14 Punish them with the rod
    and save them from death.(A)

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13 Don’t withhold instruction from children;
    if you strike them with a rod, they won’t die.
14 Strike them with a rod,
    and you will save their lives from the grave.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 23:14 Heb Sheol

15 A rod and a reprimand impart wisdom,
    but a child left undisciplined disgraces its mother.(A)

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15 The rod and correction lead to wisdom,
    but children out of control shame their mothers.

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