Mazmur 89:31-34

89:31 if they break ¹  my rules

and do not keep my commandments,

89:32 I will punish their rebellion by beating them with a club, ² 

their sin by inflicting them with bruises. ³ 

89:33 But I will not remove ⁴  my loyal love from him,

nor be unfaithful to my promise. ⁵ 

89:34 I will not break ⁶  my covenant

or go back on what I promised. ⁷ 

Amsal 13:24

13:24 The one who spares his rod ⁸  hates ⁹  his child, ¹⁰ 

but the one who loves his child ¹¹  is diligent ¹²  in disciplining ¹³  him.

[89:31]  ¹ tn Or “desecrate.”

[89:32]  ² tn Heb “I will punish with a club their rebellion.”

[89:32]  sn Despite the harsh image of beating…with a club, the language reflects a father-son relationship (see v. 30; 2 Sam 7:14). According to Proverbs, a שֵׁבֶט (shevet, “club”) was sometimes utilized to administer corporal punishment to rebellious children (see Prov 13:24; 22:15; 23:13-14; 29:15).

[89:32]  ³ tn Heb “with blows their sin.”

[89:33]  ⁴ tn Heb “break”; “make ineffectual.” Some prefer to emend אָפִיר (’afir; the Hiphil of פָּרַר, parar, “to break”) to אָסִיר (’asir; the Hiphil of סוּר, sur, “to turn aside”), a verb that appears in 2 Sam 7:15.

[89:33]  ⁵ tn Heb “and I will not deal falsely with my faithfulness.”

[89:34]  ⁶ tn Or “desecrate.”

[89:34]  ⁷ tn Heb “and what proceeds out of my lips I will not alter.”

[13:24]  ⁸ sn R. N. Whybray cites an Egyptian proverb that says that “boys have their ears on their backsides; they listen when they are beaten” (Proverbs [CBC], 80). Cf. Prov 4:3-4, 10-11; Eph 6:4; Heb 12:5-11.

[13:24]  ⁹ sn The importance of parental disciplining is stressed by the verbs “hate” and “love.” “Hating” a child in this sense means in essence abandoning or rejecting him; “loving” a child means embracing and caring for him. Failure to discipline a child is tantamount to hating him – not caring about his character.

[13:24]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “his son.”

[13:24]  ¹¹ tn Heb “him”; the referent (his child) is specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:24]  ¹² tn Heb “seeks him.” The verb שָׁחַר (shahar, “to be diligent; to do something early”; BDB 1007 s.v.) could mean “to be diligent to discipline,” or “to be early or prompt in disciplining.” See G. R. Driver, “Hebrew Notes on Prophets and Proverbs,” JTS 41 (1940): 170.

[13:24]  ¹³ tn The noun מוּסָר (musar, “discipline”) functions as an adverbial accusative of reference: “he is diligent in reference to discipline.”