Bible Strands
Proverbs 22:15
Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The sage addresses a learner within the instructional framework of Proverbs, offering practical wisdom in the context of surrounding warnings about moral danger and economic folly.
The words — The text uses קְשׁוּרָ֣ה (ke.shu.Rah), meaning [is] bound, to describe foolishness fixed within the heart of a youth, and שֵׁ֥בֶט (She.vet), meaning a rod, paired with מ֝וּסָ֗ר (mu.Sar), meaning discipline, to denote the corrective instrument that drives folly away.
The thread — The theme of corrective discipline runs through Proverbs 13:24, which links parental correction to love, and Proverbs 29:15, which states that a rod imparts wisdom while an undisciplined child shames his mother. Proverbs 19:18 similarly connects disciplining a son to hope and the avoidance of death.
Why it lands — The verse demands recognition that inherent folly requires active correction, and it presents disciplined instruction as the necessary means to remove that folly rather than to induce fear or guilt.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.
Cross-references
- Proverbs 13:24 He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him diligently.
- Proverbs 29:15 A rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a child left to himself disgraces his mother.
- Proverbs 19:18 Discipline your son, for in that there is hope; do not be party to his death.
- Proverbs 23:13 Do not withhold discipline from a child; although you strike him with a rod, he will not die.
- Proverbs 29:17 Discipline your son, and he will give you rest; he will bring delight to your soul.
- Hebrews 12:10 Our fathers disciplined us for a short time as they thought best, but God disciplines us for our good, so that we may share in His holiness.
- Psalms 51:5 Surely I was brought forth in iniquity; I was sinful when my mother conceived me.
- Ephesians 2:3 All of us also lived among them at one time, fulfilling the cravings of our flesh and indulging its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature children of wrath.
- Job 14:4 Who can bring out clean from unclean? No one!
- John 3:6 Flesh is born of flesh, but spirit is born of the Spirit.