Proverbs 19:18

"Chasten thy son, seeing there is hope; And set not thy heart on his destruction."

This passage stresses the value of parental discipline of children while there is still time to direct the child in the right way. One of the great sorrows of 20th Century America is the widespread neglect of this duty, the results of which threaten the total ruin of our civilization. "Proverbs 19:18b (the second line) may set a limit to discipline";[12] and in keeping with that interpretation, we have this: "But be careful not to flog him to death."[13] Even the New Testament strongly suggests that there is a limit beyond which discipline should not go. "Fathers, provoke not your children to wrath" (Ephesians 6:4). Harris, however interpreted Proverbs 19:18b here thus; "Don't avoid chastening and thus bring about thy son's death."[14]