Colossians 3:21 - Exposition

Ye fathers, do not irritate your children, lest they be disheartened ( Ephesians 6:4 ). ερεθίζω ("irritate" or "provoke") St. Paul uses once besides ( 2 Corinthians 9:2 ), in a good sense. It implies a use of parental authority which, by continual exactions and complaints, teaches the child to look on the father as his enemy rather than his friend. The synonymous παροργίζω of Ephesians 6:4 , found here in many copies, is, more definitely "to rouse to anger." αθυμέω (only here in the New Testament) means "to lose heart," to have the confidence and high spirit of youth broken; "fractus animus pestis juventutis" (Bengel). In place of this treatment, "the discipline and admonition of the Lord" are recommended in Ephesians 6:4 .