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Proverbs

About this book
Chapter 13

1 A wise son accepts his father’s discipline, but a scoffer has never listened to rebuke. 2 From the fruit of his speech a person eats good things, but the treacherous desire the fruit of violence. 3 The one who guards his words guards his life; whoever is talkative will come to ruin. 4 The appetite of the sluggard craves but gets nothing, but the desire of the diligent will be abundantly satisfied. 5 The righteous person will reject anything false, but the wicked person will act in shameful disgrace. 6 Righteousness guards the one who lives with integrity, but wickedness overthrows the sinner. 7 There is one who pretends to be rich and yet has nothing; another pretends to be poor and yet possesses great wealth. 8 The ransom of a person’s life is his wealth, thus the poor person has never heard a threat. 9 The light of the righteous shines brightly, but the lamp of the wicked goes out.⁠ 10 With pride comes only contention, but wisdom is with the well-advised. 11 Wealth gained quickly will dwindle away, but the one who gathers it little by little will become rich. 12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is like a tree of life. 13 The one who despises instruction will pay the penalty, but whoever esteems direction will be rewarded. 14 Instruction from the wise is like a life-giving fountain, to turn a person from deadly snares. 15 Keen insight wins favor, but the conduct of the treacherous ends in destruction. 16 Every shrewd person acts with knowledge, but a fool displays his folly. 17 An unreliable messenger falls into trouble, but a faithful envoy brings healing. 18 The one who neglects discipline ends up in poverty and shame, but the one who accepts reproof is honored. 19 A desire fulfilled will be sweet to the soul, but fools abhor turning away from evil. 20 The one who associates with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm. 21 Calamity pursues sinners, but prosperity rewards the righteous. 22 A good person leaves an inheritance for his grandchildren, but the wealth of a sinner is stored up for the righteous. 23 Abundant food may come from the field of the poor, but it is swept away by injustice. 24 The one who spares his rod hates his child, but the one who loves his child is diligent in disciplining him.⁠ 25 The righteous has enough food to satisfy his appetite, but the belly of the wicked will be empty.

Texts in conversation

Compare Proverbs 13:24 and 2 Maccabees 6:12

Hebrew Bible · Deuterocanon

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Summary

2 Maccabees presents suffering as a form of discipline meant for correction, not destruction, echoing the proverb that links discipline with the use of the rod. 2 Maccabees expands the proverb to describe the suffering of the entire nation.

Passages

Proverbs 13:24

Hebrew Bible
22 A good person leaves an inheritance for his grandchildren, but the wealth of a sinner is stored up for the righteous. 23 Abundant food may come from the field of the poor, but it is swept away by injustice. 24 The one who spares his rod hates his child, but the one who loves his child is diligent in disciplining him. 25 The righteous has enough food to satisfy his appetite, but the belly of the wicked will be empty.
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Proverbs

2 Maccabees 6:12

Deuterocanon
11 Others who had run together into the caves nearby to keep the seventh day secretly, were betrayed to Philip and were all burned together, because their piety kept them from defending themselves, in view of the honor of that most solemn day. 12 I urge those who read this book to not be discouraged because of the calamities, but recognize that these punishments were not for the destruction, but for the chastening of our race. 13 For indeed it is a sign of great kindness that those who act impiously are not let alone for a long time, but immediately meet with retribution. 14 For in the case of the other nations, the Sovereign Lord waits patiently to punish them until they have attained to the full measure of their sins; but not with us,
160–63 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in 2 Maccabees

References

"... In this context, physical chastisement plays an important role: “Those who spare the rod hate their children, but those who love them are diligent to discipline them” (Proverbs 13:24). “Discipline your children while there is hope; do not set your heart on their destruction” (Prov 19:18). “Folly is bound up in the heart of a boy, but the rod of discipline drives it far away” (Proverbs 22:15). In Proverbs 23:13f., it similarly says: “Do not withhold discipline from your children; if you beat them with a rod, they will not die. If you beat them with the rod, you will save their lives from Sheol” (compare Proverbs 29:1, 17). In Sirach 22:6, a rigorous education is linked to wisdom ... In this context, 2 Maccabees 6:12–16 (compare 7:33) deserves particular attention. Within the scope of a paraclesis to the reader, it is explicitly said that God did not send the penal sufferings for doom but for education or for improvement. In the background, there is also the idea of the so-called eschatological measure (“eschatologisches Maß”), according to which God always immediately punishes his people to prevent the sin from accruing, whereas it defers for the other nations, the Goyim ..."
Wolfgang Kraus, “'Whom the Lord Loveth He Chasteneth': About the Adoption of Prov 3:11f. in Hebr 12:5f,” in Septuagint, Sages, and Scripture: Studies in Honour of Johann Cook, ed. Randall X. Gauthier, Gideon R. Kotze, and Gert J. Steyn, VTSup 172 (Leiden: Brill, 2016), 323–335.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Proverbs 13:24 and 2 Maccabees 6:12

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