Which Way Should They Go?

Our Hebrew teacher entered the classroom and said something that stung our minds. We had learned enough Hebrew to work through a passage, though not read it fluently. He seemed confident that we could open our Hebrew text and verify what he said.

Our teacher turned to one of the most well-known verses on discipline in the Bible, the often quoted Proverbs 22:6. He went on to tell us that the translators of the King James Version (KJV) had not provided a literal translation, but a logical conclusion. In the KJV the verse reads:

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

I had heard this verse quoted many times in my youth and applied in a rather harsh and judgmental way. It was always interpreted as a virtual guarantee for training children: Train your children right, according to God’s way, and they will always remain faithful.

Whenever this verse came up in a Bible class you could be sure to hear an objection. Someone would give a personal testimony about a family that he/she knew who had brought up their children in the Lord’s way; and yet, one or more of the children were unfaithful to God.

At that point the class went one of two directions. The teacher would either toy with the verse until he had changed its meaning, or he would staunchly inform the person with the testimonial that they were probably not correct in their assessment of the family.

In the end, the verse became a judgmental indictment against all parents who had a child that had turned away from the Lord. Clearly the child had not been trained up in the way he should go. As a result, many parents have felt guilt over a child who is not faithful to God.

My Hebrew teacher suggested something different. So, my classmates and I dove into the text to see what nugget of wisdom lay there.

The word translated train is not the usual Hebrew term for training. In fact, at its root it meant to start out or dedicate. It was used in the dedication of a house and also the Lord’s temple built by Solomon.

The next phrase of interest is “in the way he should go.” Many modern translations show the literal translation in a footnote: “according to his way,” with the pronoun his referring back to the child. One modern translation, the Christian Standard Bible, reflects the literal translation: 

Start out a youth on his way; even when he grows old he will not depart from it.

Two other proverbs support this translation:

The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But a wise man is he who listens to counsel. 

—Proverbs 12:15

The rod and reproof give wisdom, But a child who gets his own way brings shame to his mother. 

—Proverbs 29:15

Solomon was not issuing a guarantee that a good upbringing will assure faithfulness to God. Rather, he was sounding a strong warning. A child who starts out in life going his own way will continue that way for life. For that reason parents must be alert to this call for discipline. We must not instill in our children to chase their dreams or follow their hearts. Rather we must instruct, correct, rebuke and discipline according to the Lord’s way.

As long as our children are in our care we must turn them from their own way. Discipline will be our friend and give hope to our children.

Mark Stinnett

February 19, 2023