These verses continue the "thirty sayings" ([Proverbs 22:20](../22/20.md)).
# Do not withhold instruction from a child
The abstract noun "instruction" can be translated as a verb. AT: "Do not neglect to instruct a child" or "Do not refuse to instruct a child" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-abstractnouns]])
# withhold
refuse to give something that one knows another person needs
# rod
piece of wood
# It is you who must beat him ... and save his soul
"You are the one who must beat him ... and save his soul." No one else will do it. The hearer is responsible to save the child's soul from Sheol, and the way to save him is to beat him.
If the hearer beats his children with the rod, they will not die young because they have done foolish or evil things. The word "soul" is a metonym for the person. Sheol is the world of the dead; going to the world of the dead is a euphemism for dying. AT: "you will keep him from the world of the dead" or "you will keep him from dying" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy]] and [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-euphemism]])
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