100 Bible Verses about Disciplining Children

Proverbs 13:24 ESV / 142 helpful votes

Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.

Hebrews 12:11 ESV / 120 helpful votes

For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Proverbs 23:13-14 ESV / 114 helpful votes

Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you strike him with a rod, he will not die. If you strike him with the rod, you will save his soul from Sheol.

Proverbs 22:6 ESV / 106 helpful votes

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 29:17 ESV / 96 helpful votes

Discipline your son, and he will give you rest; he will give delight to your heart.

Proverbs 29:15 ESV / 81 helpful votes

The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.

Ephesians 6:4 ESV / 77 helpful votes

Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Proverbs 22:15 ESV / 65 helpful votes

Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him.

Proverbs 19:18 ESV / 64 helpful votes

Discipline your son, for there is hope; do not set your heart on putting him to death.

Proverbs 12:1 ESV / 42 helpful votes

Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.

Colossians 3:21 ESV / 36 helpful votes

Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.

Proverbs 20:30 ESV / 33 helpful votes

Blows that wound cleanse away evil; strokes make clean the innermost parts.

Hebrews 12:5-6 ESV / 32 helpful votes

And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”

Ephesians 6:1 ESV / 32 helpful votes

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.

Proverbs 13:1 ESV / 32 helpful votes

A wise son hears his father's instruction, but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.

Proverbs 6:23 ESV / 29 helpful votes

For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life,

Deuteronomy 21:18-21 ESV / 28 helpful votes

“If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and, though they discipline him, will not listen to them, then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gate of the place where he lives, and they shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This our son is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.’ Then all the men of the city shall stone him to death with stones. So you shall purge the evil from your midst, and all Israel shall hear, and fear.

Proverbs 15:5 ESV / 27 helpful votes

A fool despises his father's instruction, but whoever heeds reproof is prudent.

Proverbs 13:18 ESV / 25 helpful votes

Poverty and disgrace come to him who ignores instruction, but whoever heeds reproof is honored.

Deuteronomy 6:7 ESV / 24 helpful votes

You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.

Mark 10:14 ESV / 22 helpful votes

But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.

Ephesians 6:2-3 ESV / 21 helpful votes

“Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.”

2 Timothy 3:16 ESV / 18 helpful votes

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

Hebrews 12:7-11 ESV / 17 helpful votes

It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Revelation 3:19 ESV / 16 helpful votes

Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.

Luke 15:11-32 ESV / 14 helpful votes

And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. ...

Proverbs 30:17 ESV / 14 helpful votes

The eye that mocks a father and scorns to obey a mother will be picked out by the ravens of the valley and eaten by the vultures.

Proverbs 23:13 ESV / 14 helpful votes

Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you strike him with a rod, he will not die.

Hebrews 12:9 ESV / 12 helpful votes

Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live?

Exodus 20:12 ESV / 12 helpful votes

“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

Proverbs 10:17 ESV / 11 helpful votes

Whoever heeds instruction is on the path to life, but he who rejects reproof leads others astray.

Romans 1:1-32 ESV / 10 helpful votes

Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, ...

Isaiah 49:15 ESV / 10 helpful votes

“Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.

Deuteronomy 21:18 ESV / 10 helpful votes

“If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and, though they discipline him, will not listen to them,

Hebrews 12:7 ESV / 9 helpful votes

It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?

Ephesians 6:1-4 ESV / 9 helpful votes

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

2 Corinthians 5:20 ESV / 9 helpful votes

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

Proverbs 15:32 ESV / 9 helpful votes

Whoever ignores instruction despises himself, but he who listens to reproof gains intelligence.

Proverbs 3:12 ESV / 9 helpful votes

For the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.

Psalm 127:3 ESV / 9 helpful votes

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.

Psalm 94:12 ESV / 9 helpful votes

Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O Lord, and whom you teach out of your law,

Deuteronomy 8:5 ESV / 9 helpful votes

Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you.

Hebrews 12:8 ESV / 8 helpful votes

If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.

2 Timothy 1:7 ESV / 8 helpful votes

For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

2 Timothy 1:5 ESV / 8 helpful votes

I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.

Proverbs 3:11-12 ESV / 8 helpful votes

My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.

Proverbs 1:7 ESV / 8 helpful votes

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Psalm 23:1-6 ESV / 8 helpful votes

A Psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. ...

Deuteronomy 4:9 ESV / 8 helpful votes

“Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children's children—

Hebrews 12:10-11 ESV / 7 helpful votes

For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Hebrews 12:6-7 ESV / 7 helpful votes

For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?

Hebrews 5:8 ESV / 7 helpful votes

Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered.

Colossians 3:20 ESV / 7 helpful votes

Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.

Luke 1:37 ESV / 7 helpful votes

For nothing will be impossible with God.”

Proverbs 6:20 ESV / 7 helpful votes

My son, keep your father's commandment, and forsake not your mother's teaching.

Job 5:17 ESV / 7 helpful votes

“Behold, blessed is the one whom God reproves; therefore despise not the discipline of the Almighty.

Revelation 11:1-19 ESV / 6 helpful votes

Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, “Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months. And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. And if anyone would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm them, this is how he is doomed to be killed. ...

1 Peter 5:5 ESV / 6 helpful votes

Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

Hebrews 12:10 ESV / 6 helpful votes

For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness.

Hebrews 12:5-11 ESV / 6 helpful votes

And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? ...

2 Timothy 3:2 ESV / 6 helpful votes

For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,

Galatians 6:1 ESV / 6 helpful votes

Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.

Luke 2:51-52 ESV / 6 helpful votes

And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.

Proverbs 25:28 ESV / 6 helpful votes

A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.

Proverbs 23:13-15 ESV / 6 helpful votes

Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you strike him with a rod, he will not die. If you strike him with the rod, you will save his soul from Sheol. My son, if your heart is wise, my heart too will be glad.

Proverbs 17:6 ESV / 6 helpful votes

Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of children is their fathers.

1 Chronicles 16:11 ESV / 6 helpful votes

Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!

Deuteronomy 8:5-6 ESV / 6 helpful votes

Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you. So you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him.

Deuteronomy 5:16 ESV / 6 helpful votes

“‘Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

Genesis 18:19 ESV / 6 helpful votes

For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.”

Hebrews 12:9-11 ESV / 5 helpful votes

Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Hebrews 12:6 ESV / 5 helpful votes

For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”

Hebrews 12:5 ESV / 5 helpful votes

And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him.

Titus 1:8 ESV / 5 helpful votes

But hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined.

2 Timothy 3:3 ESV / 5 helpful votes

Heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good,

Matthew 18:10 ESV / 5 helpful votes

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.

Proverbs 1:8-9 ESV / 5 helpful votes

Hear, my son, your father's instruction, and forsake not your mother's teaching, for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck.

Psalm 8:2 ESV / 5 helpful votes

Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger.

Leviticus 19:3 ESV / 5 helpful votes

Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and you shall keep my Sabbaths: I am the Lord your God.

Exodus 21:17 ESV / 5 helpful votes

“Whoever curses his father or his mother shall be put to death.

Revelation 1:1 ESV / 4 helpful votes

The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,

Hebrews 12:1-29 ESV / 4 helpful votes

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. ...

2 Timothy 3:14-15 ESV / 4 helpful votes

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 6:1-3 ESV / 4 helpful votes

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.”

Ephesians 5:1 ESV / 4 helpful votes

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.

John 3:16 ESV / 4 helpful votes

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16-17 ESV / 4 helpful votes

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Proverbs 1:8 ESV / 4 helpful votes

Hear, my son, your father's instruction, and forsake not your mother's teaching,

Deuteronomy 21:21 ESV / 4 helpful votes

Then all the men of the city shall stone him to death with stones. So you shall purge the evil from your midst, and all Israel shall hear, and fear.

Deuteronomy 21:19 ESV / 4 helpful votes

Then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gate of the place where he lives,

Exodus 20:14 ESV / 4 helpful votes

“You shall not commit adultery.

1 John 3:1 ESV / 3 helpful votes

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

Romans 8:16 ESV / 3 helpful votes

The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

Revelation 1:1-20 ESV / 2 helpful votes

The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near. John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood ...

James 1:22 ESV / 2 helpful votes

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

Hebrews 12:27 ESV / 2 helpful votes

This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain.

2 Timothy 3:15 ESV / 2 helpful votes

And how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

2 Timothy 3:14 ESV / 2 helpful votes

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it

Ephesians 6:3 ESV / 2 helpful votes

“that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.”

Ephesians 6:2 ESV / 2 helpful votes

“Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise),

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