Proverbs 13:24: Why the rod verses in Proverbs are repealed passages

Many parents cite the Bible for an excuse for punishing a child. The most common verse cited is Proverbs 13:24. However, neither this passage, nor any rod passage in Proverbs for that matter, refers to raising minor children. The Bible was clearly mistranslated in order to keep a tradition going.

God's Word is spelled out in Proverbs 13:24 KJV:

He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.

The Hebrew word translated "son" is ben and refers to a mature son. This passage does not refer to spanking or punishing minor children, but instead refers to the 40 minus 1 lashes, administered in a courtroom setting, using a switch administered to the bare back. This whipping was administered by a father who was deputized by the Sanhedrin. Minor children could not be whipped, as children that young were not seen under the Law as legal subjects. King Solomon instead recommended attachment parenting in his secular writings towards parents. This passage does not refer to earthly parenting at all, and instead is simply a reminder for fathers to whip his adult son when his son was convicted of a crime - without this reminder, fathers would refuse to punish their adult sons when they were convicted of a crime.

Christ fulfilled the Law by keeping it perfectly, and then He repealed all of the harsh punishments of the Old Testament, including the 40 minus 1 lashes. The Early Christians did not partake in Roman executions or floggings, and opposed all capital or corporal punishment. 

The Bible does weigh in on actually spanking an actual minor child. See Colossians 3:21 KJV:

Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.

The Greek root word translated "provoke...to anger" is ερεθιζο (Latin: erethizo) and refers here to offenses or damages, namely the slightest of personal offense perceived by a child, including, but not limited to, the slightest of offensive touch or speech perceived by a child, stemming from entitlement. It is not enough to stop spanking or punishing children - you need to avoid the slightest of offense perceived by a child. However, offending children is inevitable in parenting, and thus parents should be willing to give a meaningful apology whenever they offend their children. Any time you upset your child in any way, shape, or form - including in the case of set limits - you have offended your child, and thus you need to apologize. Usually, a reassurance of good intent is all that is necessary, such as "I'm sorry, but I had to set X limit for Y reasons". However, if you lose your cool with your child, a formal apology is necessary, such as "I apologize for losing my cool with you", with you then committing to never losing your cool again with your child. A provocation to anger is a specific form of offense stemming from entitlement. This entitlement can include refusing to apologize to a child that you upset. The main understanding of child abuse in the Bible was entitlement leading to offense, and that defines a provocation to anger as stated in this passage. This commandment cross-references the Eighth and the Tenth Commandments, with the Apostle Paul here convicting a group of Greek Christian parents who brought into the church their pagan custom of patrias potestas, which is a Latin phrase that roughly translates to "power to the parent", including the power to impose punitive sanctions on children such as spanking or other forms of punishment. Paul, contrary to popular legend, was anti-spanking, and opposed any and all punitive treatment of a child in his secular writings. Attachment parenting was banned under Roman law, but the Early Christians did it anyway, obeying God over men.

The Bible was grossly mistranslated at the Latinate level. There exists two main translations of the Bible - the Latinate Bible and the Byzantine Bible. All of the English translations of the Bible ultimately stem from the Latinate Bible, and thus all English translations of the Bible are flawed at best. The Bible is God's infallible Word, but only in the case of the original Hebrew and Greek, as understood in context. The translations themselves were designed to keep a tradition going.

The Early Christian church leadership prohibited all forms of physical or verbal battery. Under the laws and ordinances of the Early Church, striking anyone was banned, in all settings, including in parenting. Even in the Old Testament, striking a fellow Jew outside of a courtroom setting was deemed physical battery. 

The depraved and entitled parents who provoke their children to anger through punitive parenting will not inherit the Kingdom of God! Let them be cast forever into the lake of fire and burning sulfur, which is the second death prepared for Satan and his accomplices! Let them descend into the abyss which is the ever-burning Hell of fire and torment, suffering God's Wrath day and night forever and ever! Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!