This is one of the most misinterpreted texts in all the bible. Part of the problem is with the above translation. This verse is not saying that if godly parents raise their children in the way of the Lord, then they will not depart from it, even when they are old. But, it does not reflect reality and cannot therefore be the right interpretation. The fact is, many godly people in the bible who trained up their children in the right way, still had children who did not follow in that way throughout their lives and died in that state.
Josh Niemi, in a recent Internet article (see here) wrote the following on this oft misinterpreted text (emphasis mine):
"Proverbs 22:6 is not a promise that your children will return to the Lord if you raise them right. It's a warning that if you coddle your child's sinful tendencies, you will raise a financial fool."
I totally agree with this proposition.
He says further:
"Proverbs 22:6 stands as perhaps one of the most beloved of all parenting verses in Scripture, stating, “Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it.” This verse has been used to provide hope for an untold number of parents who find themselves grieving over a wayward son or daughter, as it is understood to be a promise that their child will ultimately return to the Lord. And who wouldn’t want such encouragement? The grief of seeing anyone far from the Lord is heartbreaking enough; it’s compounded when it’s your own son or daughter.
But here’s the truth: Proverbs 22:6 also stands as one of the most misunderstood and misused verses in Scripture, right up there with Matthew 7:1 (“Judge not!”) and Philippians 4:13 (“I can do all things!”). With so much emotional and spiritual weight hanging on this one proverb, it’s worth setting the record straight. After all, not only should we strive to glorify God in our handling of His Word, but we also want to make sure that our lives can profit from this verse—which means we need to get it right.
So, what is this passage actually telling us? And how should we train up our children in light of it?"
Agreed.
He says further:
"The question then becomes, What kind of instruction is given to the child? This is where most of the misunderstanding is.
Survey most English translations and you’ll see the phrase “…in the way he should go” as the basis or standard of instruction. But, as Dan Phillips points out, a literal translation would actually say “on the mouth of his way,” which is a Hebrew way of saying “according to his will.” That’s because the dictates of the mouth express the desires of the will (cf. Matt. 12:34, Luke 6:45). In fact, if you check the footnotes of the New American Standard Bible, you’ll see the translators note that the phrase could be rendered “according to his way.”
In addition, though, we see that a vast majority of English versions put the modifier “should” in front of the word “go,” which implies a moral quality to the instruction. Here again is a problem.
Dan Phillips addresses this:
This flaw is nearly fatal, all by itself. It is simply this: Solomon provided no modifier beyond the pronoun. That’s right. There is nothing in the Hebrew text—not one word, syllable, jot or tittle—that corresponds to or justifies the “should go” that most translations insert. The only word that modifies “way” is the pronominal suffix meaning “his” (darko). This is a simple fact of reading, not an interpretive assertion.[6]
In other words, this passage isn’t about raising a child according to the way he “should” go. Solomon wasn’t talking about the way a child ought to be trained up (which would obviously be in accordance with God’s Law). It’s unfortunate that the translators felt comfortable inserting that word when it weighs so heavily on the interpretation. With that in mind, the next question you might be thinking is, Then according to whose way was Solomon speaking? With only one person preceding the pronoun “his,” we can conclude that Solomon was speaking of training up a child according to the child’s way (in grammatical terms, “child” is the nearest referent/antecedent).
So, what does it look like to train up a child according to the child’s way? Truth be told, it doesn’t take much searching of Scripture to determine what a child’s way is like. In fact, in the exact same section—only nine verses later—Solomon said this: “Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child” (Prov. 22:15). Using the same Hebrew word na’ar, he described a child’s heart just as we would expect it to be as a result of the Fall: depraved, sinful, naive, and ultimately… foolish.
Taken together then, Solomon essentially said, “Train up a child according to his own foolish way…” From that phrasing alone, what’s clear is that this is not intended to be a heartwarming proverb, but a heart-warning proverb. Rather than soul-settling, it’s soul-sobering. The conditional clause makes it clear that this is the beginning of a caution, not a comfort. Whereas the biblical parent raises his child according to God’s way, the negligent parent goes along with his child’s way."
Well, I couldn't have said it better myself. This is what I am sure is the right interpretation of the text.
He says further:
"So, how does Solomon’s warning end? What will happen if a parent raises a child according to the child’s own sinful tendencies?
“…Even when he is old he will not depart from it.”
The phrase “even when” represents a hypothetical situation, better understood as “even if…”[7] According to Solomon, since fools often die young, it’s rare that one manages to live to old age (cf. Prov. 10:21, 11:19, et. al.). Next, the pronoun “he” once again refers back to the child, indicating the same subject is in view. Finally, the “it” (a neuter feminine pronoun) refers to the situation in the first clause: living according to his own foolishness.[8]
Putting it all together: Even if the child manages to grow old, he will not depart from his own foolish way.
If a child is trained up according to his way (raised how he wants, a way that coincides with his natural fallenness), Solomon warns us that the child will not simply “grow out of it,” but will instead maintain his futile thinking on into adulthood. (Prov. 29: 15)"
Well, amen. People need to know that this is the right interpretation of the text.
Our author concludes:
"In any area of life, if you let your child’s immature heart pilot the ship, don’t be surprised when it capsizes."
What think ye?
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