The best Bible verses for discipline (ESV) include passages about God's love, strength, and guidance. This page features 15+ carefully curated Scripture passages for discipline (ESV), each selected for its relevance and depth. Read, save, and share the perfect verse for your situation.
"“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,"Deuteronomy 21:18
"“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,"Deuteronomy 21:18
"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."Hebrews 12:5
"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 12:7
"If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons."Hebrews 12:8
"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?"Hebrews 12:9
"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 12:10
"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 12:11
"O LORD, in distress they sought you; they poured out a whispered prayer when your discipline was upon them."Isaiah 26:16
"Yet they did not listen or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck, that they might not hear and receive instruction."Jeremiah 17:23
"I have heard Ephraim grieving, ‘You have disciplined me, and I was disciplined, like an untrained calf; bring me back that I may be restored, for you are the LORD my God."Jeremiah 31:18
"They have turned to me their back and not their face. And though I have taught them persistently, they have not listened to receive instruction."Jeremiah 32:33
"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction."Proverbs 1:7
Translations differ in what they optimise for. Some follow the original wording closely at the cost of a natural English sentence; others read smoothly and make interpretive choices to get there. Neither is wrong, but they produce noticeably different verses.
Each of the 15 verses below is shown in the translation you asked for, and every verse links to a page comparing all six side by side — which is usually the fastest way to see where the translators disagreed.
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The most-cited Bible verses for discipline (ESV) are Deuteronomy 21:18, Hebrews 12:5, Hebrews 12:6. This page collects 15 of them, each with its full passage, context and the text in six translations.
Read the verse in its surrounding passage before you use it — a verse that fits in isolation sometimes says something different in context. Compare two translations where the wording is unclear, and pick for the person who will read it rather than for the theme.
Scripture returns to discipline (ESV) across both testaments rather than settling it in one passage, which is why the verses on this page do not all say the same thing. Read together they give a fuller answer than any single verse does.
There is no single best translation. The NIV and NLT read most naturally and communicate well to someone outside the church; the ESV and NASB stay closer to the original wording; the KJV carries the phrasing most people recognise. Every verse here links to a page showing all six side by side.
More than any page can list. This one carries the 15 that are most often turned to for discipline (ESV), chosen so each stands on its own and links through to the full chapter it belongs to.